English | EN One application of big data analytics software is to enhance energy management in buildings by analyzing energy usage and sensor data. A Boston-based startup called WegoWise is showing that you do not need petabytes of data or really sophisticated algorithms to gain insight into how to save energy. Instead of getting data from meters or building control systems, WegoWise’s application run on a known available source: monthly utility bills.
After giving WegoWise acces to monthly water, electric, gas water bills and filling out a questionnaire which helps defining the properties of a buidling, the system can compare how individual buildings compare to benchmarks they’ve created with data from over 10,000 buildings. Their strengt is also in visualization: the data is visualized showing a building manager that one building is consuming more energy or water than it should. It won’t diagnose the problem, but it helps identify the big energy wasters.
MassSave, a utility-sponsored energy efficiency program, used the WegoWise web application to prioritize energy retrofits for low-income housing in Massachusetts. The service helped identify $137 million in energy savings, according to WegoWise.
A little big data, a lot more efficient energy management
For property owners, this information can bring some insight to how much they spend on energy and ways they could be more efficient. It also is a glimpse of how we can increase efficiency in a whole ranges of applications using the correct (big) data.
About the author
SogetiLabs gathers distinguished technology leaders from around the Sogeti world. It is an initiative explaining not how IT works, but what IT means for business.