Monthly Archives: March 2019

Applying AI To Drinking Water Management

There has been much literature about how global demand for water will exceed our fresh water supply by 2030, that in a number of communities residents are provided with drinking water that does not meet safe health standards (Flint, MI and more), and that an estimated quarter of a million US water mains break, leaking over two trillion gallons of treated drinking water annually. Our infrastructure is crumbling and water management can use improvement; all during a time when fresh water sources are declining. Yet governments have less resources to spend for upgrades. What can be done to economically improve our water management systems?

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates fixing US water infrastructure issues (pipes, pumps, treatment, etc.) will cost close to $1 trillion. While this is important to maintain and upgrade, can smart water grid management address distribution and safety issues, saving money in the long-term?

While electric utilities and transportation systems are beginning to embrace and implement “smart” and more efficient generation, distribution, and management, the same approach applied to drinking water has not yet gained much momentum. The US needs smart water grid systems to efficiently and reliably manage safe drinking water.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is available to conduct regular testing of such potential contaminants as lead (a major concern for child development), copper, arsenic, chlorine, dissolved oxygen, silica, and nitrites. The relative safety of water along the supply and treatment chain can be detected and trends identified, resulting in better management of what the proper treatment of water is and where it should take place, ultimately providing safer water and managing and minimizing costs.

Similarly, AI should be able to regularly traverse even a complex set of pipes, pumps, tanks, and reservoirs, and detect changes in pressure and leaks and send appropriate alarms to pinpoint where the leak occurs for the utility to repair, again, saving taxpayer money and water costs.

A major concern is that most water utilities are local in scope, just covering a city, district, or county. Many technology fixes are expensive to procure, install and operate. Larger entities, such as states or regions, can bring together several water utilities to share and minimize upfront costs and allow consistent AI and approaches to implement interactive, smart water management systems with networks of sensors communicating with each other and management to deliver warnings of potentially unsafe water supply and of the actual or potential presence, degree, and location of leaks in real time. Trained professionals can then divert and treat water appropriately to bring a supply back to standard and can pinpoint where repairs should take place, avoiding major upheavals of the entire system.

The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 is a throwback to supplying more money to fix immediate problems. Let’s hope utilities and governments think more forward and use AI for long-term improvements in supply and reliability of our critical drinking water supply.

CCES can help your company assess your entire portfolio, including water, air and greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and other impacts. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or karell@CCESworld.com.

Changing Work Patterns And Office Space Planning

The office environment has changed radically in recent years, affecting space allocations, planning, and energy. Gone are the days when most office workers sat at their desks all day and perhaps used a rare conference room for a meeting or two. Technology and social changes have transformed workplaces, resulting in what experts call the “liquid workforce”.

Today, according to surveys, more than half of all workers spend significant time away from their office desks, either working from home or remote offices or holding meetings or other sessions away from the desk. The average knowledge worker sits at his/her desk only 40% of the time. According to JLL survey, 43% of respondents indicated that enclosed offices now constitute less than 5% of their sites.

Occupancy data is changing how space should be used.
Surveys indicate that office workers spend over 80% of their time doing collaborative work. Every year the number of people working from home, cafes, outside coworking spaces and even alternative spaces within their own workplace is increasing.

Companies are spending more resources tracking occupancy metrics as a first step to a more optimized real estate portfolio. According to JLL, companies that report metrics are twice as likely to report cost savings and avoidances. Artificial intelligence (AI) and utilization monitoring can be combined with visual observations to provide real-time utilization insights to help plan for the future.

While this is being done to reduce real estate expenses and to please current and future workforce (Millennials) to the firm, a potential disadvantage of such workplace flexibility is that more space will be underutilized as workers work elsewhere. Instead of heating or cooling an area where one knows workers will be working all day, those workers will move from space to space, potentially necessitating controlling the temperature and humidity and lighting of workspaces not being utilized in a given moment. This makes the use of occupancy sensors to control temperature or lighting more important. With improved insights of short-term occupancy, companies can move toward optimizing energy usage to provide broad range comfort and acceptable lighting to enhance worker productivity, while saving energy when spaces are not utilized.

CCES has the experts to advise you on energy conservation matters if your workspace is new or is undergoing changes. We can recommend technologies based on your knowledge to optimize worker conditions and minimize energy usage. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Talking Points: Green Buildings

Part of a series taking important new concepts and wording it so you can pass basic information to your colleagues and contacts.

Background

With growing public awareness and concern about climate change and environmental peril, upgrading buildings is becoming of greater importance. Buildings play a significant role in our everyday human life. We spend so much of our time inside buildings. They must not only serve our purposes and be comfortable but have a minor impact on our environment. How can we design and operate buildings in this way to be “green”?

What Is “Green Building”?

There is no specific, universal standard for a “green building”, and, sadly, some claims are controversial. The USGBC has a green building standard called Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). Any building meeting LEED standards and certified by the USGBC as thus, can certainly claim to be “green”. But meeting strict LEED standards is expensive and takes time, a hardship for some. Owners can benefit from incorporating at least some green building features. Any building improvement resulting in energy efficiency, reduced water usage, better indoor air quality, reduced waste formation (and/or greater recycling rates), and incorporation of innovative technologies, such as green roof systems and renewable power, are positive steps toward being “green”, will likely result in financial benefits, and is worth talking about.

The Many Financial Benefits of Green Building

It is important to understand that implementing strategies in some or all of these areas will result in positive financial benefits. Here are some.

• It’s Not So Expensive. Conventional thinking is that adding “green” features to an upgrade will make the project prohibitively expensive. Not true. Most “green” technologies have dropped in price because there is more competition. Also, many utilities and governments have reason to encourage “green” upgrades and will pay part of the upfront cost directly to you in rebates or tax incentives.

• Reduced Costs. Key phrase: if done properly, a green upgrade will reduce your operating costs, such as electricity, fuel, and/or water enough over the lifetime of the change to pay back the initial investment and much more. ROIs equivalent to 20, 30, or 40% or more per year have been achieved. What many people don’t realize is that, for example, for technologies to reduce electricity usage (improved lights, better HVAC, improved insulation), you pay for it one time, but get the cost savings year after year. (It’s not like you are going to yank out the efficient lights and re-install the old ones!) In fact, if you determine that you save, say, $10,000 per year in electricity costs the first year after changes, the savings will not only be another $10,000 the next year, but actually more, as savings are based on your utility rate, and that only rises in time (have you seen a utility lower its electric rates?). This is why such projects – again, if done smartly – should not be thought about as cute or “cool”, but as a very good financial investment, too. According to the California Sustainable Building Task Force (https://www.thespruce.com/benefits-of-green-buildings-1708553), a 2% invest-ment in green building design will save over 10 times that investment in the long run. A $20,000 investment in green features of a $1 million project, will typically result in $200,000 in actual cost savings over 20 years. A question I like to ask: what bank or Wall St. investment pays a return like that?! And with no risk?

• Reduced O&M. Many “green” upgrades result in reduced O&M costs compared to previous. For example, LED lights do not “burn out”. Many LED lights are warrantied for 7 to 10 years, unlike most fluorescents which typically last about 2 years. This means less time for Maintenance to change light bulbs, freeing them to focus on high-priority projects and also reducing accident risk (fall off a ladder).

• Higher Rents, Better Tenants. Having a certified “green” building is known to attract more high-end tenants who want/need the association, allowing the owner to charge higher rates. The resale value of certified “green” buildings is higher because potential buyers know that costs (energy, water, waste) will be lower.

• More Satisfied Tenants (Less Turnover). There is enough experience now that studies have shown that working in a certified green building is good for both physical and mental health, improving the productivity of the tenant company and resulting in the desire to renew the lease for the long-term. Lower tenant turnover and having successful businesses as tenants is good for the building owner. Investment by an owner in such features as better ventilation, no VOC carpets and furniture, no toxic pesticides, green roofs can result in this. A building owner can go further and invest in upgrades for gyms, more bike racks, better furniture, upgrading staircases, etc. to boost the health and well-being of building users. A new standard from the USGBC called WELL codifies such changes. One major study (http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/study-certified-green-companies-238203) showed that employees who work in green buildings were 16% more productive than those who work in traditional buildings. Another one (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expeditions/green-buildings/surprising-ways-green-buildings-improve-health-sustainability/) showed that employees in green buildings were better at making decisions, reaching goals, and completing tasks. Some “green” features helped circadian rhythms, allowing workers to sleep better at night and be more alert.

• Finally, Environmental Progress. While this article has focused on financial benefits, let’s not forget that “green” building results in indisputable environmental benefits, too. By moving toward “green” building, your firm can demonstrate to stakeholders progress which can be tracked through the amount of greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your buildings and determine which green features will provide you with the most direct financial benefits, whether it be a full LEED certification or just upgrading with select features. We can assure you that the features will be incorporated correctly and provide the maximum financial benefits. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

AI Used For Improved Energy Efficiency

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage. Can a machine be built to use its intelligence to replace or even exceed the “natural” intelligence of humans? Can machines reliably and correctly process and interpret external data, learn from such data, and use it to achieve specific goals? The media is full of news of new AI discoveries and ways to use “robots” to displace workers in many fields. Can AI help society become more energy efficient?

Metro de Madrid, in conjunction with Accenture, developed and implemented a self-learning AI-based ventilation system to mini¬mize energy costs and ensure commuter comfort in metro stations. See https://www.energymanagertoday.com/artificial-intelligence-platform-firm-0177074/ Metro de Madrid claims to have reduced its ventilation energy costs by 25% and cut CO2 emissions by 1,800 tons annually.

To help passengers stay cool inside stations on hot summer days, Metro de Madrid operates 891 ventilation fans, consuming as much as 80 GWh of electricity annually.

Madrid Metro and Accenture Applied Intelligence developed a system that used an optimization algorithm leveraging data to explore every possible combination of air temperature, station architecture, train frequency, passenger load and electricity price. Both historic and simulated data were used. The algorithm used machine learning; the system improved its prediction of the optimal balance for each train station over time.

The system also includes a simulation and maintenance module, allowing for, among other things, tracking for failures in the fans’ operation. This enables Metro de Madrid to not only predict and monitor energy consump¬tion, but also identify and respond to potential system deficiencies and pro¬actively order equipment maintenance.

Teaching systems to find and use historic data to more accurately predict needs in the future is a way AI can help a system run better and more energy efficiently, too.

CCES is not an expert on AI, but we can use our extensive experience to help your entity be more energy efficient and productive and bring in AI experts, if necessary. We can give you options to determine the best direction forward of producing your product reliably and efficiently. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.