MK Electric and Trend Controls have launched one of the first fully integrated commercial solutions for effective remote monitoring and control of plug-in sources of power consumption for the UK buildings market.
Connected Power, the first collaboration between the two Honeywell brands, is designed to easily allow building and energy managers to monitor their site’s use of small power — which can account for more than 25 percent of a building’s energy.
Comprising smart plug sockets and connectivity hubs from MK Electric, the solution allows businesses to gain visibility into their buildings’ energy usage, remotely power down unused sockets and automate functions such as scheduling, grouping and alarms. Data is available down to an outlet level, providing more robust information and control of energy use in a building along with other site energy data such as heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC) and lighting use.
Connected Power has been deployed at several test sites across the United Kingdom where Honeywell is reporting energy savings as a result of powering on equipment only when needed by utilising the solution’s scheduling capabilities.
The system is also being marketed as being ‘brand agnostic’, as it can be integrated with any existing BACNET-based building energy management system (BEMS) for a fully detailed overview of its energy use. Additionally the system will run as an effective stand-alone solution in buildings without the ability to offer a full BEMS integration.
The innovation comes at a time when many businesses are looking for ways to reduce their electricity usage amid the rising cost of energy. Switching to Connected Power plug sockets can help save energy consumed by plug-in devices, by allowing businesses to remotely control sockets and set up alerts, alarms and schedules to power down sockets outside of core hours.
[T]here are often hundreds of small power devices in an office building, hospital or educational setting that are left on when not in use …
“The impact of small power in a commercial setting can quickly add up, and there are often hundreds of small power devices in an office building, hospital or educational setting that are left on when not in use,” explains Steve Kenny, vice president and general manager, MK Electric. “By working with our colleagues from the Trend team, we can better provide building and energy managers with not only insight into their small power energy use – which was typically unknown – but also allow them to control it, giving them the tools they need to fully manage plug-in power usage.”
Stefano D’Agostino, general manager at Trend, says: “The problem many businesses encounter is that small power loads — the sockets providing electricity to everything from computers and printers to portable space heaters and device chargers — don’t fall under the scope of their BEMS. We are changing that with Connected Power, giving businesses even greater visibility into their site’s energy profile for the first time.”
Connected Power sockets are the same size as standard plug sockets, allowing for easy retrofits. Each hub wirelessly connects to up to 50 sockets and as many as 50 hubs can feed data back to a single BMS or supervisory system, giving a total capacity of 2,500 sockets or 5,000 individual outlets.
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