11/10/2007

Woking

Built to care for the world of tomorrow

Chris Glasow whose company takes an holistic approach to energy reduction.

The very idea of a building being able to think for itself seems like something from the world of tomorrow.
But a Byfleet company has turned it into reality. Andromeda Telematics Ltd has given the cathedrals of big business an environmental conscience.
Programmed to keep energy consumption to a minimum through hi-tech ‘intelligent systems’, the buildings know what to do and when to do it to cut wastage.
They can feel the sun on their sides and pull the blinds or dim the lights accordingly. They can sense their inhabitants’ movements and converse on the Internet.
Go Green spoke to Chris Glasow, founder of Andromeda Telematics, the company that has helped tomorrow come today.

THIS is the stuff of dreams. Buildings such as Harrods, the British Library and Heathrow’s Terminal Five can now function automatically to reduce energy.

Each business that takes on Andromeda’s dynamic energy regulation system can expect to see its carbon footprint reduced — in some buildings by more than a third.

Andromeda does not manufacture the products used in the intelligent systems — from motion sensors that switch lights on and off to devices that open windows — but instead brings these parts together and designs  tailored packages for individual buildings.

Energy savings of course mean financial savings and the absence of reams of wires in the system keep installation and maintenance costs low.

Pre-defined algorithms and logical computer programming actually make the system — known as European Installation Bus (EIB) — more simple to install.

As Chris explained, this means the end of the need for miles and miles of cables. He said: “It means you only have effectively one cable for the whole network.

“Once we’ve connected everything across the business network we can do anything we like from one switch. We’ve integrated the whole system.

“It keeps the installation and maintenance costs to a minimum.

“It means these devices can do much more than normal. These devices actually talk to each other. They can measure the angle of the sun and lower the blinds or close the windows automatically.”

The Citigroup building in Canary Wharf will not be among those with lights left blazing all night thanks to Andromeda.

The potential of the system, which can be managed remotely from the company’s Byfleet offices and can be put together before a building is even built, is demonstrated by the work the company is carrying out on Heathrow’s new Terminal Five.

More than 200,000 individual light fittings are being installed at the terminal — currently Europe’s largest building project — and the system controlling them is aimed at keeping energy consumption down.

“It’s an holistic approach to energy reduction — the building has a goal to lower its energy use,” said Chris.

“Everything is integrated into one system. That way all of the devices work together to reduce energy so you get enormous reductions in energy use rather than using all these different systems that don’t talk to each other.”

Chris said that most see a return within five years and energy consumption can be reduced by up to 35% by the systems.

He added: “If you go into London at night you see office buildings all wasting energy by keeping their lights on. An empty building with our system is black at night.”

The systems are suitable for all kinds of buildings from the largest corporate skyscrapers through to family homes and have even been fitted to stretches of the London tube network.

But if the concept of intelligent buildings seems fantastic, what the future has in store is even more so. Chris said: “Integrated energy systems will gradually get to the point where there will be interaction between different types of buildings and civic amenities.

“All of these things will come together. The pressure on energy usage will increase in the future and that will gradually force a much more intelligent use of energy.”

For more information on Andromeda and its work, log on to www.andromeda-telematics.com.

It's a fact

The Carbon Trust says that UK businesses waste around £1 billion through unnecessary energy usage.

Friends of the Earth say homes could be made up to 60% more energy-efficient, cutting energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

Estimates vary but it is thought that by 2020, 30% of our electricity could come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and tidal generation.

If all the light bulbs in Britain were switched to low energy fluorescent and LED bulbs, it is estimated that the equivalent of the power generated by one nuclear power station could be saved.

The Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University says that if the Government is to meet its climate change objectives, building regulations need to set a zero carbon emissions target for space heating by 2016.

First printed in: Woking News and Mail