Pulse allows both the building engineer/manager and the C-Level to understand how a building or portfolio of buildings uses energy. The building engineer needs to be able to add new data or data sets (at the building level) to further enhance the value of the output. This will drive my next point- engagement. What will drive building management to execute on these recommendations? Adding-in cost analysis or pricing signals will also drive engagement and implementation of ECMs. i.e. if you would have utilized a free-chilling strategy, peak-demand could have been reduced therefore lowering the ratchet used to calculate demand charges. Cities like New York that have disclosure laws and require building owners to benchmark energy consumption, Pulse is the perfect next step. Energy Star Portfolio Manager is a static tool that doesn't provide actionable intelligence. Pulse-like features would add tremendous value. One of the bigger issues we have in the US is that interval-data is not yet widely available. Selling a building owner on sub-metering for the sake of data collection is still difficult. Tools like Pulse need to drive market demand for data and analytics while maximizing engagement. Tenants need to demand this type of disclosure and social responsibility from landlords. Brokers are on the front-line and are key to this shift. Congratulations again for helping to drive transparency and simplicity in a very fragmented and "keep it proprietary" industry.

What you’re seeing on Green Buildings Alive is only a fraction of Pulse’s full functionality, where each building operator receives building specific and neighbourhood customised message. We’re finding that the engagement across our 50 or so building operators is very high, because Pulse helps them efficiently identify opportunities for energy savings and in effect improves their ability to do a good job. It’s a process of ‘trial and error’ for building operators, use Pulse to help identify areas of opportunity, collaborate with other building managers, chiller, Building Management System and mechanical technicians and then use Pulse to identify the very next day whether the measure they implemented was successful; if it was, they do it again. And it’s not just about saving energy; in a period where capital is sparse, building operators are implementing low or zero capital strategies which reduce the building’s outgoings.

Thanks Geoffrey, You’ve raised a range of interesting ideas and comments here. Mandatory disclosure of energy performance for office buildings has also been in place Australia since late 2010 and more buildings are attaining energy performance ratings as a result. It will be interesting to see how legislative market transformation approaches like mandatory disclosure will lead to building owners and managers requiring more from their energy retailers/distributors in relation to having access to timely and actionable data. Let’s hope so!

I think the mandatory disclosure of energy performance and perhaps the carbon tax will encourage building managers to rethink energy efficiency. In the green building world, the occupant is king. Helping to maintain their satisfaction will play a pivotal role in the future performance of green buildings.

How have you introduced this information to occupants? What has been the response?

I'm actually a PhD student Shauna and I don't actually use the Pulse tool but this topic is very relevant to my research exploring how environmental attitudes and expectations influence their satisfaction and thermal comfort perceptions of green buildings. This was done using thermal comfort and post occupancy evaluations and didn't involve using energy management software. In my opinion, I believe this software can help bridge the gap between the occupant and building manager.

Hey Shauna, we need to move into 'occupant satisfaction', and engagement, but small steps first... So far we know from looking at complaint data and anecdotally that ocupants are happy. I'm worried if we create the situation where occupants are evaluating the building each day the manager might be fearful of making mistakes and not ambitiously 'tinker'. What do you think?

In contrast Craig (though it may be because the buildings I have studied used natural and mixed-mode ventilation) but I found that many occupants were unhappy. Many often used the questionnaires as a conduit to complain. This is perhaps related to the relationship between occupant and manager.

I should also add, Pulse has a capacity to produce high-level info for C-level managers higher up the chain, and tenants / occupants. We've not done that though. And I'd be reluctant to. We find most building managers are intrinsically motivated to do a good job. They don't necessarily need pressure from bosses or clients - they need good, useful information.

Is there any research on how Australian disclosure laws have increased efficiency in buildings, awareness, job creation, etc? This would be powerful information. Thanks!

The mandatory disclosure legislation came into effect in November 2010 with the requirement that buildings disclose a NABERS rating at the point of sale or lease if the transaction exceeded 2,000m2. In November 2011 the scheme was extended to include the requirement for an assessment of the lighting technologies contained within the space. Given it's still early days, it's probably too soon to tell what effect it's having. For stats, I'd recommend you contact the NABERS scheme administrator because they should have some visibility of trends, including for individual buildings over multiple periods. www.nabers.com.au.