Inside Outdoor Spring 2017

Outdoor companies can now retrofit buildings without the capex

Often enabled by the

cloud and pervasive con-

nectivity, the as-a-service

business model is alter-

ing how we buy and sell

all types of things. All

but gone, for instances,

are the days of “shrink-

wrapped” music, movies

and software. And that’s

just the beginning. Today’s

consumers and businesses

can gain access on-demand

and as-a-service to all man-

ner of what were formerly

one-off “products,” from bi-

cycles, office furniture and

automobiles to contact center

capabilities, lighting, phone

systems and groceries. And

now, outdoor companies also

can get energy conservation

as-a-service.

The opportunity arrives

through a partnership be-

tween Arkados Group, a soft-

ware developer and system

integrator enabling Internet

of Things (IoT) applications,

and SparkFund, a provider of

subscription-based energy ser-

vice. Through an IoT-enabled,

as-a-service model, the poten-

tially large capital expenditure

associated with retrofitting a

building with energy conserva-

tion measures is converted

into a no-money-down sub-

scription service. In addition

to the reduction in upfront

costs, there’s also a reduction

in operations and maintenance

costs and protection from

obsolete materials. In other

words, what could have been a

pretty major overhaul is now a

monthly payment.

“As-a-service offers busi-

nesses an easy solution to ac-

cess smart, connected systems

without the risk or hassle of

ownership,” said Pier LaFarge,

SparkFund CEO and co-founder.

With the Arktic Energy

Measurement and Verifica-

tion (EM&V) platform a single

monthly payment covers instal-

lation, repairs, monitoring and

ongoing service. That includes

the implementation of multiple

types of sensors, such as for

temperature, humidity, light,

energy and water consumption,

motion, occupancy, indoor air

quality and noise.

These connected devices

gather information throughout

a building or complex that is

initially used for benchmarking

to determine the unique build-

ing signature. The data is then

analyzed and applied – via IoT-

enabled advanced building au-

tomation – to promote energy

cost reduction, improvements

in environmental conditions,

higher levels of sustainability,

lowered operational and main-

tenance costs and an extended

useful life of lighting, HVAC and

other systems.

Benefits are based on

the principals of the Inter-

national Performance M&V

Protocol, and Arkados says

customers enjoy reduced en-

ergy consumption and main-

tenance costs of as much as

60 percent, as well as facility

improvements from new and

improved lighting, HVAC and

other critical systems. The En-

vironmental Protection Agency,

for its part, estimates Ameri-

can businesses can reduce, on

average, 30 percent of their

energy use by targeting energy

that is used unnecessarily or

inefficiently. In the case of Ark-

tic EM&V, granular, real-time

data gathering provides verifi-

cation of energy savings, says

Arkados, and insights into ad-

ditional ways to reduce energy

consumption, some that may

not otherwise be evident.

“In nearly every case, cus-

tomers can experience all of

the benefits of these efficiency

improvements and automa-

tion with no upfront costs and

use the savings to offset the

entire subscription fee and

still net a cost reduction,” said

Terrence DeFranco, Arkados

Group CEO. “The revolution-

ary aspect of this partnership

for Arkados is our ability to

continue delivering new appli-

cations over time to our cus-

tomers with this model, giving

them flexibility, scalability and

protection from obsolescence

as their needs evolve.”

“As-a-service

offers businesses

an easy solution

to access

smart, connected

systems without

the risk or hassle

of ownership.”

Conservation in the Cloud

Martin

Vilaboy

FLOOR

SPACE

Inside

Outdoor

Spring

2017