For hotels, dormitories, public housing, and assisted living facilities, balancing occupant comfort, energy, and cost-consciousness can take titanic effort. With buildings accounting for approximately 30% of final energy consumption globally and half of final electricity demand, the matter is even more pressing. Energy management thermostats offer a solution designed to address the balance of comfort and responsibility for multi-unit buildings.

Energy management thermostats typically integrate with a building management system (BMS) and automatically adjust temperatures using occupancy-sensing technology. Occupancy-sensing thermostats overcome many of the drawbacks of conventional thermostats, deliver benefits that may have a significant return on investment, and can even be retrofitted into older buildings, overcoming the main challenge to the adoption of this beneficial technology.

The Drawbacks of Conventional Temperature Control

Conventional temperature control systems control a single room and have no way to know when that room is unoccupied. This traditionally left energy-saving measures solely in the occupant’s control, often resulting in a system running all day even when no one is in the space.

This energy waste can also occur due to system inefficiencies that result in occupants engaging in “self-help”—if temperate controls make a room too hot, occupants may resort to opening windows or adding fans; if too cold, space heaters may be used. These devices not only use additional power, costing more money, but space heaters specifically increase safety risks.

Addressing system inefficiencies to reduce “self-help” can be especially challenging as facilities are increasingly operating on a very lean staff. The common result is that problems go undetected and unaddressed until an occupant is unhappy enough to complain. Even after the complaint, the problem may take several days to be resolved as work orders are created, parts are obtained, and laborers are available. Reactive maintenance is a lose-lose situation that costs the facility money and damages the building/occupant relationship.

The Benefits of Energy Management Thermostats Overcome Challenges to Adoption

Energy management thermostats are experiencing a surge in adoption as technological advancements deliver increasing benefits and minimize the challenges of integrating “smarter” systems.

The top benefit of using networked energy management thermostats is visibility into a building’s systems. Early versions of this technology required their own software management system, but advancements have allowed some energy management thermostat systems to integrate with any existing BMS. Thermostat data available on the BMS platform can alert facilities managers to imperfections or problems within the system, allowing staff to remedy the issue faster—getting occupants comfortable quicker and reducing wasted energy and money. And with data available over time, performance can be tracked as part of a proactive maintenance plan.

As their name suggests, energy management is another top benefit of these thermostats. By using passive infrared scanners (PIRs), these thermostats sense when someone is present in the room without compromising privacy. The facilities manager sets presets for an “unoccupied” temperature, “night occupied” temperature, and a delay length after the last person was detected. After the delay, the thermostat can automatically adjust itself after a predetermined time to a preset “unoccupied” temperature that will end and readjust to the occupant’s specified temperature when someone returns to the room.

Integrating other sensors onto windows or sliding doors can yield further savings by overriding a system if a window or outside door is open for a set amount of time. These systems democratize temperature control, giving a little control to the facility while the occupant maintains primary control. An automatic adjustment of just a few degrees for unoccupied rooms can save hundreds of thousands of kilowatt-hours (and the associated costs). Energy management thermostats may also save both up-front energy and maintenance costs by reducing unnecessary unit and filter use, extending service life.

Energy management thermostats also enable demand response power use, a forward-looking approach to temperature control. The United States’ power infrastructure is aging, and the current demand for power far exceeds ideal operating conditions for the grid. Many local utilities are moving toward a demand response model, reducing low-priority energy during times of peak demand. Energy management thermostats reduce their power demand when an occupant is not present, which in turn reduces the demand of the entire facility on the power grid. Many utilities are beginning to subsidize the adoption of this technology, which helps the utility meet overall demand and can help individual facilities meet their sustainability goals and regulations like Boston’s BERDO.

Importantly, this type of thermostat system represents a lower cybersecurity risk. IT security is a growing priority to mitigate the risks of a breach. When energy management thermostats first entered the market, they relied on Wi-Fi, which clogged network bandwidth and presented an increased security risk. The data associated with smart thermostats is very benign, but these concerns represented a challenge to adoption. As technology has advanced, however, some energy management thermostat makers have designed their devices to run on sub-gigahertz meshing, eliminating reliance on Wi-Fi networks and the associated cybersecurity concerns.

Energy management thermostat systems may also have a fast return on investment. Although the initial cost may seem like a challenge to integrating this technology, shrewd facilities managers look past the initial price tag and consider case studies that assess payback periods and ROI. The direct reductions in energy and operational costs mean many smart systems pay for themselves in under a year and begin seeing pure returns on investment in about two. While a building’s construction will impact ROI, this may be an opportunity for a significant return in a short amount of time.

Retrofits Are Possible

Hotels, assisted living facilities, and other multi-unit buildings built even just a decade ago are old by smart thermostat standards. Most new construction will include energy management thermostats during the design and build processes. But, for existing buildings, retrofitting this technology can be physically and economically overwhelming and has presented a major challenge to those hoping to take advantage of these energy-saving advancements.

Some energy management thermostat companies have faced this challenge head-on, designing systems that more simply retrofit an older building. Features like sub-gigahertz operation cut out costs to connect each device to the Wi-Fi network and the cost of sustaining a Wi-Fi network robust enough to support hundreds of new devices. It also creates a more stable connection, even in facilities built with concrete and rebar. They also integrate with existing building management systems, adding their data to the existing system rather than requiring new or multiple management systems. A simpler retrofit may help buildings meet energy-saving mandates and benefit from energy-saving incentives from their utility provider.

Energy Management Thermostats: A Win-Win-Win

Few advancements in single-room occupancy and hospitality facilities have had the hand-over-fist benefits of energy management thermostat systems. Everyone benefits: Occupants remain comfortable and in control of their space; utilities see lower demand for power, allowing them to redirect power to areas of greater need; and facilities managers have greater visibility into their systems with a simple integration into existing BMS, even in existing buildings. They may experience lower risk to IT security and no taxing of Wi-Fi, and within a year or two, facilities could have not only earned back the initial cost but have begun to experience significant ROI. With benefits for all, energy management thermostats are the device of the future.

Andrew Cao is director of technology and product portfolio at Copeland, a global provider of sustainable climate solutions.

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