IBM Partnerships to Boost Energy Efficiency in Buildings

IBM has announced it is collaborating with a Honeywell division to deliver “smart” technologies and solutions to help companies improve the efficiency of their buildings including commercial and retail spaces, and Carnegie Mellon University to create smarter infrastructures, aimed at more efficient and cost-effective building management.

As part of its partnership with Tridium, a division of Honeywell’s Automation and Control Solutions group, the companies plan to integrate IBM Tivoli Monitoring for Energy Management and IBM Maximo Asset Management enterprise software with Tridium’s Niagara and Sedona software.

Tridium’s solutions enable the integration and control of nearly any device or system in a facility including HVAC equipment, lighting, generators, gas pumps, ovens, and medical devices.

By integrating IBM’s advanced software, which delivers real-time information, asset intelligence and analysis from virtually any device and sensor in the network, building managers will be able to determine if their buildings’ systems are operating at maximum performance.

IBM also announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to create the IBM Smarter Infrastructure Lab at the university to develop technologies that help cities, governments and industries develop smarter infrastructures. The lab is expected to be operational in the fall of 2010.

The new lab is part of the Pennsylvania Smarter Infrastructure Incubator (PSII). The lab will develop technologies that are in line with IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative and its business analytics and optimization offerings as well as CMU’s work within its Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research.

Researchers will collect and analyze data about the physical condition and energy efficiency of buildings, water pipelines and other infrastructure, which will be used to help develop technologies and solutions that will make the maintenance and management of such infrastructure more efficient and cost effective.

Government agencies along with businesses from diverse industry sectors will be invited to partner with the lab, either providing data from their infrastructures or complementary technologies to support the research.

A report released last year by the IBM Institute for Business Value makes the case for cities to use new technologies and tools to help them better manage their resources, while helping them reduce cost, increase reliability and lower energy and water consumption.