Student Accommodation
Smarter energy management for student accommodation
Smarter energy management for student accommodation
Smarter energy management for student accommodation, or purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) presents the asset or facility manager with a central system that is linked to all the rooms in a building or across the estate. The system provides real-time data on individual student rooms and can remotely control installed heating and cooling systems. This enables the asset to be managed in a way that optimises its energy usage and matches the thermal comfort of students in individual rooms or apartments.
Inefficiencies in energy use can be reduced by turning off heaters or air conditioning units when rooms are left unoccupied during the day and for prolonged holiday periods. Reports generated by the system can be used to highlight faults with equipment, set up maintenance schedules, and provide insight into the most appropriate areas for improving energy efficiency. This can deliver a PBSA that maximises the uptime of its equipment and optimises energy efficient practices to reduce costs and deliver a better experience for the students within the accommodation.
There are two types of energy management systems available. One is the Smarter air conditioning energy management and the other is Smarter panel heater energy management.
Smarter air conditioning energy management
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Smarter panel heater energy management
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How does Smarter energy management for student accommodation work?
Smarter energy management for student accommodation works by creating a central system that can monitor room conditions and control the air temperature in the individual rooms across the student estate. The system in a PBSA uses a network of in room sensors to gather real time data on the occupancy status and temperature profile of individual rooms.
The controls within heaters and air conditioning units are networked to heaters and/or air conditioning units. The networked Smarter energy management system can then be used to remotely control the settings of these heating and cooling systems. It is possible to turn these systems off completely if a room is unoccupied or doesn’t need to be heated or cooled.
Students can still control their room temperature via a thermostat to achieve their desired level of thermal comfort, however, limits can be set by the energy management system to avoid students inadvertently using excessive energy to heat a room.
The Smarter panel heater by SmarterDM is an energy management system that has already been installed in over 1500 purpose-built student accommodation bedrooms. Its smart controls allow heating and cooling to be scheduled during times that use the most cost-effective Time of Use (TOU) tariff to minimise heating costs. The room telemetry data gathered by sensors can be used to plan maintenance effectively around occupancy times and can help report faults for quick response or repair and troubleshoot or reset devices without the need to send out engineers.
The benefits of Smarter energy management in student accommodation
Minimal disruption during installation
The replacement of old heaters with those networked to energy management systems can be done quickly in a cost-effective manner and with minimal disruption to students. The redecoration needed following the installation of a Smarter energy management system is minimal.
Limits inefficiencies in energy use
As the price of the energy students use is often included as a flat-rate fee, they are unable to see or experience the financial cost of poor energy management practices. The Smarter energy management system can monitor and limit the impact of any inefficient student practices.
Provides PBSA with insights that can help reduce energy costs
The real time data and detailed reports available from networked energy management systems by SmarterDM for a PBSA provide the asset or facility manager with valuable insights into the energy profile of the whole student estate. It enables heating and cooling schedules to be optimised and monitored. This helps to save energy costs without impacting the thermal comfort of students.
Energy management system reduces the environmental impact for PBSA
The increase in energy efficiency delivered by an Smarter energy management system also reduces the operational carbon emissions associated with the student accommodation. This improves the sustainability profile of the asset.
Effective fault reporting and swift repair scheduling
Smarter energy management gives the asset manager the ability to reset thermostat limits, adjust temperatures and carry out remote troubleshooting. This speeds up the resolution of any faults arising with the heating or cooling systems in student accommodation.
Maximise the benefits of Time of Use tariffs
Smart IoT energy management systems can be used in student accommodation to use energy when the tariff price is at its lowest. Where tariffs vary prices in a dynamic way, smart energy management can react accordingly to their variable nature to minimise energy costs for the building.
Read our case study to learn more about the success of SmarterDM in purpose-built student accommodation.
What are the types of energy management for student accommodation
Energy management for student accommodation can be networked to panel heater technology or air conditioning units. In both cases the key financial benefits of energy management can be realised when steps are taken to increase energy efficiency across the student estate.
Smarter Panel heater energy management
Smarter Panel heater energy management combines panel heaters with smart control technology to form a system that can effectively manage peaks in energy demand. It gives asset managers the tools to remotely control panel heaters to stop them heating unoccupied rooms. Thermostats can be set to work within a temperature range that delivers thermal comfort for the students whilst optimising energy efficiency. Smarter Panel Heaters also have intelligent on board controls that include technologies such as Open Window Detection and Adaptive Start. These bring additional ways to help save energy when used as part of the panel heater energy management network.
Smarter air conditioning
If cooling is required in student accommodation, then air conditioning energy management systems are available to allow remote control of the a/c equipment. The Smarter air conditioning energy management networks with new or existing air conditioning controls. It provides fully customisable energy scheduling for asset and facility managers. With the help of energy usage profiles, the most energy efficient and cooling strategy for each room can be implemented and equipment can be turned off in those rooms that are left unoccupied.
As up to 70% of running costs for student accommodation can come from the energy used for heating, whatever type of energy management system is chosen the savings generated can be significant.
