Maintenance employees at business buildings, condos and apartments are used to tinkering with the heating and cooling systems in an effort to find the sweet spot that will silence any antsy phone calls from workers or tenants about the temperature for as long as possible.
Toronto-based Parity has an AI system akin to a smart thermostat for the whole building in that it manages heating, cooling, hot water and booster pumps. Macdonald said the system adjusts and monitors a building’s temperature levels by assessing the current weather, and it has the potential to improve a property’s energy efficiency by up to 25 per cent, thereby improving the bottom line. He said the system pays for itself within two or three years.
“There is a straight-line correlation between sustainable operations and the bottom line, and if you can operate sustainably, you will lower operating costs,” he said. “At a general level, it’s exciting, but it’s day one. There’s a whole movement towards proptech and it’s massive because of the operational benefits.”
“Just having a well-designed building or a well-insulated building or just putting on a sweater instead of turning up the heat or having the appropriate window shades is all you need,” she said. “We can make buildings that speak to humans,” Robinson said. “From the building’s point of view, you make the building more efficient, but it also helps from the point of view of the people working in the building.”