Green IT: Acadia Dashboard Development Project Jan 2011 What is a Dashboard? Dashboards are software programs that track the exact amount of energy being consumed in a building at any given moment and displays the information to you in real-time. Water consumption can also be incorporated into these systems. Many companies and educational institutions have installed dashboard systems to help analyze and reduce their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. How exactly do they help do this? It is generally accepted that you can’t manage what you can’t measure; dashboards allow building managers to access information easily to more efficiently measure, monitor and manage electricity and fuel use in a building. Also, communicating information about energy use and performance to building occupants is a critical component in facility behaviour management programs. In the same way that your car dashboard gives you information about your speed and when to fill your gas tank, by presenting real-time information to building users, dashboards serve as a communications tool and reminder to modify behaviors to conserve energy use (e.g. turn off printers and lights). Dashboards also facilitate energy competitions between residences, which help to motivate energy reductions, by presenting performance in an engaging and educational format. Dashboards can be implemented in a variety of ways. Lucid Design Group is a market leader and many institutions have opted to purchase and install this product or a similar version developed by companies such as Pulse Energy. Other institutions have opted for a homemade solution, and have developed their own dashboard systems, customized to their specific campus environment. Some examples below are from the University of British Columbia, Hamilton College and Dartmouth College in the United States. Energy at Acadia Recognizing our unique responsibility to serve as a living model for sustainability, Acadia has undertaken many initiatives to reduce electricity and fuel consumption, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Through a contract with Johnson Controls the overall energy efficiency of campus has been improved and many buildings are now integrated into an automated control system. Other campus energy
Green IT: Acadia Dashboard Development Project Jan 2011 What is a Dashboard? Dashboards are software programs that track the exact amount of energy being consumed in a building at any given moment and displays the information to you in real-time. Water consumption can also be incorporated into these systems. Many companies and educational institutions have installed dashboard systems to help analyze and reduce their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. How exactly do they help do this? It is generally accepted that you can’t manage what you can’t measure; dashboards allow building managers to access information easily to more efficiently measure, monitor and manage electricity and fuel use in a building. Also, communicating information about energy use and performance to building occupants is a critical component in facility behaviour management programs. In the same way that your car dashboard gives you information about your speed and when to fill your gas tank, by presenting real-time information to building users, dashboards serve as a communications tool and reminder to modify behaviors to conserve energy use (e.g. turn off printers and lights). Dashboards also facilitate energy competitions between residences, which help to motivate energy reductions, by presenting performance in an engaging and educational format. Dashboards can be implemented in a variety of ways. Lucid Design Group is a market leader and many institutions have opted to purchase and install this product or a similar version developed by companies such as Pulse Energy. Other institutions have opted for a homemade solution, and have developed their own dashboard systems, customized to their specific campus environment. Some examples below are from the University of British Columbia, Hamilton College and Dartmouth College in the United States. Energy at Acadia Recognizing our unique responsibility to serve as a living model for sustainability, Acadia has undertaken many initiatives to reduce electricity and fuel consumption, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Through a contract with Johnson Controls the overall energy efficiency of campus has been improved and many buildings are now integrated into an automated control system. Other campus energy