Michael E. Murray
Lucid Design Group
Building Dashboard® monitors building resource consumption such as electricity, water and natural gas in real time and visualizes it on the web. Building occupants, managers and visitors…
What is the role of your product in the development of today’s leading architectural ideas?
Building Dashboard® monitors building resource consumption such as electricity, water and natural gas in real time and visualizes it on the web. Building occupants, managers and visitors can view, compare and share resource information online. Building occupants have a significant impact on performance; particularly in high performance buildings, discretionary loads can account for a substantial portion of energy and water use. Building Dashboard provides feedback to educate, motivate and empower building occupants to reduce their consumption.
What are the latest innovative developments that you are working on?
Earlier this year, Lucid Design Group released Building Dashboard Network, the first social network for buildings. In the Network, organizations and buildings have profile pages with various apps and widgets that allow occupants to set budgets, track periods of highest use, host reduction competitions, create energy mob events and communicate to other occupants about conservation measures. By linking resource use with other social destinations, like Facebook, the Network creates a compelling social context that further motivates users to reduce consumption.
“Architects can help the owner manage & reduce their utility bills over time by putting some simple meters into the design. We see new buildings without meters all the time, and it’s a shame! “
Human behavior is often overlooked in the areas of architecture and environmental performance. There are technical and design-related solutions to minimize resource consumption, but there are behavioral issues as well. Even the “smartest” green building can have “dumb” occupants who waste electricity. Our technology is aimed at encouraging greater interaction between occupants and the built environment, and promoting a greater understanding of the invisible flows of energy that power our spaces. The more visible we can make energy use, the more attention it will get. The “building of the future” that we envision is not necessarily a new form with new materials, but rather a highly interactive structure in which energy use is everyone’s problem and requires building occupants’ consideration to manage it effectively.
Explain how your expertise was used in and contributed to the success of a particular project?
In 2009, Building Dashboard was installed in the LEED Platinum office of DPR Construction, Inc. in San Diego, CA. The building was designed to be net-zero energy, with a photovoltaic array and a variety of energy-efficient design elements. During the first four months of occupancy, the staff noticed evening electricity consumption significantly higher than had been predicted by the energy model. With help from their green team and facilities management, DRP was able to identify and eliminate plug loads and equipment that were running at night, helping the building achieve net zero.
How can vendors push the boundaries of what is possible in advancing innovative design and architecture?
Human behavior is often overlooked in the areas of architecture and environmental performance. There are technical and design-related solutions to minimize resource consumption, but there are behavioral issues as well. Even the “smartest” green building can have “dumb” occupants who waste electricity. Our technology is aimed at encouraging greater interaction between occupants and the built environment, and promoting a greater understanding of the invisible flows of energy that power our spaces. The more visible we can make energy use, the more attention it will get. The “building of the future” that we envision is not necessarily a new form with new materials, but rather a highly interactive structure in which energy use is everyone’s problem and requires building occupants’ consideration to manage it effectively.
Explain how your expertise was used in and contributed to the success of a particular project?
In 2009, Building Dashboard was installed in the LEED Platinum office of DPR Construction, Inc. in San Diego, CA. The building was designed to be net-zero energy, with a photovoltaic array and a variety of energy-efficient design elements. During the first four months of occupancy, the staff noticed evening electricity consumption significantly higher than had been predicted by the energy model. With help from their green team and facilities management, DRP was able to identify and eliminate plug loads and equipment that were running at night, helping the building achieve net zero.