Shift Towards Energy Efficient Buildings
Whether the drive toward energy-efficient buildings comes from a desire to contribute to environmental sustainability or for the cost benefits of energy savings, today buildings are expected to be energy-efficient. Making buildings energy efficient can go far beyond using green renewable energy sources and improved insulation. Today, PoE networks are becoming a mechanism for maximizing energy savings and improving overall building efficiencies. Using proven PoE technology, Nexos provides a tightly integrated lighting application that can provide significantly more energy savings than switching to LEDs alone. Part of the additional savings come from the learnings captured in the Igor software data analytics program. Igor's advanced analytics software can provide learnings, optimizations, and - eventually - set the state for artificial intelligence (AI) to find opportunities to improve efficiencies. Igor’s PoE technology creates staggering power efficiencies - saving costs and creating improved residential, office, and retail environments - transforming buildings into “agile assets.”
Retrofitting Old Structures
This agility is important as, historically, lighting technology has been slow to change. It has been extremely difficult to retrofit older electrical lighting systems with something new. One benefit of PoE technology is the ability to be flexible - both in the initial installation and for changes in the future. While new buildings have the luxury of starting with the best technology, PoE can be used just as easily in a retrofit. By giving older buildings new life and transforming them into agile assets, the environmental impact can be further mitigated by extending the lift of existing structures. Using PoE to retrofit an old building causes fewer disruptions than typical electrical installs to the building's occupants, is safer due to the low voltage installation and can be done much more quickly. And once installed, it is highly adaptable and can accommodate future energy efficient devices or applications thanks to its open API software.
Igor has extensive experience integrating its PoE platform into existing buildings and can partner with contractors and cabling specialists to provide training and education on building retrofits.
Open API and the Digital Ceiling
An additional benefit of Nexos is the ability to create a flexible digital building on an open API platform. Imagine connecting all devices in a building - lights, fans, security systems, temperature sensors, occupant tracking, and more - to the Igor PoE platform, Nexos, as part of a digital building strategy. This can be done as Igor-enabled devices use plug-and-play technology, modular connectors, and do not require high-voltage wiring. It's through this technology that Igor is able to bring a building "to life" and work for a building's business needs rather than remain static to the original specifications and needs at the original installation.
Part of what makes this flexibility possible is that Nexos was designed with an open API software. The platform allows third-party vendors to create programs that run on one software system to enhance the user's ability to control, manage, and understand the connected devices. A business could create their own custom applications meet unique business and building needs. Innovative users and vendors could tap into the control platform to create their own custom intelligent LED lighting controls, settings and action sets on the PoE network. Whatever the specific needs a building requires, an application can be created to automate energy management, reduce costs, and increase overall functionality.
Igor’s open API offers nearly limitless possibilities for how a building built on Nexos can be controlled and automated, proving that Igor is the industry choice to meet the needs of building owners and occupants today and in the future. This is the Igor vision: Smart buildings enable unlimited possibilities.