BMS & Green Tech Solutions cuts energy use in buildings by 20%

April 2nd, 2012By Category: Uncategorized

Paul D Taylor, Country Manager, BMS & Green Tech Solutions

Energy conservation, along with absolute facility control and real time power consumption data, is a hot topic in Japan right now, especially with the country facing higher electricity fees this spring for the commercial sector, and the prospect of power shortages in the summer. Many building managers are searching for ways to lower their energy use and control power costs.

One company which has the ideal solution is Sweden’s BMS & Green Tech Solutions. It has developed building automation technology that controls, monitors and optimizes heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, alarm systems and other electrical appliances. The facility maintenance chief or facility manager can control everything with a single computer either on-site or remotely. The result is a remarkable 20% or more reduction in energy usage, and valuable time saving in labor.

BMS & Green Tech Solutions has been in Japan since January with Paul Taylor as country manager and director of business development and sales. Born in the UK, Taylor first came to Japan in 1991. He worked in Tokyo for a bio-energy company as the director of sales and marketing, for an executive search company as a recruiter for various industries and for a Japanese real estate company in charge of large facility accounts.

Currently working out of the Swedish Embassy, which is a showcase for the BMS & Green Tech Solutions system, Taylor is busy spreading the message and winning new clients. Japan Today visits Taylor at the embassy to hear more about BMS & Green Tech Solutions.

What is BMS & Green Tech Solutions all about?

BMS stands for Building Management System. It is a system that gives the operator of a building total and absolute control over every mechanical and electrical component within a building. In larger buildings, you have teams of engineers making routine checks on mechanical components all day long, checking sensors, valves, thermostats, and more, documenting readings and in some cases manually pushing buttons. With our system, you could have one engineer monitoring 100 buildings on a computer. The facility manager can control and pinpoint trouble instantly in any of the buildings linked to the system.

The brain box of the system is a touch screen industrially made computer unit, installed with the latest software which in turn connects and communicates with carbon units, that then runs to the building through all the sensors, thermostats and other mechanical units. It’s a simple installation and all goes into one electrical panel which then connects into the Internet or Intranet. You can either control it from the building electrical panel, or by another computer both on site or remotely.

What are the savings?

It’s been proven that you can save 20% on energy usage, through an energy management tool called the Optimizer. It analyzes the data from all the systems in the building. The system can be set and tuned by a number of ways from simple timer settings, to highly professionally engineered tuning, a little bit like the engine of a sports car. Performance of a good setting is of high benefit and saving, to the user, plus it can be seen immediately. Other savings for the end user are time and labor costs, along with being able to pinpoint troubles before the tenants or occupant of the property makes a complaint. Having the power to control your building means that you don’t need worry about human error — relying on staff to save energy by switching lights off at the end of the day is a thing of the past.

What kind of buildings benefit from your system?

Any building that wants to show results in energy management reduction and wants full control of a single structure or even a campus or portfolio of properties. Hospitals or a series of buildings like in a university or governmental and military complex, shopping malls, retail stores, hotels and office buildings can use our systems to full advantage by controlling each room or floor, and embassies, too. Most buildings can benefit, and the age of the building his absolutely no issue at all.

This is a critical time for Japan in terms of energy use.

Yes, and now is a good time for us to be here. Buildings need to really do something about cutting down on energy usage. The government is offering a 50% subsidy, in many cases putting in half the money. Essentially, by installing our system, you get some very advanced green tech, which will also increase the market value of your property at half price. So it’s hard to find a reason not to, really. What we offer is about a third of the price of what our competitors have, but with the latest tech solution of BMS control. Not only do you get a high performance tailor-made system, but you also get the easiest to use software, and nearly all updates are free.

How easy is it to use?

It is very user-friendly. Pictures that you touch then lead to deeper mechanisms and settings. I have seen a number of different systems, with a number of facility managers who do not know how to use those, complex systems. With BMS & Green Tech Solutions, a facility manager can do everything from one computer and they don’t even need to be on location. Most of the time the system runs on its own. The facility manager can be in another building with just as much control as being in the actual building. You can even handle it with a mobile device.

What if something goes wrong?

If there is a problem, say a pump stops running, or a valve is stuck, an alarm is sent by the building via email or SMS. We have back-up solutions that can divert through the Internet. The beauty of our system is that you the owner can choose your favorite property managers or facility managers and they can receive the warning for prompt action and call-out time. We can also recommend the facility management company that we have as our certified team.

Is the system difficult to install?

No, there is no real need for any major construction, most of the work is performed within the electrical panel located in the facility management office. However, it does need to be installed by what we call a certified integrator, which is a company or engineer who has been trained and is allowed to install the system. Strict quality lines must be followed on the installation, and a perfect installation will run without defect for many years. The system here in the embassy has been working like a dream for 10 years now — that is solid proof.

How are you marketing the BMS solution?

Right now, I book around 3-4 meetings a day. Any individual who understands the need and benefit of what we are doing is always a good meeting and always keen to meet. I am working with a couple of major top Japanese companies; we have been put under the gun and passed all technical questions with flying colors, and are now recognized as the solution they are looking for to offer to their own clients — asset management funds, facility and property managers, retailers, and all who realize they need to show more return from their properties.

We don’t really need to advertise. We select who we believe will benefit and understand the rewards. So far this year, in just three months, we have already established very interested clients and we are working on proposals and installations.

What are your expansion plans?

In the future, the company will grow and we shall be hiring more key professionals, staff, and certified installers. We are always looking for good people. Our main goal is to keep this solution and technology affordable and totally flexible. We are not here to take over your buildings. We are here to provide a solution at unbeatable rates and tailor-made solutions. Every client has different needs, and our job is to work with our clients. I hope to be invited for more presentations at large building management companies because it is a win, win, win, solution for all. To get into new construction projects from the very beginning is for sure our target, although right now we are very busy with existing properties, buildings and their owners.

For further information, contact paul.taylor@bmsgreentech.com or call 03-3560-3102. 

Author of this article

GaijinPot

GaijinPot is an online community for foreigners living in Japan, providing information on everything you need to know about enjoying life here, from finding a job and accommodation to having fun.

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