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Smart Building Analytics Living Lab to open at Ryerson University

Schneider Electric’s Juan Macias noted this partnership reflects the need for the “advancement of data analytics and the use of IoT [internet of things] technologies to lower energy use in urban areas by providing higher building efficiencies”.

With the new lab, Ryerson students in engineering, architectural science, and computer and data science programs will have access to tools for developing, testing and optimizing technologies and approaches within the building management space. The lab will be used to demonstrate savings in energy consumption, and in capital and operating expenses for buildings of all sizes.

“Using the latest data analytics and IoT technologies, [the lab] will help [faculty and students] understand energy use in buildings like never before,” said Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, Ryerson’s president and vice-chancellor.

Slated to open late 2019 in Ryerson’s 111 Bond Street building, the lab will aim to increase knowledge and experience in areas such as:

• emerging HVAC systems,
• the optimization of existing HVAC systems, and
• data analytics algorithms, predictive models and machine learning approaches to support building performance improvement in real-time, considering both human effects and environmental conditions.

“The convergence of information technology and operational technology means bringing together applications and devices in innovative ways, and tying together systems that have primarily operated in isolation,” said Susan Uthayakumar, president, Schneider Electric Canada. “The Ryerson lab is a great forum to test these new integration possibilities.”

PHOTO (left to right): Adrian Thomas, Tom Duever, Jenn McArthur, Juan Macias, Mohamed Lachemi, Steven Liss, Ian Mishkel, Alan Fung, Bala Venkatesh. Photo courtesy Schneider Electric Canada. Photo by Clifton Li.