Albuquerque First City to have Real Time Facility Energy Optimization
Albuquerque First City to have Real Time Facility Energy Optimization
First of its kind tool enables city to manage water, power and light across 600+ facilities.
ALBUQUERQUE – The City of Albuquerque recently unveiled the Balanced Resource Acquisition and Information Network (B.R.A.I.N.), a first- in-the-nation resource that will help fight against climate change while saving taxpayer dollars. The B.R.A.I.N. allows the City to monitor utility use across all 681 facilities in real time.
“Reaching 88% energy from renewable sources was a great achievement earlier this year,” said Saif Ismail, Division Manager for the City’s Energy & Sustainability Division. “The B.R.A.I.N. is our newest tool, and should be a great help to us in reaching 100% energy from renewable resources in the coming years.”
“Together, we are building a sustainable city and taking the next big step towards 100% renewable energy use. The B.R.A.I.N. is about being responsive to taxpayers today and to our planet for future generations," said Mayor Tim Keller. "By pioneering this tool in Albuquerque, we hope that other cities will adopt the technology and reduce energy and water waste across the US."
The B.R.A.I.N. is a real time monitoring software platform fully integrated identify and address critical issues in regards to energy and water use across city facilities. In addition, it will also allow the City to identify and address facilities that use more resources than others. BRAIN was custom developed by the CABQ with support from local firm, Mountain Vector.
The B.R.A.I.N. shows energy and utility usage for all City facilities in real time.
What makes the B.R.A.I.N. so unique is its ability to allow the Energy and Sustainability division to track energy and utility usage at each individual facility, allowing immediate problem solving in the case of a leak or any other kind of issue and ultimately freeing up tax-payer dollars to go to critical services, rather than facility maintenance.
The dashboard can also show energy and utility usage for each individual facility.
Room-by-room analysis also ensures that all facilities under the City umbrella are operating as efficiently as possible. Whether it be automating automatic turn-off times for lights or climate control when employees are not in the office, the B.R.A.I.N. allows the City to take the next steps in the waste reduction necessary to become the nation’s first city powered 100% by renewable resources by 2025.
In addition to real-time reporting, the B.R.A.I.N. will also eventually feature an online portal that gives the public access to the City’s energy and utility savings in real time.
The Public Dashboard will soon be available for public consumption at cabq.gov.
“This is a first-of-its-kind type of project,” said Sarah Cottrell Propst, Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “We are so proud to have played a part in funding this and providing technical assistance to the effort.”
The B.R.A.I.N. has been in development for roughly 12 months, and was built in collaboration with the State of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department.
Video of the unveiling of the network is available here.
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