West Coast Invest saves more than 40% energy usage after installing Airthings sensors

The Client - West Coast Invest AS
In a bid to save energy and cut costs, West Coast Invest, a leading European investment firm that works with property development, trade, and shipping, chose Airthings to tackle the excessive electricity consumption in one of their buildings. Founded in 1962, West Coast Invest has grown its property portfolio to over 270,000 square meters and is increasingly focused on environmentally and energy-friendly solutions. 

The Problem - how to rehabilitate an older building 
When investigating how to become more energy efficient, West Coast Invest decided to test possible solutions on some of the buildings in their portfolio. They had previously been recommended to undergo total rehabilitation of some of their buildings to improve energy efficiency but wanted to explore other options before taking that step which would be very costly, time-consuming, and might even increase their carbon footprint. 

Convinced that there was a more efficient solution that could build on existing infrastructure, West Coast Invest took to the market to see what the newest in IoT sensors and monitoring had to offer. They came across Energy Control, an Airthings for Business partner, and wished to test the air quality solution that could reportedly save them money. The building selected to test the Airthings for Business solution was located in Bergen, Norway, was about 3,000m³, and was built in the 2000s. One of the main issues identified by the facility manager Arild Kallestad was that the building's ventilation system was running at full capacity around the clock, and had even tripped the main fuse due to the high energy use. This seemed like a great place to start trying to solve the energy usage problem. 

The Solution - air quality monitor installation and overview
50 Airthings Space CO₂ air quality monitors were installed in the building. Initially, a simple time control system was implemented which turned off the building's ventilation system outside of opening hours. However, the data available from the sensors was also able to show the most occupied parts of the building and the possibility of further efficiencies and savings. This data was accessible via the air quality and energy dashboard built by Airthings for Business and gave insights into both room temperatures and power consumption for the entire building. 

The Result - savings of NOK 464,000 ($42,000) 
Once the sensors were in place long enough to collect sufficient data, the energy usage could be calculated using the air quality and occupancy data. Guided by data-based insights, the facility manager and his team were able to control the ventilation system based on occupancy and air quality metrics, only heating and ventilating when necessary and thus avoiding waste. This seemingly small change led to the energy usage of the building plummeting from 616,000 KWh to 350,000 KWh all without compromising on air quality or comfort. The savings acquired by West Coast Invest amounted to a whopping NOK 464,000. Ultimately, their investment in the Airthings for Business solution was a fraction of the cost of a total rehabilitation that had previously been considered.

The project's success exceeded the company's initial expectations, and plans are already underway to implement the Airthings for Business solution in other buildings in their portfolio. Thanks to the wireless sensor-based control, the company can look forward to significant savings in the future, while also doing its part for the environment.

Text adapted from the article posted at estatenyheter.no translated and edited to English.