New software could reduce carbon emissions

Joulea, an Atlanta-based technology startup, is launching a new software system built to cut energy costs and reduce the carbon footprint of commercial buildings.

Started by Georgia Tech aerospace engineering alumnus Ramtin Motahar, Joulea’s tech uses rocket science principles and drone technology to optimize energy efficiency.

“Our technology takes a holistic approach by monitoring how all building systems and external factors interact so we can identify improvement opportunities and reduce operating costs,” said Ramtin Motahar, Joulea’s founder and CEO in a press release.

“We see our clients as astronauts, using our platform to collect information and aggregate building data. Joulea is ground control, analyzing the data to reduce inefficiencies, fueling greener decisionmaking and elevating our clients to new heights.”

On average, commercial buildings put one-third of their operating budget toward energy consumption. While these buildings are designed, built and operated under certain parameters, they rarely encounter ideal conditions, especially as they age.

Current energy management practices evaluate energy usage unilaterally, failing to optimize efforts across all building systems. This can result in up to 33% of the budget spent on energy to occur as waste. The average commercial building in the US is 53 years old, increasing the likelihood for inefficiencies from weathering and failures over its lifetime.

Joulea’s approach allows building assets to be managed using a comprehensive software platform. They start by creating an energy model of the building based on construction type, operation and location. Then, using energy use and building systems data, they create a building energy model. Through the use of drones, sensor images are collected and added to the model, producing an analysis of the entire integrated structure.

Finally, their specialized technology uses the model to create scenario analyses of renovation costs with their respective carbon emission reductions and financial payback of the improvements. This will help commercial building owners and asset managers understand how to improve their building.

Joulea uses new insights uncovered over time to proactively manage real-time changes in the building’s environment and reduce the model’s error rate. This can all happen in a matter of days compared to weeks-long wait experienced with other technology.

For more information on demos or pilot programs, please visit joulea.com/ get-demo.