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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Efficiency goals will drive 4% growth in HVAC insulation: report
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. The drive for improved building energy efficiency will help push 4% growth in the U.S. HVAC insulation market between now and 2030, to $2.5 billion, according to a summary of a Grand View Research report. Not included, though, is any analysis of how the federal government's shift away from energy efficiency as a policy goal will affect market demand. 'Stringent building codes and energy efficiency standards [are] driving demand for high-quality insulation products,' says the June 3 report. 'Policies promoting energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction encourage the adoption of advanced HVAC insulation materials. Additionally, fire safety regulations and environmental compliance requirements compel manufacturers to innovate and ensure their products meet rigorous safety and sustainability criteria.' Sustainability-minded consumers are another driver, according to the report. 'Growing awareness about thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and sustainability is encouraging [manufacturers to adopt] advanced insulation materials,' it says. The industry is benefitting from dollars flowing into infrastructure and other big projects, too. 'The retrofit of existing infrastructure and growth in new commercial and residential construction projects also contribute to the expanding market,' the report says. Manufacturers' efforts to grab market share through innovation is making the market bigger by giving customers reason to upgrade existing systems. 'Technological advancements, including the integration of smart insulation systems and the development of vapor barriers and acoustic insulation, are enhancing product offerings and supporting the market's steady growth trajectory,' the report says. These technological advances include the use of bio-based and recycled materials, low-density insulation products like aerogels and vacuum-insulated panels, according to the report. The market faces restraints from fluctuating raw material prices, though. Price volatility can increase production costs and impact profit margins, according to the report. High initial investment costs for advanced insulation technologies may also slow adoption, at least among smaller construction firms or for retrofit projects, the report says. A skilled labor shortage is impacting the industry, too, because it takes specialized knowledge to install high-tech insulation systems properly and in a way that complies with regulatory standards. Another constraint could be the federal government's disengagement from energy efficiency as a goal, but the report leaves that unaddressed. Among other things, the Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget request proposes the elimination of the Energy Star program, which underpins much of the investment in energy-efficient building systems and appliances, and paring back tax credits that encourage companies to invest in energy-efficient systems. Companies in the HVAC insulation space include Saint-Gobain, Johns Manville, Knauf, Owens Corning, Glassrock Insulation and Armacell. Recommended Reading Trump administration plans to end popular Energy Star program Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Facility teams must align with the businesses they serve, experts say
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. Hybrid work has sparked a balancing act between employers and employees, driving facility leaders to create workplaces that satisfy both parties' needs, according to a series of global workplace and occupancy insight reports by CBRE and other analyses by integrated real estate management firms. Employees have become accustomed to choosing where to work, so employers must think about how flexible space can help them draw workers to the office, leaders at JLL said during a webinar on commercial real estate trends and rethinking space for smarter workplaces in 2025. Buildings need spaces, services and other amenities that are specific to the business to draw employees into the office, according to Chris Zlocki, head of client experience and executive vice president of occupier services at Colliers. 'It's really this whole microcosm of the environment that the office is in, the building itself, the office itself and the work you're doing,' he said. In the past, you could define a triple-A property based on the building itself, the space provided and amenities associated with it. Today, there is more complexity, with employees looking more at the environment or neighborhood, Zlocki told Facilities Dive 'When it comes to transportation, walkability, outdoor space, great amenities that are not only in the building but surrounding it, that becomes the first step in defining what's working,' he said. 'Because we're still competing with a hybrid world. What's the value of people coming into the office if they feel that they don't need to come in?' Obsolescence risk is a growing issue in the office sector, too, with tenants moving from lower-class to higher-class buildings, JLL said in a May report. Factors that lead to obsolescence include a lack of amenities, the absence of structural flexibility and poor energy performance, the report says. The spread in vacancy rates between prime and non-prime vacancy rates grew by 4.4 percentage points in Q1, CBRE said in its Q1 U.S. office report, reflecting a strong preference for quality buildings in well-connected, amenity-rich locations, CBRE said. The rates are now 14.8% for prime and 19.2% for non-prime. Owners and operators must consider the limited demand for class B and C assets or the lack of supply of top-tier assets in future forecasting and long-term planning, JLL said in its report. To help navigate these challenges, Colliers in May launched Portfolio AI, a tool within the Colliers360 business analytics suite that gives building owners and portfolio managers analytics, predictive modeling and market insights that can help them optimize space. By using AI-assisted cost modeling to look at real estate footprints, Portfolio AIcan help operators with site-specific recommendations and give advice on what workspaces can be consolidated, which properties can be eliminated and what capital expenditures make sense, Colliers says in a May 27 release. Prior to Portfolio AI's launch, Colliers tested it across a global dataset of over 1,500 locations totaling approximately 100 million square feet and about $1.5 million in annual real estate costs. Almost half of the locations could benefit from strategic adjustments recommended by the tool, with approximately 10% in cost savings, Colliers said. 'What we're trying to do is help clients get as rational as they can be in terms of the amount of spend they have, as well as balancing that against the right type of employee experience,' Zlocki told Facilities Dive. 'What is the capital expenditure that goes along with a move and the ROI associated with it? Everything has an efficiency gain opportunity, and that's really what we're trying to identify.' To ensure this, facility teams need a better relationship with the businesses they work with, Zlocki said. 'One of the key challenges I'm seeing is in the alignment between real estate facility teams assessing and really having a handle on where the future of those businesses are going,' he said. '[Facility teams] should be asking questions like 'What is your implementation plan? What is your future headcount growth, or the variability in that growth based on the use of technology?' Zlocki said. If they can't answer those questions, they may be leaving an opportunity on the table when they look at their next lease opportunity three to five years down the road, he said. 'There are a lot of operational functions that are going to be affected by the use of AI,' he said. 'The real question is when is that going to happen, and when is the business projecting to use that. If the business doesn't have an answer for that, then I think you've done your job as a real estate facilities leader to be able to push them to think about the use of the technology and the evolution of their business operations.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Realcomm IBCon: Don't wait to implement AI in building operations
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. SAVANNAH, Ga. — Thousands of building operators and other real estate professionals are gathering this week for Realcomm IBCon, the annual conference showcasing the latest technology for improving properties and their operations. The focus this year, unsurprisingly, is the potential of AI and how to implement it. 'There are now two worlds,' Jim Young, founder and CEO of Realcomm Conference Group, said Monday. 'The real estate world that works at one speed, and the AI world that is not slowing down.' Those that put in the time and effort to adapt to the new technology will define the future of real estate, technology leaders said at the opening session – while those that don't are destined to be defined by it. This year's conference — The New ROI: Return on Innovation — features more than 150 exhibitors showcasing their use of AI, 5G, immersive experiences, IoT, cybersecurity and other innovations changing the way building operators do their work. Among the companies represented are property management software providers like MRI Software and Visitt and data analytics providers like Cherre and VTS. Big and small building automation companies like Johnson Controls and Kode Labs are there, too. Omar Tabba, chief product officer at BrainBox AI, a building management platform provider, was there to show how his company's ARIA platform can enable facility managers to diagnose comfort issues from anywhere, arming them with an AI-driven tool to respond to out-of-the-ordinary conditions or building systems that aren't functioning correctly. 'ARIA does an analysis, like any facilities professional would do,' Tabba said. 'It fetches the outside air temperature, the average indoor temperature, the set point range and the outdoor and indoor relative humidity. It goes through each of the rooftops and sees that cooling is active with all three stages going on the rooftop units. Basically, it's comfortable, but humid, and the recommendations are to check the dehumidification and system balancing.' While these are standard checks for any facilities manager or HVAC maintenance technician, it may normally take 30 to 40 minutes to pull up and look at all these factors, he said. 'This takes about five seconds [with ARIA], and is a great example of agentic AI and generative AI being used in real buildings, with real equipment, solving real-world problems,' Tabba said. 'Basically collapsing the time required for someone to diagnose the same exact thing.' Seminars, workshops and exhibitions begin Tuesday. A number of companies will have a forum later this week to showcase how they're using AI. Attendees will be able to walk around at their own speed and have conversations and get answers to questions they have about AI opportunities and challenges, said Sarah Bemporad, strategic director of content development and production at Realcomm. Recommended Reading How JLL sees facilities managers benefitting from AI Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cisco, Environments partnership aims for better building data
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. Smart space management provider Environments has been named a Cisco Advisor Select Partner, broadening its access to the enterprise network infrastructure provider's technologies, the companies announced in May. Environments uses endpoints — cameras, sensors, thermostats, lighting controls, speakers, security devices and shades — to create IoT ecosystems that can help operators optimize energy and integrate building systems. The Advisor Select partnership will help both companies improve network integration and automation for offices, education, healthcare and retail spaces, as well as industrial facilities and data centers, according to the release. The partnership between the two companies represents 'one of Cisco's first to be focused solely on smart buildings and [operational technology and information technology] integration,' Environments says. Smart building controls could be a key for facilities managers to address aging infrastructure and workforces, according to a report released last month by Trane. To address these concerns, operators are working to implement building modernization and smart technology infrastructure to improve their facilities. Smart building technology can keep environments running by helping to implement proactive monitoring, remote diagnostics, custom contingency planning and service-level agreements that can extend equipment life with tailored maintenance plans, Trane says in the report. In the office, smart building technology can help operators gain insight into space utilization and occupant experience in order to better adjust and manage the environments. 'When it comes to driving technology, it's about knowing who's in your space and who visits your space. When you understand that, how long they stay and where they go, you begin to understand the value of your real estate,' Erin McDannald, CEO of Environments, told Facilities Dive. 'It can really help you understand who's collaborating with whom, and if they're actually collaborating when they come into the office.' For example, when Environments' own employees began to return to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, McDannald noticed that there was not enough collaboration occurring – evidenced by lower decibels in the office. 'They were really quiet. The decibels were low, and people weren't talking,' McDannald said. 'So we created cross-departmental teams to combat that and get everybody reacquainted with each other, and we were able to turn our lack of collaboration around.' Strengthening the integration between operational and information technology helps employees collaborate while providing valuable data to operators, Snorre Kjesbu, senior vice president and general manager of collaboration and employee experience technology at Cisco, told Facilities Dive. 'They want to know if they need more rooms. Which rooms are used the most and which ones are used less?' he said. 'So it's not only about occupation [of the building]. It's also about getting more information out of that building,' Kjesbu said. Recommended Reading Johnson Controls, FM:Systems energy technologies can provide 155% ROI: Forrester
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Multi-site property management tools come to market
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. Facility managers in charge of multiple locations have new options at their disposal to help manage operations, with Ecotrak launching a self-service computerized maintenance management system and Mallcomm rebranding as Kinexio and launching a property management platform, the companies announced Monday. Ecotrak Build is a self-service computerized maintenance management system that aims to make it easier for small businesses to install a CMMS system by removing implementation delays and expensive onboarding. To that end, the company has priced the platform at $25 a month per location, with support for up to 10 locations as part of a 30-day free trial. Owners and operators can sign up in minutes, set up locations, and receive instant access to pre-vetted service providers, Ecotrak said Monday in a release. The platform also offers unlimited work orders and invoices and a mobile app for on-the-go service requests, and is 'ideal for quick-service restaurants, franchise owners, coffee shops, gyms, salons, convenience stores, and any other small business that depends on equipment working day in and day out,' Ecotrak says. The launch comes a year after Ecotrak raised $30 million to bolster product development. In Mallcomm's rebranded Kinexio move, the company launched a property management application that includes an AI-driven data and intelligence platform. The platform launch follows the company's acquisition of MyTAG in November, which allowed the company to improve its capabilities in compliance, operational performance and security, Kinexio said in a release. The new platform will continue to support core property management functions spanning work order tracking, facilities oversight, compliance management, vendor coordination, security communication, tenant engagement and asset management, according to the release. In addition, it will also provide proactive issue detection and intelligence that 'was previously buried in disconnected systems,' Kinexio said. The company accomplishes this by using AI to collect, unify and analyze operational and transactional data — including sales, maintenance logs, vendor performance, security incidents and occupier engagement metrics — across entire portfolios, it says. 'We've gone from enabling properties to be run more efficiently to giving our clients a competitive edge through data,' Kinexio CEO David Fuller-Watts said in a statement. 'With our acquisition of MyTAG and our AI-enriched data capabilities, we're uniquely positioned to help our customers use their data to drive better outcomes—from asset performance and leasing strategy to compliance, security, and customer experience.' Kinexio supports more than 2,200 properties and 600,000 connected users across more than 85,000 retailers, the firm said. Recommended Reading FM Technology Outlook: Will AI lead to efficiency gains in 2025? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
