Homes and
\nother properties contain an increasing number of IoT sensors and smart devices
\nthat provide data relating to their environment. Cozify wanted to demonstrate
\nhow that data could be used to create comfortable indoor conditions for people,
\nand save money while doing so.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Cozify <\/a>is a Finnish startup that develops hardware and software for smart homes and buildings. Their flagship product, Cozify Hub, is a wireless consumer appliance that connects smart devices supplied by various manufacturers into a unified whole. For professional use, the company recently launched Cozify Pro\u2014an advanced version of the hub.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see Cozify does The experimentation The Another big Cozify \u201cWe had no The experimentation Cozify has collaborated \u201cOur For more information, send email to![\"Kimmo](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/kimmo-ruotoistenmaki-cozify.jpg\")
\nourselves as an IoT platform company,\u201d says Kimmo Ruotoistenm\u00e4ki<\/strong>, the CEO and co-founder of Cozify. \u201cOur
\nstrength is that we are standard-neutral, aiming to connect with any
\nconceivable smart device out there. The system is easy to set up, even for a non-professional.
\nFurthermore, you can build your own smart applications on top of our platform
\nand make use of real time data from different systems.\u201d<\/p>\nFrom Smart Homes to Smart
\nBuildings<\/h2>\n
\nnot limit itself to consumer applications. First apartment houses were Cozified
\nin 2016. Also, Senate Properties, the Finnish government\u2019s corporate real estate
\ncompany, has used their expertise on smart building projects. The experience
\nencouraged Cozify to start a new experiment, with partial funding from the governmental
\nKIRA-digi program, in May 2018.<\/p>\n
\nproject, called \u201cReal Time Use of Data Produced by Properties,\u201d took place in
\nan existing office building in Kuopio, a town in central Finland. The
\nKallanranta building houses offices used by Senate Properties and a few other
\ntenants.<\/p>\n
\nhypothesis of the experiment was that real-time IoT and building automation data
\ncan be used to control old heating and ventilation systems to create optimal
\nindoor conditions for users. Many old building systems cannot adapt to varying
\nuser needs. For example, they have timers that turn the ventilation on and off
\nat predetermined hours, and not when the premises are actually in use.<\/p>\n
\nproblem with building-related systems is that they are separate entities that
\ndon\u2019t communicate with each other. A conference room or hotel room reservation
\nsoftware knows when spaces are occupied and by how many people, but that
\ninformation remains within those systems. Recent cost-effective IoT devices can
\nprovide real-time data, but don\u2019t connect easily with legacy systems.<\/p>\nEnhancing User and Owner
\nValue by Integration on Sensors<\/h2>\n
\ninstalled new IoT sensors at the Kallanranta office. On their platform, they
\nintegrated the sensors for a conference room reservation system with those for existing
\nHVAC systems. As a result, when a certain conference room was in use, the
\nindoor quality was ideal for the number of people in the room. The temperature
\nand lighting could also be optimized accordingly.<\/p>\n
\ndoubts whatsoever about our technology,\u201d Ruotoistenm\u00e4ki assures. \u201cWe got help
\nfrom Granlund, an energy specialist, on how to interpret the data that we
\ncollected. We have also teamed up with Platform of Trust, a company that
\nconnects built environment data providers and data users.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nturned out to be a success. The office users enjoy comfortable workplace
\nconditions. In addition, the experiment corroborated what the company already knew
\nfrom earlier projects: heating and cooling costs would be reduced as a result
\nof adjustments made with real-time data. The experiment still continues and may
\nbe expanded based on the data gathered in the following months. Moreover, the technology
\nis not restricted to heating or ventilation. It enables solutions that require both
\ncontrolling and monitoring of existing building automation systems, IoT devices
\nand other back end systems.<\/p>\nGoing Global<\/h2>\n
\nwith banking and insurance companies in Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland,
\nand the UK. During a recent KIRA-digi visit to Singapore, the company\u2019s
\nplatform attracted the attention of potential partners. As a result, Cozify has
\nstarted a development project aimed at the real-time and predictive control of
\nventilation and cooling in tropical climates. The system will control existing
\nchillers with data from sensors, weather forecasts, and other sources. The ROI
\nof the solution will be substantial.<\/p>\n
\nsolution is very cost-effective to deploy and maintain: up to 90 percent more affordable
\nthan traditional competing systems,\u201d says Ruotoistenm\u00e4ki. \u201cThe user can set up
\nand control Cozify with a mobile device. For large properties, we offer
\nbrowser-based software. However, our goal is total automation in which you
\ndon\u2019t need a dedicated user interface. The building itself is the user
\ninterface.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nkimmo(at)cozify.fi.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n