Johnson Controls launches new online marketplace

The company launched the Panoptix solution in UAE in May this year.

Panoptix helps owners better manage building performance, energy consumption and comply with new mandates for green buildings.

In the UAE, approximately 60 percent of energy is consumed by buildings. The Panoptix solution helps building owners and operators reduce energy consumption through better visibility and analysis of systems, providing information, tools and support to manage building performance more effectively.

Five initial partner-developed applications will be available for purchase in the new Panoptix marketplace, which provides a global venue to sell applications to building owners and operators. Applications were created and available from EnergyAi, Lucid Design Group, EnergyPoints, FirstFuel and T4G. Lucid Design developed the Building Dashboard application in Panoptix, which monitors and displays energy and water use in real time on touch screen kiosks and the web, providing a sustainability engagement platform for occupants, building visitors and the public.

"Johnson Controls is connecting big data with big ideas to create more choices and access for building owners," said Laura Farnham, vice president, building technology and service, Johnson Controls.

"This open platform allows developers to do what they do best - create applications. As a result, building owners and facility managers will have access to a growing list of choices to manage their facilities," she added.

"Panoptix allowed us to go deeper with customer solutions by letting us focus on what we do with the information, rather than how we get the information," said Michael Murray, chief executive officer, Lucid Design.

"Panoptix allowed us to pull data from many different sites and different systems, not just Johnson Controls but others as well, through a common application programming interface (API). That eases the costs associated with system integration, and that means that more of our resources, and frankly more of the customers' resources, go into delivering value instead of into system integration," he added.

Panoptix was introduced in 2011 at the Greenbuild Expo in Toronto. The Panoptix solution builds upon Johnson Controls' expertise in building technologies and systems integration to help building owners and operators achieve improved building performance and energy efficiency.

It is a combination of software and services to help single building owners or managers of global enterprises improve the performance of their buildings, decrease energy use and operational costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is driven by cloud-based apps that provide visibility into how every system, subsystem and device is functioning, and provides information to take actions to improve their performance. It works with any size building, any building management system; can be accessed by any computer, tablet or smartphone; and is supported with industry news, an online community and Johnson Controls Live Guide experts.

"Leaders in the UAE are committed to creating a more energy efficient, sustainable future and recognize that building management can help reach these goals," said Laura Farnham, vice president, building technology and services, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls. "The Panoptix solution provides insight to help owners make timely decisions, empowering them to optimize building performance and energy efficiency without compromising comfort," she added.

Johnson Controls has changed the way buildings are designed, built and operated, making them more efficient and sustainable for more than 125 years since its founder invented the electric thermostat. In North America, Johnson Controls is the largest Energy Services Company (ESCO) with $7.5m in guaranteed savings in North America and has the largest service network with approximately 5,000 service trucks and thousands of technicians. Globally, Johnson Controls is the largest facility management company with 1.8 billion in managed square feet of managed space.

The company has leading building management systems, equipment and technologies including its flagship building management system, Metasys, which has been installed at more than 100,000 customer sites globally. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 Johnson Controls' employees have achieved LEED credentials.