Lantronix Contributes to Smart Energy System in Toronto High Rise

Create Fiber-Optic Backbone Network for Smart Energy Management Platform

The City of Toronto set an ambitious city-wide goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Since buildings represent 11 percent of Canada’s GHG emissions, commercial buildings are an important improvement sector.
For the luxury condominiums, the building management team wanted to implement a smart energy management platform to enable tenants to control energy usage and costs. In addition, due to the distance between all the floors, a new fiber-optic backbone network was necessary for each high-rise floor.

Challenges Include: 

• Retrofit existing buildings’ mechanical HVAC systems, lights and more
• Control energy usage and costs
• Add new fiber-optic backbone network for each floor
• Reduce GHG emissions

The Solution:

Lantronix’s Smart Managed Gigabit Ethernet PoE+ Switch and Network Interface Device

Working closely with PLATEK Services Inc. engineers, Lantronix provided a detailed fiber network design along with network equipment specifications and application requirements. The new network was designed to ensure a highly available and resilient fiber network and to power and connect wireless access points throughout each floor.

A fiber-optic backbone extended from the top floor to the first-floor server room to enable the smart energy management system. Wireless access points were installed on each floor, supporting a redundant wireless mesh network for connecting individual room thermostats integrated into the new energy management system.

Installing new AC electrical conduit and cabling on each floor to power the WAPs was too time-consuming and cost-intensive and would be especially difficult to install in the riser system. However, with Power-over-Ethernet Plus (PoE+) switches from Lantronix, each WAP was powered by PoE, thus eliminating all AC electrical costs. The redundant mesh network of WAPs is fully operational and networked by Lantronix PoE+ switches.

In addition Lantronix switches also provided the network communications for a new innovative ASSA Abloy electronic door locking system for private tenant living areas.

The Benefit:

Successful Installation of Intelligent Energy Management Platform

With the PoE+ switches and NIDs from Lantronix, PLATEK Services Inc. successfully completed the network installation of an intelligent energy management platform designed to reduce energy costs and significantly increase property owner satisfaction.

Benefits Include:

• Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Multi-Use Smart Energy Management Platform
• Controlled Energy Usage and Costs
• Tenant Thermostats and Occupancy Sensors
• ASSA Abloy electronic door locking system for each tenant
• Significant Improvement in Property Owner Satisfaction