Advancing from an electrical and lighting control infrastructure to a smart building platform, Convia Sustainable Infrastructure from Convia, Inc., reconfigures the way people work. At NeoCon World's Trade Fair, June 9-11, 2008, in Chicago, Convia will highlight new features--including its newly designed Convia Global Gateway and Sensor Interface Module (SIM)--that allow for exceptional energy savings, optimization, control, and flexibility in commercial spaces.
With Convia Sustainable Infrastructure, new or renovated interior spaces become programmable environments, responsive to the ever-changing needs of an organization and users' needs. The building platform delivers "plug-and-play" power to virtually anywhere in a space, without requiring the hardwiring of devices or switches. Using a hand-held, two-button remote control wand or easy-to-navigate web portal, users can link electrical devices and controls in mere moments by simply pointing the wand at two or more objects and creating an electrical association between them.
"Our goal is to never stop pushing the limits of traditional technology to create a system that is continually responsive to users' needs at any time," said Randy Storch, president of Convia. "The customer successes we've had thus far serve as momentum for even greater technological developments."
Placing Power at Your Fingertips
Putting Convia's personalized-control abilities to the test, Southern California Edison--one of the largest electric utilities in the United States--installed Convia Sustainable Infrastructure as one of four technologies in an existing office building that is experimenting with an "office of the future" concept.
"We're excited about the truly innovative energy management features of Convia," said Doug Avery, project manager of Southern California Edison. "This technology will undoubtedly help our customers reduce their energy consumption and manage their building more effectively during power shortages."
As a fully integrated and progressive building platform, Convia empowers workers to continually and effortlessly optimize their space according to personal preference.
"This flexibility--and responsibility--to control their work area not only enhances workers' comfort and subsequent satisfaction and productivity, but also contributes to an overall understanding and advancement of environmental and sustainable building practices," added Storch.
Setting the Stage for Savings
Allowing for flexible spaces to be made and restructured at any time, Convia Sustainable Infrastructure is manufactured and installed with environmental and economic considerations top of mind. Key new features include:- Convia Sensor Interface Module (SIM): Easily accommodating changes to energy strategies, the SIM hooks up to any off-the-shelf photo cell or occupancy sensor and allows it to be associated with any zone or zones of lights within a building. As spaces or conditions change, reprogramming the SIM to "trigger" different lighting zones is simple--just plug the SIM in anywhere in a space and point and click Convia's two-button wand to associate new lighting zones. Additionally, the SIM makes it easy to add or move sensors around without worrying about wiring or messy installation.
- Convia Global Gateway: Displays a control panel for every electrical device
and programmed setting associated in a space on users' personal computers. This feature allows users to independently access, control, and program their utilities, including lights (overhead, fluorescent, presentation, and desk lamps), window shades, ceiling fans and audio/visual units such as televisions, etc.
- "Load Shedding" Capabilities: Users can set hierarchies of power zones and prioritize equipment based on their need and the electrical draw of the fixture, making it possible to instantly turn off low priority and unnecessary utilities. This unique feature is especially useful when utility companies request their largest energy customers to engage in "load shedding"--the process of decreasing power consumption by shutting off or minimizing the amount of electric appliances in use at any given time-to help prevent electrical disturbances, or "brown outs," from occurring.
- Reusable Components: Using 100 percent reusable components to eliminate substantial landfill waste, Convia Sustainable Infrastructure's environmental attributes enable it to contribute up to eight LEED points to a building. Additionally, office buildings using the smart building platform can gain up to 30 percent in annual energy savings as compared to the ASHRAE standard 90.1-2004--the current energy benchmark for buildings--as shown in a recent study conducted by The Weidt Group, an independent engineering consultant for high performance buildings.
With these sustainable attributes combined, Convia Sustainable Infrastructure is an extremely attractive alternative to traditional products and raises the bar of flexible technology for workspaces.
About Convia, Inc.
Convia, Inc., seeks to change the way people design, build, personalize, and manage space. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Convia offers agile and modular building platforms that enable radically flexible spaces and easy adapton to address evolving user needs and new technologies.
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