Smart Building Blog

Legacy Companies, Inc. is the Twin Cities' leader in commercial mechanical contracting, and has been the service contractor for HOM Furniture for the last few decades. When HOM Furniture was interested in boosting their energy efficiency and came across the 75F product line, Legacy was the go-to to install the system.

Breakthrough technologies from 75F bring unprecedented insights to senior living facilities. Monitor and trend ambient sound levels, occupancy, temperature, humidity, light levels, CO2 and VOCs in every single zone with one device, one thermostat in each zone. Download data from our award-winning Building Automation System (BAS) to perform advanced studies in the correlation of ambient conditions with patient health, all while saving 30-50% on your HVAC and lighting costs.

Here are four easy ways that the 75F system can improve comfort at senior living facilities.

As a facility manager, your job is to keep your buildings operating smoothly. In reality, that can feel like a game of whack-a-mole (while a fire alarm is going off, and the basement is flooding). There's only so much you can get done in a day – and when it comes to making upgrades, the last thing you want is another piece of equipment to keep an eye on.

That's why we designed the 75F system specifically with facility managers in mind. We wanted a system with a dashboard view of building performance that could change the way you interact with buildings and reduce the time you spend driving and checking facilities every week. Our reporting tools provide insight into energy anomalies that would previously go un-detected – putting out fires before they begin. Quarterly health check-ins make it easy to coordinate with mechanical contractors, as well. 

HOM Furniture is one of the nation's largest furniture retailers serving customers in the upper Midwest, with an average store size of 100,000+ square feet. Since 2010, they have been tracking their utility and energy performance data with EnergyPrint's Utility Dashboard – a cloud-based energy management software – to better understand their energy usage. 

With energy as one of HOM Furniture's top 3 operating expenses – costing them over $227,000 annually – they were looking for a more cost-effective solution to increase energy efficiency across their portfolio of retail stores. Watch the video to learn what HOM Furniture's Real Estate Manager, John Pierce, loves most about 75F Outside Air Optimization package...you know, besides the $18,400+ in electricity savings!

According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), commercial buildings consume 70% of US electricity. The US Department of Energy has also found that commercial buildings waste 30% of the energy they consume. This presents a huge opportunity for Facility Managers to take advantage of smart building efficiency measures to save energy. Seeing as lighting and HVAC accounts for roughly 40-60% of a commercial building's utility costs, it makes sense as a starting point for energy savings.

Your office is brand spankin’ new. It’s got all the bells and whistles. Maybe a robot delivers coffee to your desk every morning – or maybe you just landed a great location and a great architect. You’re proud to have a Class A building. But is there anywhere else to go from here?

As we say in Minnesota, you betcha. Your office may be modern – but is it smart? Are your employees comfortable? And, is it saving you money?