Herman Miller's Energy Manager Powers Savings at the Desktop
June 08, 2009
Leveraging proprietary technology and its alliance with Legrand, Company brings energy management strategies to the workstation
Herman Miller, Inc., an international design leader in workplace solutions and widely recognized for environmental stewardship, announces the introduction of Energy Manager, a major step forward for energy reduction in the built environment. The launch comes just one month after the Company announced a strategic alliance with Legrand, an innovative manufacturer and market leader in electrical and network infrastructure solutions. The alliance aims to broaden the reach of energy management strategies and fuel the adoption of more flexible, sustainable spaces. Energy Manager is the first technology application to enable energy consumption to be monitored, measured and controlled at the electrical circuit level, while also optimizing real estate use and lowering overall operating costs.
Recognizing that workers spend approximately 50 percent of their time away from their desks, Herman Miller developed Energy Manager to bring energy management strategies to the workstation. Energy Manager leverages the advanced load monitoring (the amount of energy drawn by devices on an electrical circuit) and control capabilities made possible through its Convia, Inc. subsidiary and the alliance with Legrand. The system connects building power with the modular power in a cluster of Herman Miller workstations—including Vivo interiors, My Studio Environments, Ethospace system, Prospects, and Action Office system—enabling a truly integrated control solution for end-to-end power applications.
"Until now, energy saving strategies have largely been limited to the larger building infrastructure," says Todd Thompson, Herman Miller advanced development manager. "There was no effective way to bridge the gap between the architecture and the occupants. Energy Manager enables profound new electricity savings at the workstation cluster level."
Energy Manager will debut at the Herman Miller showroom at NeoCon 2009 in Chicago, June 15-17. Available for order August 1, 2009, Energy Manager will be sold through Herman Miller dealers working in collaboration with Legrand, which has an extensive network of more than 2,000 electrical distributors.
A Simple Way to Save Energy and Reduce Costs
The Energy Manager units can be mounted inside the wall of Herman Miller's frame-and-tile based systems, or mounted discreetly to a panel. It works by controlling two of the four circuits of power feeding a cluster of workstations. Providing programmed or occupancy-based control of power delivery and simplifying workstation use for greater individual productivity, it allows user or owner control of powered devices plugged into those two circuits so they are on only when needed, and off when workstation clusters aren't occupied.
For ultimate energy saving capabilities, Energy Manager can be Convia-enabled. A Web-based gateway from Convia provides programmable on/off control of selected circuits and overhead lighting, as well as other building control systems. Facility managers have the ability to monitor and measure energy use in real-time and from the convenience of their personal computers. And with power consumption measured at the electrical circuit level, they have access to the information they need to further develop and adjust energy saving strategies. Additionally, actual occupancy data (i.e. which workstations are occupied, when, and for how long during the course of a day) is also reported through the Global Gateway at 10 minute intervals. This data can be used to generate reports and optimize real estate to further reduce operating costs.
Energy Manager's ability to provide detailed, objective reports can be critical in helping companies measure and verify their progress toward their energy management and real estate goals. Developed with the environment in mind, Energy Manager starts saving energy from the day it is installed, and pays for itself from electrical savings alone. It can contribute up to 10 LEED credits for optimized energy performance, measurement and verification, recycled content and regional material.
"At a time when many companies are committed to both environmental sustainability and lower costs, Energy Manager helps them reach their goals," says Thompson. "It is the latest in a line of solutions we expect to introduce as a result of our alliance with Legrand that will significantly impact energy use in buildings."
About Herman Miller, Inc.
Herman Miller works for a better world around you—with inventive designs, technologies and related services that improve the human experience wherever people work, heal, learn, and live. Its curiosity, ingenuity, and design excellence create award-winning products and services, resulting in more than $2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2008. Innovative business practices and a commitment to social responsibility have also established Herman Miller as a recognized global company. In 2009, Herman Miller was again cited by FORTUNE as both the "Most Admired" in its industry and among the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America, while Fast Company named Herman Miller among the innovative "Companies to Watch." Herman Miller trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.