The contract could eventually lead to the technology being deployed at US Navy facilities.
Arbnco has signed a partnership agreement with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), which will use the technology to identify energy-saving opportunities and improve air quality in indoor working environments for staff and students.
The company has also just opened its first US office. The office in Detroit, which opened last month, will soon be joined by an office set to open in California as it targets the US as its first major export country.
UC Davis will deploy two of Arbnco’s software solutions to enable it to identify energy and cost savings in buildings, and understand indoor air quality conditions in offices and classrooms.
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Arbnco, which was founded in 2012, develops technology solutions designed to enhance energy performance, improve sustainability and reduce carbon outputs in commercial and public sector real estate. Its UK industry partners include Nuveen Real Estate and Mitsubishi Electric R&D Centre Europe.
The company set its sights on the US market after participating in an energy trade mission to New York in 2018, led by Scottish Development International. Arbnco co-founder, CEO & chairman Maureen Eisbrenner said that the opportunity is huge both in the US and the rest of the world as US$236bn was spent on improving energy efficiency globally in 2017, and 59% of that was in the buildings sector. ““UC Davis is renowned for being a leader in energy research, and is forging the way amongst US academic institutions when it comes to developing and implementing efficient, sustainable energy solutions,” she added. “Alongside our research partnership with the University of Strathclyde, we are bringing together some of the finest minds in the field to overcome some major global challenges regarding energy efficiency.”
Arbnco software will initially be used by UC Davis as part of a pilot programme funded by the US Office of Naval Research. The software will first analyse the data gathered from energy audits of the university’s buildings and generate automatic reports that identify opportunities for energy and cost savings, as well as recommend retrofit solutions.
If successful, the programme will then lead to a demonstration on a local navy installation, with the eventual aim of reducing the US Navy’s energy use across its facilities.
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