Data, Information, and Action: How We Can Generate Value from the Flood of New Building Performance Data
Stephen Samouhos, Ph.D., KGS Buildings
Nicholas Gayeski, Ph.D., KGS Buildings
The buildings industry is changing; data is becoming more and more pervasive in our design, construction, operation, and certification activities. This change is in part due to the falling costs of acquiring data and the growing perception that data and information will have the same revolutionary impact on the building industry as it has everywhere else. But as the cost of getting data continues to plummet, we find ourselves amidst a sea of zeros and ones, wondering just how to convert all of these numbers and strings into real dollars and cents; without answering that fundamental question, building information technology risks reaching a stalling point in its development. During this presentation, the speakers will address lessons learned on generating value from the flood of building data.
Tracing the information lifecycle from data origination to user presentation, the speakers will highlight the chief obstacles for getting, storing, using, and consuming data to improve building performance.
The speakers will focus primarily on the end of this lifecycle, or more specifically, on how data can be converted into useful information that provokes action by users to improve building performance. These last few steps in the information lifecycle hold the greatest promise for creating value out of data, however they might also be where building information technology is most likely to fail.
The presentation is intended to provoke discussion amongst the audience and, as such, considerable time will be allotted for questions and answers at the end of the talk.
Biograpies:
Stephen Samouhos is a partner and co-founder at KGS Buildings. Mr. Samouhos earned his Bachelor of Science ('04), Masters of Science ('06), and Ph.D. ('10), all in mechanical engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a full scholarship to pursue his doctoral dissertation, entitled, "Building Condition Monitoring." He also grew up in an electro-mechanical contracting family in New Jersey, where he gained many years of exposure to practical field work and engineering that is pertinent to building energy efficiency. Today Mr. Samouhos strives to combine the practice of fixing buildings with cutting-edge information technology (IT) and real-world engineering in order to deliver scalable and effective solutions for better building performance. In addition to business development and software engineering at KGS Buildings, Mr. Samouhos is also an avid speaker and technology advocate on issues pertaining to IT convergence with the built environment, with invited talks on the subject at the New York Academy of Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Urban Studies department at MIT.
Nicholas Gayeski is a partner and co-founder at KGS Buildings, LLC focused on practical application of building science and technology research and development to solve problems in the built environment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (2002) in physics from Cornell University, and an Masters of Science (2007) and Ph.D. (2010) in building technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his doctoral work, Gayeski developed predictive control algorithms for energy efficient low-lift cooling systems, designed and built a low-lift cooling system, and experimentally verified its cooling energy savings potential in two climates. While studying at MIT, Gayeski gained experience as an industry researcher and energy modeler working as a research intern at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory, a research engineer at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and an energy modeler at The Green Engineer. He is especially interested in data-driven modeling, analysis, and control of building systems; identifying opportunities for retrofits, improved efficiency, or better control through performance feedback; and research and development of new HVAC system integration and control strategies.