The Somerset section of Franklin is the new home of the worldwide command center for a real-time, remote building monitoring and control system launched by Jones Lang LaSalle.
The global real estate services firm recently unveiled its new IntelliCommand system, a product that allows off-site specialists to keep an eye on facilities in the company’s management portfolio, the firm said. The 24/7 operation is designed to identify performance issues in building systems, such as HVAC, and shorten response times, allowing facility owners to reduce energy and maintenance costs.
Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle, said the system has been tested on seven buildings, including a large corporate user in New Jersey, during a pilot phase. IntelliCommand, which was developed with the technology maker Pacific Controls Inc., will be available to facilities that have smart-building technology and monitoring systems, Probst said.
The project, which has been several years in the making, follows a trend in the real estate industry toward using technology to “monitor and analyze building performance on a real-time, 24/7 basis,” Probst said. “We saw those technologies emerging, put two and two together, and realized that the technology could enable greatly improved energy performance of buildings.”
The new system also gives Jones Lang LaSalle a cutting-edge, attractive product to offer its clients. Jonathan Meisel, JLL’s suburban tristate market director, said that was key in New Jersey, which has a “very competitive landscape when it comes to office and industrial space.”
“With the vacancy rates being where they are these days because of the economy, there’s got to be an edge for folks,” Meisel said. “Companies are always looking to save money, and when you can install a system like this and get a return on investment so quickly, it makes a lot of sense. And that’s what excites us (is) that there’s a time and a place for everything, and this feels like the right time and place.”
About 30 employees now work at the IntelliCommand facility, at 230 Davidson Ave., Probst said. The system monitors some 8 million square feet of space in the company’s portfolio.
