Building Management, Your Home or Office & Nest?

I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to technology working in your home, office, or common areas of an association I manage. That said, when I read about nest's thermostat and smoke detector I was immediately engaged. I'm not sure how it all came together, and I decided to look into the product, but I'm pretty sure I saw a glimpse here and there on social media, or a news article and I kept thinking, "what is nest." I let the thought leave my mind quickly, and continued mindlessly scrolling the headlines of my news feeds. Finally, I saw a news article that nest was purchased by google, and for some reason I think google has a big idea of taking over every aspect of how technology engages with us, "the humans." I can't help but think, "why is google buying nest, and what is their master plan to take over the in-home tech space, and how will it make me ever so happy in the process?" So, I started in on the google machine and began my research. First thing I pull up is Tony Fadell and bang, he's "one of the fathers of the iPod." Uh oh, my thirst for research must continue. It must.

I land on the website and feel refreshed and overjoyed by it's simplicity. Just to side step a bit, I'm a little neurotic when it comes to alleviating clutter and streamlining everything in my life. It sounds odd but I like the idea of the fire department coming to my house, telling me I have an hour to pack everything, and knowing I can accomplish the task in less time than they provide. Interestingly enough, nest's smoke alarm, my neurosis of eliminating clutter, teamed with the hypothetical of leaving my house in an emergency are, without a doubt, a match made in heaven that was birthed by cupid himself. I can imagine being in a room, receiving a text from nest about a potential fire, calling the fire department and then taking all my valuables before any damage to the rest of the house occurs. I win. The only problem I foresee is explaining to my insurance company that every valuable in the house was successful taken away, but the entire structure was burned down ...

How the nest smoke alarm works for me:
1) It tells me where the problem is in the house/building. Not by beeping but by saying, "there is smoke in the living room," or by sending a message to my tablet or smart phone. Brilliant!

2) It tells me when the batteries are running low via smartphone or tablet. Awesome, no beeping.

3) If the alarm goes off and it's not an emergency, then I can simply wave my hand in front of it and it will silence. No piercing noise, no annoyance, just a calm voice alerting you of a problem. I'm overjoyed.

Alright, that's perfect for at home, but now my mind wonders to my place of business. My office is in an older building, no fire spinklers, no centrally monitored smoke alarms and as far as I can tell, no way to dispatch the fire department. What ever do I do? Install nest in my office, get notifications of any potential fires on my phone, and save my entire office complex. I'm a hero, everybody loves me and, yes, I win property manager of the year even though I don't manage my office complex.

Okay, I'm not sold on nest yet (totally lying to myself), what's up with the nest thermostat? Well, it's the sexiest thermostat I've ever seen and I've seen a lot. And you can definitely see and feel the father of the iPod resemblance here. I'll keep this portion short and hopefully by now you'll look into this for yourself.

How the nest thermostat works for me ... And maybe you.
1) It is always learning. Always. Every time you adjust the temperature it takes note.

2) You can adjust the temperature from your smartphone or tablet. Ever forget to turn off the heater and you leave for awhile?

3) You save on energy costs because you can monitor, and you have the nest looking out for you, and monitoring your habits.


In conclusion, I love nest and really want to know how it can go to work for me in a commercial management atmosphere. I plan on pitching the idea to some clients, but a couple things are coming to mind as possible concerns.

1) Theft.
2) Upfront cost and realized savings.
3) My clients may become suspicious of google taking over the in-home tech space, and wonder how it will make them ever so happy in the process.

Community Association Managment in Ontario, California

Case Study: LED Technology Shedding Light on Energy & Maintenance Savings

Properties that are looking to save money on their energy bill need to look no further.  Retrofitting your property with LED fixtures can save money on maintenance, and 60 to 80 percent on energy consumption. The types of lights typically found on properties are: Incandescent, Halogen, Fluorescent or HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps, such as Low Pressure Sodium, Mercury Vapor or Metal Halide. A little bit of information on each bulb is provided below, and following that information this case study will explore the benefits of LED lighting.

Keep in mind with the information provided below that the average building’s parking lot light is on 3,650 hours per year.

Incandescent Lights

A 125-year-old technology originally created by Edison, and most typically found in household lights. The lamp does not need a ballast or transformer to operate, and light is created by a filament that grows when heated by an electrical current.

Burn Hours:  1,000 - 2,500 (approximately 1 year)

Approximate Bulb Replacement Cost: $1- $6

Halogen Lights (Member of Incandescent Family)

Halogen lamps are a step-up from incandescent bulbs, and are typically providing up-lights for signs, trees, canopy fixtures, and bollards. The lamp has a tungsten filament and a small amount of halogen gas.  The lamp does not have a ballast and may have EPA implemented disposal requirements.

Burn Hours: 3,000 - 6000 (approximately 1 year)

Approximate Bulb Replacement Cost: $3 - $12

Flourescent Lights (Canopy Fixtures): Compact & Linear

Fluorescent lights are typically found in canopy fixtures, and are connected to internal or external ballasts. The fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to react with mercury. This lamp is a good replacement for incandescent lamps, but there are EPA implemented disposal requirements.

Burn Hours: 5,000 – 30,000

Approximate Bulb Replacement Cost: $4 - $30 (approximately 1-3 years)

Approximate Cost to Replace Ballast: $15 - $150 for magnetic or electronic internal/external ballast. Usually come with a 1 to 5 year warranty.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lights

HID lights are typically found on parking lot poles, under canopy, wall packs, and are operated off magnetic and electronic ballasts. The lamp is an electrical gas-discharge fixture, and because the gas is toxic and has high levels of mercury, the EPA has implemented disposal standards for ballasts and lamps. There are many different types of HID lamps, but most common are high/low pressure sodium and metal halide lamps. 

Burn Hours: 8,000-15,000 (approximately 3 years)

Approximate Bulb Replacement Cost: $8 to $80 and have a 90 day to 1 year warranty.

Cost to Replace Ballasts: $50- $150 for 400w and below. Ballast can last 10 years with a 3 to 5 year warranty.

Solid State Lighting (SSL)

This type of lighting uses semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as sources of illumination rather than filaments or gases. There is no ballast needed for this type of light. These lamps are a “green” alternative to regular lamps because there are no disposal requirements due to the low levels of mercury and phosphorous.

Burn Hours: 50,000 to 80,000 (approximately 11 to 18 years)

Approximate Bulb Replacement Cost: $25 - $150 and have a 5 year warranty.

The average energy savings is 60% to 80% per LED retrofitted fixture.  Additional savings can be realized through rebates that provide five cents for every kWh saved.

Trestle Street Partners believes that the future of energy savings and maintenance savings are realized in Solid State Lighting (SSL), especially parking lot lighting. The exciting part of this technology is that property lighting, and individual lights can be controlled remotely -- if proper equipment is purchased -- allowing the property owner to turn on lights as needed from anywhere wirelessly. Additionally, this technology has the ability to remotely monitor lights that are working or burnt out – eliminating the need for traditional maintenance, and monthly/quarterly on-site inspections. The only maintenance required is every six months fixtures are cleaned to help slow degradation of light out-put, and help maintain the dissipation of heat. 

See graph below for information on each lamp. The most notable savings can be found in switching your parking lot poles from commonly found HID lamps to SSL.

	Incandescent	Halogen	Flourescent	HID	SSL	Notes
Average Burn Hours	2,250	4,500	17,500	11,500	65,000
Average Lamp Cost	$4.00	$9.00	$17.00	$44.00	$100.00	SSL lights cost as low as $25
5 Yr Lamp Replace Cost	$486.67	$547.50	$265.93	$1,047.39	$421.15	15 lamps on 3,650 hrs per yr. Warranty savings not included. Ballast, maint. & disposal costs not included. Lamps only.
Average Ballast Cost	N/A	N/A	$83.00	$100.00	N/A	HID ballast lasts approx. 10 years
Maintenance	1 x month	1 x month	1 x month	1 x month	2 x year
EPA Disposal Reqs	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Approximately $5 for disposal of lamp & ballast under 500w