| Tech and Business Videos |
|
|
|
| Dockside residents to track carbon footprint in their suites thanks to the innovation of Victoria companies |
August 16, 2007 |
Victoria, BC – August 16, 2007 –Not tonight honey, I'm watching my carbon footprint. A new device called the MACH-Stat(TM) lets you monitor your carbon footprint from your bedroom…or any room in the house.
Now being installed at Dockside Green's first building Synergy, opening early next year, the MACH-Stat(TM)controls room temperature as well as reports energy and water consumption. It monitors the weather outside, and even tracks residents' in-suite carbon footprint, daily and over time.
Thanks to custom programming and graphics developed specifically for Dockside Green, residents can also log onto the system over the Internet and see in real time their water and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions – literally watching their carbon footprint.
The first of its kind on planet earth, it's a true homegrown success story. The MACH-Stat(TM) is manufactured by Victoria-based Reliable Controls Corporation, was customized for Dockside Green by Houle Controls in Victoria, and the graphics to make this sophisticated system easy for residents to use, were developed by Syscor Research & Development, also in Victoria.
For Joe Van Belleghem, Dockside Green co-developer along with Vancity, having MACH-Stats in Dockside's suites puts residents on the leading edge of a 'green' revolution, while supporting local business.
"We said all along that we wanted to support local companies that share our vision and values,” Van Belleghem says. "We're convinced that this system is really going to take off based on the greater awareness around climate change, the cost of water and energy, and the direction the provincial government is taking to promote efficiency.”
Joe LeRoy, Control Divisions Manager at Houle Controls in Victoria who customized the system for Dockside Green, is particularly excited about the potential to raise people's awareness around their energy consumption in a way that can lead to positive change in their behaviour.
"People can't fix what they don't know,” LeRoy says. "By seeing their impact right up there on the wall; by having a way to measure every day how their behavior impacts their emissions, they can start to set goals and make changes that will have a significant impact, not only on their lives, but on the climate.”
The MACH-Stat(TM)is on display at Dockside Green's presentation centre at 1101 Wharf Street in Victoria. The system is also sold for residential and commercial purposes by Houle Controls in Victoria.
Contact:
Trisha Lees
Tartan Public Relations
250.592.3838 or 250.896.3838 (cell)
Sara Holland
Tartan Public Relations
604.609.0219 or 604.880.1494 (cell)
Reliable Controls
Victoria-based Reliable Controls Corporation is a manufacturer of world-class leading-edge building automation controls. They specialize in designing and manufacturing Internet-connected environment controls and building controls that are simple, flexible, and competitively priced. The MACH-System(TM)is used to monitor and control the mechanical / HVAC and electrical / lighting equipment found in every kind of building control application. Their products are designed, manufactured, tested and shipped from their state of the art manufacturing facility in Victoria.
Houle Controls
Houle Controls is a division of Houle Electric Limited, a western Canadian electrical contracting firm. Houle Electric is one of the largest electrical contractors in British Columbia with Houle Controls Victoria positioned as the largest Reliable Controls Dealer on Vancouver Island. Houle Controls has been involved in a number of LEED rated, silver and gold targeted buildings as well as some forward looking geothermal projects. Houle Controls is distinct in that they are the only local controls contractor with a Professional Engineer dedicated strictly to Project Managing DDC projects. Houle Electric employs 150 - 200 including supervisor and support staff, professional engineers, certified electrical technicians, product/application specialists and licensed electricians.
Syscor Research and Development
Located in Victoria, BC, Syscor is a systems' integration corporation that offers a wide variety of services and expertise to emerging and established technology companies. Its clients and partners range from some of the world's largest corporations to small businesses. They have developed products and services ranging from embedded devices, network elements, and automation systems to distributed document management systems and analytical financial tools.
About Dockside Green
Situated in the heart of the City of Victoria, Dockside Green is being developed on fifteen acres of former brownfield industrial land adjacent to the Upper Harbour and downtown, between the Johnson and Bay Street bridges. With a planned total of 1.3 million square feet of mixed residential, office, retail and industrial space, Dockside Green is a unique, environmentally responsible and sustainable development, and also represents the biggest development of city land in Victoria's history.
|
|
|
| Gadget of the Week (Canadian) |
|
Apple 13-inch MacBook
Greenest MacBook ever
more Tech Gadgets |
| Top 300 Tech Companies |
 
|
|
