Isramart : IBM Pushes Building Technology to Curb Carbon Waste

Isramart news:
International Business Machines Corp. is pitching technology to corporations to reduce waste in their buildings, with tools to make water mains -- even door locks -- more efficient.

The company plans to create “command centers” for buildings that go beyond managing data, Armonk, New York-based IBM said today in a statement. The centers can monitor cooling and heating systems, security breaches, printing costs and fire hydrants to help buildings reduce their carbon footprint.

IBM, the world’s largest computer-services provider, estimates the “smart” building market, where a variety of systems are embedded with efficiency intelligence, will double to $6 billion by 2015 from this year. Buildings account for 70 percent of energy use and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S., more than from cars, IBM said. Companies need to be more mindful of resources they use, said IBM’s Al Zollar.

“There’s an economic dimension to that and there’s also a responsible dimension to it,” Zollar, general manager of Tivoli, the company’s infrastructure management software unit, said in an interview. “There’s an opportunity to manage them much better.”

IBM Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano has been pushing the company’s “Smarter Planet” program, based on the idea that anything can be digitally monitored and made more efficient.

The technology can be used in all types of buildings, including factories, power plants, campuses and resorts, IBM said.

Johnson Controls, Ricoh

Johnson Controls Inc., the world’s largest maker of automotive seating and batteries, is integrating IBM technology with its own to help customers analyze energy use and building performance, IBM said. The company is also working with Ricoh Co., the Japanese office equipment maker, on a device and printing management system to monitor print-related costs.

Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest U.S. public power company, is using IBM software to manage and maintain information technology and physical assets across its power facilities, including nuclear and wind, IBM said.

Colleen Haikes, a spokeswoman for IBM, declined to provide financial terms for the contracts.

IBM fell 34 cents to $126.85 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have dropped 3.1 percent this year, after climbing 56 percent last year.