Collaboration among the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Operations, and the Environmental Studies Program has turned a longstanding desire for more data on electricity consumption into reality. Electric sub-meters in over 40 campus buildings now stream real-time data to the ICO Vision online dashboard, giving faculty, students, and administrators a powerful new tool for research and analysis.

The platform has already been put to good use by students. Two Office of Sustainability student interns spent several months exploring and testing the dashboard, verifying data accuracy and gaining an initial understanding of campus energy patterns. Additionally, students in the Introduction to Environmental Science course (ENST 124) used ICO Vision to learn how to interpret and analyze complex energy data.

Professor Michael Roth, Research Associate and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, used ICO Vision data in a lab focused on sizing a solar PV and battery storage system for the Bridge Building. Roth remarked, “The electricity data from ICO Vision enabled students to work with real hourly data from the building they were physically sitting in, directly connecting the lab to real-world sustainability applications on campus.”

The Office of Sustainability and Facilities Operations are using this data to spot instances of excessive consumption and identify opportunities for energy efficiency projects. Moreover, ICO Vision makes it possible to accurately assess the results of electricity-saving interventions within a building. Indeed, building-level metering is a critical foundation for advancing sustainability at Vassar, both in education and in campus operations.