M Resort in Las Vegas was seeking a broad-based solution to reduce energy costs, including peak demand, that would be operationally seamless, and that would not interfere with the level of service their customers expect.
March 17, 2014 - Building Automation
M Resort is a hotel, casino, and entertainment complex with 90,000 square feet of gaming space, 60,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, seven restaurants, and an 118-foot hotel tower with 390 rooms spread over 90 acres of land on the southern edge of Las Vegas.
Energy costs associated with HVAC operations were significantly impacting M Resort’s energy budgets. The owners were seeking a broad-based solution to reduce energy costs, including peak demand, that would be operationally seamless, and that would not interfere with the level of service their customers expect. Energy management would have to be automated, consistent with their building management philosophy, and attuned with the new service offerings of their power supplier, NV Energy.
M Resort joined NV Energy’s customer engagement program called “mPowered Optimization,” which was launched in the summer of 2013. Customers enlisting in “mPowered” received access to BuildingIQ’s cloud-based software. The software receives electronic signals from NV Energy to automatically manage M Resort’s load without disruption to comfort or building operations, while providing capacity on the grid. Peak demand reduction among those enrolled in the “mPowered” program has been reduced as much as 24 percent during energy event periods, according to Building IQ.
M Resort’s HVAC controls are adjusted in real-time using algorithms in the cloud-based software. The DR event is invisible to operators and customers alike; they simply go about business as usual. The software makes all of the adjustments necessary to drop and then restore load without noticeable changes in space conditioning.
M Resort, which recently deployed the software in its offices, convention space, restaurants and casino areas, achieved 12 percent energy savings in HVAC energy in the first few months of the program. The software worked in concert with their building management system, which was already utilizing advanced control methods, and being actively managed by M Resort operations.
