Businesses and hotels are increasingly aware of the need to improve energy efficiency. Efficient energy management can lower the environmental footprint of your hotel and significantly cut your energy costs.
Using their smart technology, they are on a mission to make energy efficiency simple and affordable. We sat down with SensorFlow founders Saikrishnan Ranganathan (CEO) and Max Pagel (CTO) to discuss how it all started, their technology, and the future for SensorFlow.
Let’s start with the basics: how did SensorFlow begin?
It all started back in 2016 when we both realised that there was a pressing need for energy optimisation worldwide. The more we started looking into this energy problem, the more research we found indicating that hotels had some of the least efficient energy management systems. That’s when the idea for SensorFlow came to us.
We started developing a solution for hotels, a system to increase energy efficiency, while keeping it something that was easy for hotels to manage. After much development and testing, we created the Smart Room Energy Management (SmartREM) system, a smart building management system. It’s an AI-driven system that uses IoT technology to help hotels improve their energy efficiency, increase operational productivity and overall become more sustainable.
We have been working since conception in Singapore and recently expanded into Europe, something we’re really excited about as there are so many fantastic hotels in Europe that we can’t wait to work with and can benefit hugely from the SensorFlow technology.
What makes SensorFlow unique?
Our first product, SmartREM, is a retrofit IoT solution that enables any building or property to optimise its energy consumption. Incorporating Sensorflow is accessible to all hotels because there are no operational disruptions or huge upfront costs. Meaning no money or time is lost during the installation process. It was important to us when we developed the system that it would be as widely accessible as possible.
SensorFlow is also unique because of our SaaS solution, Smart Room Allocation (SmartAllocTM). Currently the only VRV/VRF Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) solution for hotels, other than the basic key-card or occupancy-based ways of managing energy.
SmartAllocTM is an integrated AI system that sends optimal room numbers directly to the hotel’s system. The most energy-efficient room is allocated for guests based on the hotel’s VRV/VRF compressor mapping. Cutting energy costs, increasing booking efficiency, and helping to reach sustainability goals, all with one easy-to-integrate system.
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How has SensorFlow evolved over the last few years?
During COVID, we noticed that some of our clients were still racking up high energy bills despite low occupancy rates. We discovered that during low occupancy, energy use remains high due to inefficient allocation of rooms without consideration of compressor performance. From here, we developed SmartAllocTM, which allocates rooms that utilise the same compressor for optimal energy efficiency. This helps hotels save energy consumption and costs during low occupancy periods.
Regionally, our company has gradually expanded. Initially, we began as a Singapore-based company and slowly increased our reach throughout Asia. Then in 2021, we started working with hotels throughout Europe too.
It’s been exciting to watch the company expand and grow as we build our client list within every country we work. We have no plans of slowing down and hope to keep growing and working with more and more hotels worldwide.
What can we hope to see from SensorFlow in the future?
We will continue to grow as a company and work to create forward-thinking solutions for energy efficiency in hotels. SensorFlow will one day be a one-stop solution for hotels to maximise energy efficiency, optimise operational productivity and enhance their sustainability.
Our current solutions are multifaceted. Initially, we were more energy focused, but as we began introducing the technology into hotels, we realised that operational efficiency is a key factor for hotels, which is something we can help with.
We are now creating a solution that is targeted at improving operation excellence by improving the communications between departments and shortening the response time in addressing defects. Meaning SensorFlow can help hotels be both fully sustainable and efficient.
