A combination of software and services to help single building owners or managers use building efficiency applications

Johnson Controls has announced the launch of its Panoptix software development community, an online marketplace, which aims to provide building data, tools and support to developers to create and market new applications that address energy efficiency, sustainability and operations. Panoptix was introduced in 2011 at the Greenbuild Expo in Toronto, and was launched in the UAE in 2012, the company added.

In the light of the generally acknowledged fact that in the UAE, approximately 60% of energy is consumed by buildings, the company claimed that Panoptix helps owners better manage building performance, energy consumption and comply with new mandates for green buildings, through better visibility and analysis of systems, providing information, tools and support to manage building performance more effectively.

Johnson Controls Team at the Panoptix Launch in UAE

Johnson Controls explained how the process of acquiring and using the software works: Five initial partner-developed applications will be available for purchase in the new Panoptix marketplace, which provides a global venue to sell applications to building owners and operators. Applications were created and available from EnergyAi, Lucid Design Group, EnergyPoints, FirstFuel and T4G. Lucid Design developed the Building Dashboard application in Panoptix, which monitors and displays energy and water use in real time on touch screen kiosks and the web, providing a sustainability engagement platform for occupants, building visitors and the public.

“Johnson Controls is connecting big data with big ideas to create more choices and access for building owners,” said Laura Farnham, VP, Building Technology and Service, Johnson Controls. “This open platform allows developers to do what they do best – create applications. As a result, building owners and facility managers will have access to a growing list of choices to manage their facilities.”

Michael Murray, CEO, Lucid Design, added: “Panoptix allowed us to go deeper with customer solutions by letting us focus on what we do with the information, rather than how we get the information. Panoptix allowed us to pull data from many different sites and different systems, not just Johnson Controls, but others as well, through a common application programming interface (API). That eases the costs associated with system integration, and that means that more of our resources, and frankly more of the customers’ resources, go into delivering value instead of into system integration.”