Inflation has thankfully eased back some from its record peak of 19.2% (according to the Office of National Statistics) in March 2022. However, rising business costs continue to challenge facility managers in the post-COVID world. Per data from Statista, the core inflation rate at the kickoff of 2024 stood at 3.2% — proof of persistent underlying economic pressures. Uncertainty around tariffs and a plunging stock market have threatened a resurgence in cost increases. 

Amid rising operating costs, energy may be the easiest line item to target for impactful savings. Yet, for building managers dealing with legacy infrastructure, tenant complaints, or unpredictable usage patterns, lowering their energy bills isn’t a simple matter of setting a new thermostat schedule. A smarter, more flexible approach to building control is required. The best solution will balance efficiency, comfort, and cost savings without requiring a full HVAC system overhaul.

The good news is that property owners and facility managers can, in fact, uncover fast and significant efficiency gains with the right technology in place — even in buildings that seem to be running “just fine.” An energy-efficient building can be a goal that starts at construction, but it’s just as likely to result from effective use of building data, cloud-based remote access, improved automation, and the ability to adapt your systems in real time.

Table of Contents:

• There’s More to Energy Efficiency Than the Heating Bill
• BACnet Opens the Door to Smarter Energy Management
• 3 Energy Efficiency Strategies That Actually Work
• How ODIN Helps You Maximize Building Efficiency
• Are You Tracking and Proving Long-Term Energy Savings?
• A Direct Line to Federal Tax Savings
• ODIN: One Platform, Smarter Buildings

There’s More to Energy Efficiency Than the Heating Bill

You’ll rarely swing the needle of energy efficiency with a single upgrade. A more comprehensive strategy, however, can pay off in both hot and cold weather. 

A Department of Energy study found commercial buildings lose about 30% of their energy due to inefficiencies. In colder months, that loss hits even harder. Southern state facilities average 6,300 BTUs per square foot for heating, while northern states consume over 36,000 BTUs per square foot to maintain warmth. To make matters worse, those usage levels are inflating carbon emissions at the same time that they’re spiking energy costs.

Even buildings that have implemented upgrades like insulation or ENERGY STAR® windows still need smart controls to capitalize on those improvements. Passive solar gain, for instance, only helps if your system can scale back mechanical heating during daylight hours. With remote automation tools, you can react faster to changes in sunlight, weather, and occupancy without needing to be on-site.

This kind of precision certainly trims utility bills in the short term, but it also strengthens sustainability plans and increases long-term real estate value. Buildings with intelligent control platforms have an edge in both energy usage and in lease appeal and tenant retention. Commercial tenants increasingly seek properties with advanced systems that maintain reliable indoor comfort and provide responsive support. A centralized building automation platform — like ODIN — can streamline both.

Take grocery stores, for example. They already face the pressure of rising operational costs. With energy accounting for around 15% of their budget, grocers are relying on systems like variable speed drives and LED lighting plans to bring costs down. Those upgrades are small and incremental, but they go further when tied into a remote automation system that links lighting, refrigeration, and HVAC into a single dashboard. This is where the value of a system like ODIN compounds: by helping retail facilities like supermarkets optimize every moving part of their energy ecosystem.

BACnet Opens the Door to Smarter Energy Management

Too many buildings are locked into inefficient operations simply because their systems can’t talk to each other. Or worse, the facility team can’t access them without being on-site. An open communication protocol for building automation systems like BACnet changes the equation. It allows otherwise disconnected systems (e.g. HVAC, lighting, IAQ sensors, meters, alarms, etc.) from any manufacturer to integrate and operate from a single unified interface.

Even if your facility is still running on a legacy BMS, BACnet gives you a bridge. You might normally turn to a costly option like fully replacing your functioning equipment. With BACnet devices, you could instead choose to overlay smarter controls and automation software during steady, incremental equipment upgrades. This makes it possible to get real-time visibility and command over your environment even while legacy equipment is still in place.

ODIN uses BACnet as its foundation. The platform is designed to detect, organize, and manage any BACnet-based devices inside the building from a variety of manufacturers with no custom code or added configuration required.

BACnet in Practice:

A theoretical multi-tenant office facility might use BACnet-enabled devices to upgrade their system without ripping out existing controls. The facility manager could begin by adding cost-effective BACnet IAQ sensors to manage ventilation based on CO₂ and humidity levels. Next, they add ODIN. This enables role-based access for tenants to adjust their own zones while also connecting all alarms and trends into a single platform. The result is essentially a full modernization without a full replacement.

BACnet Secure Connect (BACnet/SC) also helps with safe and encrypted communication between devices. That can be a big deal for building managers working with IT-sensitive organizations like schools, healthcare facilities, or financial institutions. With ODIN’s BACnet certification and built-in encryption protocols, you gain the remote access you need without the VPN headaches.

This interoperability is what makes energy efficiency scalable. You can add sensors, automate setpoints, create zone-based schedules, and implement alarm-triggered alerts while using all the same core infrastructure you’ve already got in place.

3 Energy Efficiency Strategies That Actually Work

A commitment to invest in sustainability may be well-intentioned, but it’s also easy for broad ESG goals to amount to little more than lip service in the long run. To turn that promise into lower utility bills and less waste, facility teams must rely on a solution that produces real, measurable improvements. ODIN can get you there with a few repeatable tactics, regardless of building size or sector.

1. Start with smarter HVAC scheduling.

Energy audits consistently show HVAC as the top energy user in most commercial facilities (accounting for about a third of consumption). The intuitive mobile interface of ODIN makes it easy to create time-based schedules and adjust them across seasons or customize zones for spaces with different hours. You might, for instance, shut down a conference wing on weekends or lower setpoints in a gym during off-peak hours. Small changes add up.

2. Optimize lighting and ventilation.

Think about adding occupancy sensors or automating IAQ ventilation based on real-time CO₂ levels. These sorts of optimizations can drastically reduce energy overuse. The right BACnet sensors, when tied into the ODIN platform, can help by triggering responses automatically — lights dim when rooms are empty, HVAC slows when IAQ is within range, and ventilation adjusts based on live pollutant data.

3. Fix inefficiencies without adding complexity.

Facility managers don’t always have time for training on complex, clunky software that only operates on computers hooked into the building’s on-site systems. ODIN simplifies everything into one mobile-accessible dashboard. As we like to say, “put your building in your pocket.” You can view energy use trends, spot underperforming equipment, and fine-tune system behavior without needing a laptop or a network login.

In multi-tenant buildings, ODIN enables you to offer role-based access so that tenants can adjust their own schedules while building managers retain top-level visibility. That level of control keeps comfort high and helps you mitigate service requests. It also encourages buy-in from occupants who want more personalized control over their environment.

Even in healthcare, where energy use and IAQ directly affect patient health, ODIN helps unify HVAC management across multiple locations. When older systems from acquired properties don’t match, ODIN provides a common control layer that simplifies energy management campus-wide.

How ODIN Helps You Maximize Building Efficiency

It’s a common axiom that you can’t improve what you can’t measure. That’s true. Moreover, you can’t manage what you can’t see. ODIN’s core advantage is visibility — across systems, buildings, and time. You could be managing a single museum or a broad portfolio of structures (like a regional network of assisted living facilities). Either way, ODIN gives you remote, role-based control over every BACnet-connected device.

Once you’ve implemented ODIN, you use it to:

• Monitor trends and system health without being on-site
• Customize HVAC settings based on zones, tenants, or time of day
• Set alarms for key thresholds like temperature swings or IAQ drops
• Use a single login to view every system in every building
• Share access with stakeholders without exposing the full system

The smartphone app is often ODIN’s biggest attraction. Remote access is good, but it’s even better when it’s available through such an intuitive, familiar format. Service techs can easily check performance right from a jobsite. Operations managers can receive alerts when a rooftop unit begins cycling inefficiently. Executives can review energy trends before finalizing next quarter’s budgets.

This centralized visibility makes buildings more efficient, yes. But even more importantly, it makes the people who run them more effective.

Are You Tracking and Proving Long-Term Energy Savings?

You can’t call a building “efficient” in the wake of a one-time reduction in heating costs. Energy efficiency is a repeatable performance. You’ve got to track how your systems are behaving over time to prove a lasting benefit to your process. 

The trend tracking tools in ODIN can give you a hand with logging performance data across HVAC, IAQ, and electrical metering. A trend tracker turns your building into a living source of analytics. Once you’ve got that kind of data in hand, you’re able to…

• Identify off-hours energy usage and adjust schedules
• Spot underperforming equipment before it breaks down
• Quantify energy savings from upgrades or behavior changes
• Justify investments in higher-efficiency components
• Benchmark buildings against one another

The real difference comes when you feed that data into building analytics and/or reporting tools. Many commercial facilities, especially in regulated sectors, are required to provide documentation to utilities, municipalities, or ESG auditors. If you’re stuck in spreadsheets and older desktop tools, you might be used to workarounds, reformatting, or stitching together screenshots from differing platforms. It’s time for facilities management — which notoriously lags behind many sectors in technology — to evolve. ODIN lets you export performance data like electrical metering trends and usage reports in clean, usable formats. 

A Direct Line to Federal Tax Savings

Building efficiency is a money-saver in at least two major ways. Utility savings are obvious. However, a little bit more under-the-radar is that it can reduce your tax burden, too. Thanks to Section 179D of the U.S. tax code, owners of energy-efficient commercial buildings may actually be eligible for a significant deduction if they can show qualifying reductions in energy use.

To meet the requirements and actually claim the deduction, though, you’ll need data. Tools like ODIN can help you track HVAC system usage, electricity consumption, and long-term energy expenditures across multiple properties. This is all the proof building owners need to apply for tax deductions with confidence.

The deduction amounts will naturally vary depending on the level of improvement and when the project began. In some cases, owners have claimed more than $5 per square foot in deductions — meaning a 100,000 sq. ft. office could save over half a million dollars in one tax year.

ODIN: One Platform, Smarter Buildings

Every commercial building has a unique energy profile and a unique set of challenges. Some managers are trying to reduce winter heating bills. Others need a way to gain unified control over a mismatched set of legacy systems. You might also be planning some HVAC upgrades for your school building over the summer. In all cases, ODIN provides facilities personnel and building owners with the tools to make measurable operational improvements.

ODIN offers a blend of discretionary access for tenants, real-time alerts for service teams, and other energy efficiency upgrades that turn vague sustainability or savings goals into a practical system. And it’s fast to implement and learn! Using less power is great, but managing that power more intelligently — in a way that saves money, simplifies management, and prepares your building for what’s next — is even better.

Now is the time to connect your systems, your people, and your goals. Contact ODIN, and we’ll show you what your building can do.