Laguna Mar deploys 12 GeckoBee thermostats

In an effort to “be green” and “earth conscious”, Laguna Mar hotel has contracted with GeckoTech to install 12 GeckoBee intelligent thermostats. These thermostats will be deployed into Guest Rooms. With GeckoBee thermostats, the hotel’s management will be able to control each room’s ambient temperature from their iPhones or Desktop PCs. For example, they can pre-cool a room prior to the guest’s arrival. They can also use the historical web reporting to spot trends on AC units efficiency. GeckoBee is just one of many solutions/systems that Laguna Mar will leverage to help automate its hotel’s operational process and economize on operational costs.

GeckoEye deployed to Las Lomas

Heradura’s gated community, Las Lomas, has a number of single family dwellings. Most of these houses are privately owned by foreigners. Recently GeckoTech was contracted to provision the GeckoEye energy management service for one its owners. The primary purpose for the GeckoEye installation was not “energy savings” as is normally the case. Rather the unit owner decided to subscribe to GeckoEye because of GeckoEye’s by-products. Specifically, the ability to control locks, monitor activity in and around the property, and record video (in the form of snapshots) to a cloud service. The GeckoEye will allow owner to program the access control for Staff and Guests as well as reporting on when and how the property was used. It is expected that this unit owner eventually adds more sensors, lighting control and climate control. From his iPad, the unit owner is able to login to the GeckoEye automation computer and lock/unlock doors, as well as review video and property state.

Los Altos GeckoEye Pilot already generating savings…

Over the past few years the management/development team of Manuel Antonio’s Los Altos Beach Resort have started to appreciate the significant recurring operational costs associated with energy consumption.  To compound the situation, each elegant and spacious units has a floor plan that invites the renter to open balcony doors. To be specific, each of the 24 units has 4 large lanai (balcony) doors.  These balcony doors are a burden to the air handlers when they are left open during air handler run time. Each minute that these balcony doors remain open, with the AC running, represents huge loss. That loss quickly adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual operational costs as it relates to cooling requirements for the rental units.

Starting in May, GeckoTech introduced its GeckoEye energy management system to two pilot units. Each GeckoEye system included one automation computer, 6 door sensors, and 4 motion sensors. From day one, the GeckoEyes were generating savings by simply stopping the AC from running when balcony doors were left open for more than a few minutes. Further savings are realized through “temperature setback” when the rental units are unoccupied for more than few hours.

The engineers at GeckoTech as well as the Los Altos management staff are anxious to analyse the ICE facturas in the upcoming months. The question is not “is GeckoEye saving Los Altos money?” but rather “how much money is GeckoEye saving the property?”

It is expected Los Altos moves forward to install GeckoEye in the remaining 22 units before the beginning of high season 2012.

GeckoEye Score Card (Energy Management Savings)

As part of GeckoTech’s ongoing support, relative to managed services, we provide sundry of unbeknownst “goodies”. Such as spot checks (health/performance) for clients..

This month’s spot check include “Score Card” evaluations for two of our GeckoEye subscribers.

* Acqua 406 had been experiencing energy bills ranging from 200-400$/month. Even when unoccupied. July’s analysis showed the unit’s lowest electric bill ever!! 52$.
* Vista Mar Penthouse had been experiencing ICE electric bills ranging from 1300-1700$/month. July’s bill was one of the lowest in history, and was 25% lower than the previous 4 month’s trend.

In subsequent months we plan to show other GeckoEye subscriber’s savings as they release their ICE bills to us.

Vista Mar Penthouse signs up for GeckoEye Energy Management Services

GeckoTech engineers have recently completed the deployment of a GeckoEye Energy Management System to Vista Mar’s Penthouse.   The penthouse’s ower was frustrated with his ever increasing electric bills.  Sometimes reaching as much as $1,700/mo.  The property’s largest consumer of energy is the three central AC units.   Couple this with the fact that there are four large balcony doors, it was evident that there was potential for huge waste.  The GeckoEye system will turn off the AC when various balcony doors are opened for more than a few minutes.  Furthermore, GeckoEye will intelligently determine when the unit is unoccupied and perform a temperature setback to avoid “freezing” out the unit while guests are away on all-day excursions.   It will be at least two months before we have empirical reports to demonstrate savings, but it is believed we may be able to reduce the entire electric bill by as much as 20% given rental trends.

Developer Brad Sanson deploys GeckoEye

Developer Brad Sanson has deployed GeckoEye II in his own personal unit in order to evaluate Home Automation and Energy Management for use in his upcoming development projects.
This fully automated system allows Brad full control of the air conditioning from anywhere in the world. Currently operating with one AC unit and one light, he hopes to expand to control all thermostats and lights in the unit.
With features that include the ability to remotely turn off the AC when the unit is unoccupied, or for the AC to automatically turn off if doors or windows are left open, this technology brings with it considerable savings in energy costs for unit owners.
After 3 weeks with the system in full operation, Brad is very pleased with the results to date and definitely plans to expand the GeckoEye system.

Casa Ponte upgrades Video Surveillance & Energy Saving Systems

The owner of Casa Ponte, Paul Cooper, has upgraded his two camera video surveillance system to GeckoTech’s state of the art Video Surveillance solution, predicated on Milestone. Milestone is accepted as being “best of breed” for security video systems.  GeckoTech is one of the few authorized and trained integrators able to deploy and support Milestone in Central America.  IP based, the software allows Paul to monitor the grounds from anywhere in the world, and furthermore, the guard can view activity on perimeter cameras from his guard-house on-site.

At the same time, Paul upgraded his energy management system from GeckoTech’s GeckoEye to GeckoTech’s new and improved GeckoEyeII.  GeckoTech’s original Energy Saving system, GeckoEye, was installed 2 years ago.  GeckoEye monitered activity in the property and automatically switched off the AC when doors or windows were left open but with no reporting or visibility of savings.  Now, with GeckoEye II, Paul can enjoy full reporting (transparency) of the savings he realizes. 

GeckoEye II allows full automation of thermostats, allowing the owner not only to ensure AC is switched off when potential waste/abuse is sensed, but also enables full control and monitoring of AC (and lighting) via the web from anywhere in the world.
During the migration to GeckoEyeII, Paul also upgraded all of his older inefficient Air Handler Fujitsu HI-SEER splits. With the newer HI-SEER Air Handlers and GeckoEyeII, Paul expects to reduce his electric bill by up to 50%. Way to go Paul!!!

GeckoBee buzzes into Monaco

Dan Woodley, unit owner at the Monaco condos, has installed GeckoTech’s GeckoBee intelligent thermostat.

With a sexy touchscreen interface that can also be controlled online or via an iPhone app, GeckoBee gives high end climate control to ensure the coolest cats stay chilled in Jaco.

Dan says, “The new GeckoBee allows me to monitor the unit’s temperature and humidity, as well as the “ghost guests”. It has reduced my ICE bill by several hundred dollars per month.”

GeckoBee installed at Los Altos Penthouse

A Los Altos (Manuel Antonio) Penthouse owner has recently contracted with GeckoTech for the installation of three GeckoBee intelligent thermostats.  GeckoBee allows the unit owner to program and control his AC remotely, from anywhere in the world, using an online web interface.
 
The unit owner’s particular point of interest was being able to use the included iPhone app to manage his AC during his drive from SJO to Manuel Antonio.  This way he could arrive to a “cool penthouse” (no pun intended) without wasting energy.  In the first month of operation, the unit owner realized a savings of almost 50% in his total electric bill.
 

 

Smart Thermostat Integration

Smart Thermostat Integration: GeckoTech will launch its “intelligent” thermostat technology this month.  This technology is expected to offer substantial savings in energy consumption by using intelligent, web controlled AC thermostat systems.  Property managers are VERY interested in this solution as it will allow them to save significantly on utility expense.  No longer will the PM be required to dispatch staff to the property to “turn off” the AC when a guest checks out.  In today’s economy, this solution will be a “win win” for both PM and unit owners alike.