MIDWEST ENERGY NEWS – In Chicago, hi-tech solution helps low-tech systems run more efficiently

Posted April 11th 2017

When commercial real-estate firm Zeller Realty Group bought a postmodern staple of Chicago’s iconic skyline in 2014, it faced an energy-inefficiency quagmire.

Like many buildings built prior to the late 1990s, 311 S. Wacker’s heating and air conditioning systems were controlled by pre-digital, mechanically operated pneumatic thermostats, which collected no data and could not be centrally controlled. The usual, pricey solution would be to rip out all the old analog HVAC infrastructure and replace it with direct, digital equipment.

Instead, Zeller embarked on what it calls the “smartest energy efficiency retrofit in Chicago.”