CASE STUDY
This approach enables proactive decision-making, reducing operational costs while maintaining sustainability and staying within facilities management constraints.
University of Missouri to move beyond a reactive energy management strategy.
According to Michael O’ Connor, Director of Energy Management at the university, the new system has enabled faster and more informed responses to changing conditions.
The facilities team can now respond in real time to shifts in load, weather and market pricing, improving operational agility. By optimising when to generate power on site and when to purchase electricity, the university has reduced overall energy costs while maintaining reliability.
The university is currently adopting the developed system and tracking the resulting savings. Its target is to achieve annual cost reductions of at least 2 – 3 %, equivalent to approximately US $ 500,000, although actual savings could be even higher as the system continues to mature.
Operational efficiency has also improved through better equipment utilisation and a unified view of plant performance. Centralised dashboards have reduced the effort required for manual planning and analysis, freeing staff to focus on higher-value activities.
Sustainability benefits have been another key outcome. By prioritising more efficient equipment and cleaner energy sources, the system supports reductions in C O2 emissions while maintaining the resilience required to support a major research university.
Delivering cost-effective and resilient utility services in the Midwest presents significant challenges, particularly given the scale and complexity of the University of Missouri’ s infrastructure.
“ By analysing historical operational and load data, it was possible to forecast optimal operating configurations that maximise efficiency without compromising system resiliency,” said Thiago Bacic, VP of Infrastructure and Services, North America Radix.
“ The solution combines a predictive system that forecasts energy consumption for the next hour and each hour of the following day with an optimisation engine that determines the most efficient plant configuration to meet demand.
“ This approach enables proactive decisionmaking, reducing operational costs while maintaining sustainability and staying within facilities management constraints,” Bacic said.
Ultimately, the project has transformed the university’ s operations into a proactive, datadriven model. Improved forecasting and optimisation capabilities support smarter budgeting, better resource allocation and more informed long-term planning.
Looking ahead, the partnership between the University of Missouri and Radix will focus on achieving further incremental gains. Future opportunities include using the system to predict peak loads, manage curtailment events and optimise equipment dispatch in support of the university’ s long-term sustainability objectives.
By establishing a benchmark for operational and sustainability excellence, the University of Missouri and Radix say they are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in campus energy management through Digital Transformation. •
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