€300,000 saved thanks to network innovations
The Agency for Facility Operations manages approximately 180 buildings, where the equipment in these buildings often remained in an idle state, still consuming (albeit minimal) electricity. Since some of the hardware was reaching the end of its lifecycle, this was the perfect moment to take action.
Replacement of more than 2,000 Wi-Fi access points
The project involves the replacement of more than two thousand wifi-access points. Following a successful pilot project at VAC Bruges, Cisco’s Power Saving Mode technology will be rolled out across all buildings.
Energy savings of 1,473,279 kWh
The intervention results in an annual energy saving of 1,473,279 kWh, which corresponds to the yearly electricity consumption of 550 households. Against an investment cost of €2,060,530, there is an annual saving of €323,923, resulting in an estimated payback period of 6.36 years..
The innovation lies in the fact that the Agency for Facility Operations has implemented separate policies both centrally and tailored per device group (cameras, badge readers, Wifi access points, sensors, etc.) and per building. These protocols manage the power supply for each specific device individually, even down to the level of the individual network port. This form of tailor-made scripting required an in-depth analysis of the existing network infrastructure, as well as consultation with various suppliers to determine which devices can operate in sleep mode.
The project won the 2024 Computable Award in the category ‘IT Project of the Year – Government’.