India is a very promising market with a booming economy, new building deployments, and customers who are aware of and open to new technology. In a marketplace like India, misconceptions about cost is preventing the adoption of new technologies. This demands an increase in awareness about the benefits of new age technologies, such as IoT that improve efficiency and reduce costs in buildings. Between 2019-2027, the global Building Automation & Control System (BACS) market is estimated to grow at CAGR of over 12%. Factors such as improving quality of life, booming industrialization, and fast growing awareness about the benefits of BACS are driving this growth.Traditional building control systems are reactive and respond to errors after they occur, making frantic attempts to correct temperatures and lux levels to the desired levels.
Today, Building Controls is a healthy growing market with huge potential for deep innovation in its automation and management layer involving transformational technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, cloud, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While there are many players in the Building Controls sector, there really are none that provide the entire stack – from the hardware, to the software to the building intelligence systems, to the data analytics to the user interface. However, 75F, a company founded by Deepinder Singh offers an IoT powered solution that not only improves occupant experience but also saves up to 50% on energy, and enhances productivity and cuts down installation time.To further enhance our understanding, our team at Business APAC interviewed Deepinder. Here are the extracts.
Quest of a Problem Solver
What inspired you to start your journey in this industry? My journey was inspired from a personal experience. Few years back, when my then one year old daughter was moved to her room in the house in Minnesota, US, she would get disturbed because of the sudden temperature changes in the room. In Minnesota, where the outside temperature would be -30 Celsius the discomfort was quite prominent. The thermostat which was in the master bedroom didn’t take account of the temperature differences in different parts of the house. In a quest to fix this problem, I developed the algorithms that considered temperature variances and heat loads in different parts of the buildings. I realised that the problem applies to many other buildings and I wanted to make sure that everyone has access to equitable, comfortable temperatures, thus, the company 75F was born.
Proactive System Rebalancing the Airflow
Please tell us about your company and the unique services you offer? 75F, based in Minneapolis makes buildings energy efficient and its occupants comfortable and productive. In an industry that is traditionally been slow to innovate, 75F is all set to disrupt building controls forever. Under my leadership, the company has understood that every building is dynamic and hence its control system should be dynamic too. It has harnessed the power of Machine Leaning and cloud computing to create smart HVAC and advanced lighting solutions that predict, monitor and manage the needs of a building. The company has a predictive system. Its smart algorithms model allows the thermal envelope of the building in predicting the heat loads based on the weather, angle of the sun, occupant preferences, etc. With over 1.6 million lines of code, 75F’s model can send precise instructions to the system to proactively rebalance airflow and keep ahead of temperature drifts.
Create, Invent, and Play
Can you tell us about your company culture and your team. How are they contributing to the company growth? Our team grew incredibly last year, doubling to a headcount of 125 in 3 countries. We are a group of diverse individuals working together determined to solve the global energy crisis. We are united by a belief in sustainability and a desire to break free of tradition. At 75F, we like to create, invent and play. We are dedicated to discovering new solutions to old problems and are a fast-rising tech startup with a fun, flexible, team-based environment. Our employees are empowered to make a difference within the company and for our customers, shaping our future with innovative ideas for smart building solutions.
Mission 2020
As planning is a must for any organisation, what do you plan for the future? I think in the next 5 years, people will be managing their devices, transportation, medication & even their environments in a highly customized, sustainable manner with gestures or by their mere presence, as per stored preferences & getting customized data analytics, anytime, anywhere. 75F sees itself at the forefront of delivering this capability. Recently, we have set up our office in Singapore and are looking forward to making more buildings in the South East Asian region more energy efficient and comfortable. We are also targeting to open an office in New Delhi in 2020, expanding the operations and reach in the Indian market. Over the next few years, we will also focus on established key verticals such as IT/ITeS, healthcare and hospitality, in all the metros.
