Energy Reduction

What should my energy-cutting goals be?

Energy-cutting goals range based on the number of facilities in your portfolio and the current equipment you use. In order to determine an energy-cutting goal that’s right for your branch portfolio, conduct an energy audit (analysis of current energy use) and set up a plan to reduce your carbon footprint.

What are some solutions I can put in place immediately to reduce my carbon footprint?

Immediate solutions to reduce your carbon footprint include recycling initiatives as well as switching your light fixtures to LEDs. Optimize the solutions you put in place by incorporating IoT-based control technology, such as sensors within your light fixtures.

How can I improve my outdoor lighting solutions?

Smart lighting outdoors (as well as indoors) ensures parking lots stay safe at night. A comprehensive IoT-enabled lighting solution has the capability to send email alerts when ATM lights and parking lot lights malfunction. That way, you don’t have to worry about employees driving around at night for ATM compliance checks.

What should my long-term sustainability goals be?

Develop a sustainability plan that makes sense for your retail bank portfolio and takes into account initial investment, potential savings, and carbon footprint reduction. Although there is no specific carbon footprint reduction percentage that can be applied to every industry, retail banks have the opportunity to cut their energy use in half (or more) by implementing IoT-based solutions.

How do I communicate the importance of energy savings to stakeholders?

Energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems can save money immediately, so not only are smart solutions better for preserving the environment, they also increase retail banks’ bottom lines. Long-term savings increase with the more branches you convert, saving thousands – if not more – of dollars per year.

How sustainable is my existing portfolio of banks?

To determine how sustainable your existing branches are, conduct an energy audit. Energy usage and costs will vary based on lighting fixtures, HVAC systems, etc. Generally, the older systems are, the less energy-efficient they are, and replacing those systems with smart IoT-controlled solutions increase savings overall.

How complex is it to install a new lighting system in all of my locations?

Large-scale light installations can be difficult when dealing with multiple contractors spread across a large geographical area. With potentially hundreds of retail bank branches in your portfolio, you need to focus on operations rather than managing a team of contractors. SBT has the connections to ensure installation is completed quickly and, more importantly, properly.

What’s the difference between LEDs and traditional lighting?

LED lighting is an energy-efficient alternative to incandescent and fluorescent lighting. LED lighting technologies last longer and do not produce much heat when they are on, which decreases your carbon footprint and saves on energy costs. LEDs are able to achieve all of this and still illuminate a room more effectively than legacy lighting technologies.

In what ways am I wasting energy?

Outdated lighting and HVAC systems waste energy and money. By installing greener systems with IoT-based controls, retail bank branches can become more profitable.

What efficiencies are customers and employees seeking out in their banks?

As the market shifts from Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to Millennials and Gen Zers, customers and employees will increasingly seek out brands that are transparent about their sustainability practices. Recycling, smart lighting, and self-regulating HVAC systems are a few efficiencies you can implement throughout your branch portfolio to attract the next generation of environmentally-savvy clients and workers.

How can I manage the deployment of portfolio-wide initiatives efficiently?

Portfolio-wide initiatives require many moving parts: finding contractors, making sure the contractors complete their jobs (properly and efficiently), and more. Be sure to partner with a company who understands large-scale sustainability initiatives and has the experience in these type of rollouts to ensure any project you start will be a success.

Energy Cost Reduction

How can I reduce my energy costs?

There are many different ways to cut energy costs; however, replacing outdated lighting and HVAC systems generally produces the highest ROI. Some lighting systems can be retrofitted to lessen installation costs and still save you money across your retail bank branch portfolio.

How can I use daylight harvesting to save on my lighting bills?

Rather than have lights on during the daytime, your IoT lighting system can adjust your overhead lights to take advantage of natural lighting. When available (and depending on where your retail bank branches are located), natural light is a softer alternative to overhead lights. Today’s advanced IoT-based control systems and LED technologies manage this fluctuation in light levels seamlessly – leaving facility occupants none the wiser.

How can I keep the temperature of my lobbies comfortable at all times while still saving on energy costs?

A smart HVAC system monitors the number of people in a room at a given time, regulating the temperature to save you the most money while also keeping bank lobbies at a comfortable temperature. Over time, IoT-controlled HVAC systems collect data and are able to predict what temperature will be most appropriate based on the time of day, season, and typical number of people in the lobby at a given time.

How much money can I save from installing LED lights?

You could save thousands of dollars at each branch in your portfolio per month by installing LED lights. Depending on the number of facilities you switch to LED lighting, your overall savings are virtually limitless over time.

How do the current space utilization practices of employees impact my energy bills?

When conference rooms are booked but no one uses the room, you waste energy (and money) lighting and heating/cooling the space. By installing a smart system that understands space utilization, you will be able to reduce wasted resources.

How can energy efficiencies impact compact branch profitability?

Compact branches, or small branches in grocery stores, malls, and similar locations, have lower startup costs but also (typically) lower profitability. Incorporating energy efficiencies into compact branches reduces the startup costs as well as the operating costs, consequently increasing profitability.

Investment

How much of an initial investment is this?

Your investment depends on how many banks across your portfolio you want to transform into energy-efficient branches. Additionally, you will need to consider which systems require an upgrade: lighting, HVAC, etc. SBT conducts an energy audit of your retail bank branches that enable us to provide you with an estimate that’s situationally based versus an inflated flat rate.

How do I manage maintenance across my retail bank portfolio?

Smart systems handle maintenance requests on your behalf. When your systems are connected through the Internet of Things, sensors send signals to the ongoing support partners, like SBT Alliance, for routine maintenance or when something goes wrong. Then, the ongoing support partner works directly with you to resolve any issues.

How complex is the maintenance of these new systems?

Smart system maintenance is more specialized, but not more difficult than traditional system maintenance. With IoT technologies, these systems communicate with each other as well as with ongoing system support partners to ensure they are continuously optimized.

How can I implement equipment efficiency standards for my HVAC system?

In order for retail bank branches to remain operational, both clients and employees require a comfortable environment, which means a properly functioning HVAC system. IoT-based HVAC control systems send alerts when they require routine or emergency maintenance, so your retail bank branches run smoothly without you having to constantly check up on your branch portfolio or rely on customer/employee complaints before an issue is fixed.

How can I implement equipment efficiency standards for my lighting system?

Standard practice for new retail bank branches is to install LED lighting to reduce your carbon footprint while keeping energy costs low. Maximize the capabilities of your lighting system by choosing a lighting system with embedded IoT-enabled sensors. These advanced sensors not only regulate themselves by reducing lighting consumption whenever possible, but the sensors send information to your HVAC systems to adjust the temperatures within your branches based on how many people are in a room at a given time and can do much more.

How do my outdoor lighting decisions impact business after-hours?

If a light burns out at an ATM vestibule or in a parking lot, you could lose customers because they view a dark parking lot as a safety risk. When you rely on employees to drive around to ATM vestibules making sure they are safety-compliant, you run the risk of human error and also increase your operational costs. With smart lighting systems, if a light burns out, the system will alert your ongoing system support partner to flag the issue and get the light fixed immediately.

IoT

Why should I invest in IoT technologies now?

IoT solutions save money and decrease your carbon footprint. With multiple branches in your retail bank branch portfolio, the savings are significant. Additionally, as the customer base of banks shifts, people are increasingly seeking out sustainable bank branches who are transparent about their practices and are mindful of their environmental impact.

What are smart thermostats?

Smart thermostats connect to your wi-fi network and building’s furnace to help regulate the temperature in your home or bank lobby. You are able to adjust thermostats from anywhere, and the longer you have the smart thermostat, the more it will learn your habits and predict temperatures based on time of day and season. While smart thermostats are an effective first step to energy efficiency, more sophisticated IoT-controlled systems have features smart thermostats don’t have, such as the ability to use API’s to custom develop solutions that continuously check data as well as routine and emergency maintenance alerts for your HVAC systems.

How can I collect facility data in a more efficient way?

LED lighting system sensors collect information about facility in a non-invasive way. Sensors are able to predict the number of people that will be in your retail bank branches at a given time, and since they are embedded into your lights, the systems do not require any extra effort to produce data.

What is a comprehensive solution to manage my portfolio more efficiently?

Both smart lighting technologies and smart HVAC systems help manage a retail bank branch portfolio. Sensors within your LED lights help monitor usage and predict customer habits so you don’t have to physically be in every bank branch in your portfolio to get a comprehensive idea of what’s going on.

What technologies should I implement to manage multi-site branches?

Using smart technologies to monitor your lighting and HVAC systems reduces your carbon footprint, costs, and time. Managing multiple retail bank branches requires efficiency, and IoT-based solutions automate some of the work for you, such as sending alerts for routine and emergency maintenance and self-regulating lighting as well as heating and cooling.

How can sensors within my smart lighting help me?

Sensors collect information about your retail bank branch operations and functionality. Your LED lights already save money on energy costs, but the sensors increase those savings by adjusting light levels and communicating with other IoT technologies like your HVAC system to self-regulate energy usage.

How can I use the cloud to store information I collect?

When the sensors within your LED lights are installed and active, they will begin to collect information about space utilization and temperature. This information is stored in a secure cloud and can be used to build custom application through a dedicated API by your ongoing system support partner.

What does “open at the top” mean?

IoT systems might require a specific application to view data. “Open at the top” means data can be collected via your chosen API and is more flexible to customize as your requirements dictate.

What are the security issues associated with IoT integration?

There are security risks with any new technology, but the main advantages of having an IoT-based system are the energy and cost savings. While the sensors do collect information to determine light levels and HVAC usage, people are not identifiable. From a management perspective, working with a team of professionals you trust to manage your smart systems is crucial. SBT ensures all cyber security measures are taken so you have one less task to worry about.

What are smart branches?

Smart branches utilize sustainable practices while also leveraging IoT technologies. These branches collect data through sensors installed in LED lights to monitor light levels, energy draw, as well as HVAC systems, but also often use Bluetooth technology to connect to a customer’s phones to customize their experience. For example, if a user is considering purchasing a home, the teller may be notified to mention mortgages to the customer via the teller’s tablet.

The Future of Banking – What does it look like?

What can I do with my bank branches to stay ahead of the curve?

In order to attract the next generation of consumers, retail bank branches should engage in sustainable practices such as smart lighting and HVAC systems. Retail banking is all about convenience, so technologies that make the process easier is your best bet to stay ahead of the curve. When building new branches, opt for smart branches that leverage technologies that create custom experiences for your clients.

Why is SBT Alliance the right partner for me?

SBT has the right connections for a successful rollout of your smart technologies, always searching for experienced contractors for installations and ways to increase savings. We have a dedicated team for every step of the process who have the chops to prove it. Leading the deployment of a smart IoT system in over 500retail bank branches for a large banking client is proof in the pudding that SBT Alliance knows the ins and outs of highly complex multi-location rollouts.. As we take on additional multi-site retail bank branch projects, we seek out efficiencies to make installation and upkeep of IoT technologies as simple as possible for you and your management team.