ATLANTA–Honeywell has launched a new platform for energy management and guestroom control: INNCOM INNcontrol 5 (IC5). The new system allows operators to monitor and manage guestroom controls across an entire hotel property in real time to identify and resolve issues before they affect guests, track energy usage, and deliver better operational efficiency.
IC5 collects guestroom data and presents it on a configurable dashboard that displays key performance indicators (KPIs) that impact property operations and functions. Dashboards display KPI metrics that can include energy utilization property wide and by individual guestroom along with real-time occupancy status and overall system health. The cloud-based system provides mobile alerts, data analytics, and securely integrates with third-party systems to address each property’s operational goals. IC5 is backward compatible with INNcontrol 3, INNCOM’s previous energy management and guestroom control system, and can use a property’s existing infrastructure to help reduce installation costs.
According to Energy Star, heating and cooling alone represents almost 40 percent of the electricity and more than half of natural gas used by hotels and motels. An energy management system can help reduce a hotel property’s energy costs by 35 to 45 percent, with a potential return on investment of 50 to 75 percent.
“INNcontrol 5 is designed to improve property efficiency and staff productivity,” said Apurv Johari, general manager of INNCOM by Honeywell. “IC5 demonstrates INNCOM’s commitment to providing the most efficient and versatile energy management systems for the hotel industry. We help hoteliers make their properties more connected and our systems provide data that can drive action so that issues are addressed quickly and guests experience seamless stays.”
The new system is powered by the Niagara Framework open IoT platform for secure integration with third-party devices and systems. IC5’s intuitive user interface is easy to learn and helps reduce training expenses. The system is optimized for desktop, tablets, or mobile devices, making it simple to navigate from an office or remotely to increase staff productivity and respond to guestroom alerts that may affect guest comfort. Additionally, browser access to IC5 greatly lowers onsite hardware costs. It reports guestroom data from INNCOM e7 thermostats, sensors, controllers and even other third party devices.
The new system tracks each room’s occupancy status in real time so housekeepers and maintenance staff can service rooms when there is no guest present. IC5 also records a room’s occupancy history to verify and optimize room usage. The system sends alarms if doors are left open and tracks how long it was open. All property performance data and history information is available in the IC5 instant dynamic trend review and analysis. Historical performance data may be filtered by time increments so operators can view the past few hours of operation or analyze performance trends over several months.
The Doug Pitcock ’49 Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center in College Station, Texas, piloted the IC5 platform. “IC5 is a powerful tool that is critical to our property and energy management,” said Kyle Duffy, IT administrator at the Doug Pitcock ’49 Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center. “IC5 allows us to see and manage the system, identify potential issues, and determine a resolution even when we’re not on property. It’s transforming how we manage the property so that more focus is spent on providing top-notch guest service.”
INNcontrol 5 is installed using a secure Honeywell cloud hosting platform. Cloud access and hosting simplifies both centralized and on-site management, provides automatic software updates, and affords secure mobile access and enhanced data security and backups. The IC5 cloud platform includes subscription options.
