Daikin Air Conditioning Uses IoT to Boost Sustainability

In 2018, Daikin, the world’s leading manufacturer of indoor climate control systems, established its first Remote Monitoring Center. The Center allows Daikin to remotely control their systems across Europe – and Tele2 IoT connectivity is the crucial component in boosting their sustainable efforts, leading to not just energy savings but cost savings as well.

When the Daikin team established its Remote Monitoring Center in Bratislava, Slovakia, it knew it would be a key element in properly maintaining the myriad indoor climate control systems it has in place across Europe. Factories, office buildings, schools, hospitals, hotels – all of these types of large, complex facilities reap the benefits that come from a remote monitoring system that allows Daikin to track energy consumption and then offer a plan designed to optimize consumption and reduce costs.

“Our motto at Daikin is: Air conditioning only when & where it’s needed,” explains Sanja Polić, Service Development & Controlling, Daikin. “By remotely connecting our systems and machines with Tele2 IoT SIMs we can monitor and optimize them from our side in a variety of ways.

“If we look at an office building, for example, we can analyze its energy consumption through remote monitoring.  After a couple of months of analyzing what is happening in the building, we give our recommendations on what can be done to reduce energy consumption through the setup of our systems for both heating and cooling.”

Via the Remote Monitoring Center, Daikin can also do setups and make changes remotely to improve functionality in the air conditioning systems. In an office building, there would probably be less need for heating or cooling at night or during the weekends, while in a factory setting, the needs are likely to be different. Systems can be optimized according to specific requirements and monitoring means when those requirements change it’s easy for Daikin to respond. Additionally, preventive maintenance can be conducted – and all of this means big cost savings for the customer.

When Daikin began its search for a connectivity provider that would support its Remote Monitoring Center, they knew what they wanted so they looked for a telecom operator that would suit its needs, particularly when it comes to roaming.

“Even more importantly, Tele2 IoT had the right approach. The team was ready to meet all of our requests and was very responsive. With a pilot project, which took more than 6 months, we put SIM cards in different countries to evaluate how they were working, even in countries where Tele2 IoT is not yet well known. From the beginning of the project through to negotiations, Tele2 IoT was right there with us every step of the way.”

Daikin is a company that takes sustainability very seriously; Polić says it’s a big topic within the organization, with a dedicated team in charge of overseeing efforts in 16 countries.