With the launch of SmartView™ technology from Butler Manufacturing™, building owners and facility managers now have the power to ensure they get the best return on their investment when constructing a new facility.
SmartView™ makes energy modeling more feasible by drastically reducing the amount of time and input data required. Then based on the energy model, it predicts total cost of ownership (TCO), which equals the first cost for the building envelope, plus the operating, maintenance and replacement costs for the facility. TCO also factors in cost of capital, inflation, energy price escalation and equipment life.  Additionally, tax rebate information can be factored in to give building owners a comprehensive long-term look at building performance and predicted operating costs.
A customized SmartView report is only available through Butler Builder® dealers, who are able to access the technology, run calculations and create a report based on minimal building specification data, including building location, shape, end use and square footage. The report includes a full summary of the inputs entered into the technology, offering a credible and transparent view of how TCO was calculated.
“Our goal with SmartView is to help building owners and facility managers compare options to identify the building design that makes the most sense for their bottom lines — not just today, but for years to come,” said Harry Yeatman, vice president of Butler Manufacturing. “Our hope is that by creating a streamlined yet powerful tool based on credible third-party and accredited Guarded Hot Box-tested data, we’ve taken calculating total cost of ownership from a ‘nice to have’ to a must-have as building owners and facility managers look to construct new facilities.”
SmartView draws on data from ASHRAE 90.1, COMNET, ASHRAE Fundamentals, AIA Healthcare Guide, ASHRAE 62.1, more than 2,000 real building projects, the DOE2 simulation engine from the Department of Energy and Guarded Hot Box-tested thermal performance data for 48 Butler product assemblies.
For more information about how Butler is helping customers think about TCO, visit butlermfg.com.
About Butler Manufacturing^™
Butler Manufacturing^™ provides a comprehensive combination of design-build construction solutions and innovative building technology to the nonresidential market. Every Butler^® building solution is backed by unrivaled research and testing, ensuring that Butler building systems perform to the highest standards. Through a network of more than 1,400 Butler Builder^® dealers worldwide and corporate accounts services, Butler addresses the demand for environmentally friendly and energy-efficient design in community, commercial and industrial buildings. Butler is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. For more information, visit www.butlermfg.com.