IES Live

Core Features

IES Live operates on a methodology grounded in building physics and data analytics. It creates a dynamic virtual model of buildings by integrating historical and real-time operational data with the fundamental engineering principles that govern how the building uses energy. Some of its key features are:

• Digital Twin Creation: Develops a physics-based digital model of your existing building, calibrated with real operational data to serve as a single source of truth for performance analysis.

• Performance Gap Analysis: Automatically compares simulated optimal building performance against actual measured data, visually quantifying energy waste and identifying root causes.

• Retrofit Scenario Modelling: Allows experts to model and visualize the energy, carbon, and financial impact of various retrofit options (e.g., HVAC upgrades, insulation) before any capital is spent.

• Investment & ROI Dashboard: Provides clear, customized dashboards that show the projected return on investment (ROI), cost savings, and carbon reduction for any recommended improvement, aligning with business KPIs.

• Monitoring-Based Commissioning: Offers ongoing tracking and verification of savings after upgrades are implemented, ensuring buildings do not fall back into inefficient operation and that projected savings are locked in.

• Decarbonisation Pathway Planning: Enables the creation and visualization of a multi-stage, evidence-based roadmap to net-zero, balancing carbon goals with cost, comfort, and operational priorities over time.

Closing Insights

IES Live is the product of a 30-year legacy in building physics. It was developed by Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), founded in 1994 by Dr. Don McLean, whose PhD research focused on renewable energy simulation. The company's original mission to make every building energy-efficient has evolved into a core focus on decarbonisation, informed by McLean's early experience of energy crises. IES Live represents the strategic extension of this deep simulation expertise from design into the operational phase of a building's life, a logical progression for a firm now home to what they regard as the world's largest building physics analytics team.

The platform is most valuable in regulatory contexts demanding verifiable action on existing building stock, as the UK, the EU, and parts of the US and Asia. It is particularly suited for portfolio owners needing to audit and prioritise upgrades across multiple assets. Notable users include the University of Liverpool, which served as the pioneering launch project and verified a 23% energy reduction post-refurbishment, and organisations like Dublin City Council and the Tifco Hotel Group for portfolio-wide decarbonisation planning.

Users might want to consider IES Live when capital retrofit decisions require engineering-grade confidence to de-risk investment. As a managed service, its value is delivered through IES's expert consultants who build, calibrate, and interpret the Digital Twin. The also service integrates directly with existing BMS and metering infrastructure.