McGill University Student Uses Pulse Energy API to Create the McGill Energy Map

To encourage more active commuting among McGill staff

Published on July 14, 2014 | Pulse Energy News

by: Meena Mohan

Flexibility and configurability are two of our guiding principles when it comes to developing great, user friendly software.

McGill University in Montreal has taken advantage of this open approach, offering students access to the Pulse Energy application program interface (API) to experiment with and build their own applications.

Ian Tattersfield, a student at the McGill Energy Project and Website Communications Associate for the McGill Office of Sustainability, has built a great visualization of campus energy use.

Starting with a satellite view of the McGill campus from Google, Tattersfield added an additional layer to the view to show the distinct shape of each building on campus.

He then pulled in energy data for every building on campus through the Pulse Energy API with the end result being the McGill Energy Map, a map that displays how much energy each building uses, updated at hourly intervals.

Buildings with consistently high use during the day appear to be McLennan Library and Maass Chemistry Building while Redpath Museum and a number of the student residences have lower energy requirements.

The configurability of the API and open access to the building data is a great tool for student learning and also helps raise awareness about how everyone at McGill can contribute to saving energy.

Read the full story here.