Occuspace
CU Anschutz is launching a campus-wide initiative that uses real-time occupancy data to help us operate and maintain our buildings more efficiently—particularly our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems—while continuing to support long‑term strategic space planning.
A key focus of this initiative is understanding when, where, and how campus spaces are actually used so building systems can better respond to real demand rather than fixed schedules or assumptions. This approach supports our academic mission while reducing energy waste, lowering operational costs, and improving indoor comfort across our campuses.
Accurate occupancy information is essential to modern, efficient building operations. By gathering reliable data on how many people are using spaces and when those spaces are occupied, the university can:
- Adjust HVAC schedules and ventilation rates to match actual use, reducing unnecessary heating, cooling, and airflow in unoccupied or lightly used spaces.
- Improve temperature comfort and indoor air quality in spaces that are consistently busy.
- Reduce equipment run time, helping extend the life of HVAC systems and lower maintenance and energy costs.
- Use data-driven insights to support longer-term space planning and capital investment decisions.
Rather than heating, cooling, and ventilating buildings based on static assumptions, this initiative allows facilities teams to make informed, real-time operational decisions.
While occupancy data will inform broader space planning, its immediate value lies in day-to-day building operations. Key goals include:
- Collect accurate occupancy and utilization data to improve HVAC control strategies and energy performance.
- Reduce operational and maintenance costs by aligning building system use with actual demand.
- Support short-, mid-, and long-term campus space planning using reliable, objective data.
- Identify opportunities to repurpose or consolidate underutilized spaces without compromising student, faculty or staff support needs.
- Inform future renovations, and sustainability initiatives.
As part of this initiative, the university is implementing occupancy monitoring technology (utilization sensors) to collect data about space usage. Installation of a pilot group of sensors will begin the week of April 27th and should be completed within two weeks’ time. These pilot grouping of sensors will be located on the first and second floors of the Fitzsimons Building and the Education 1 Building. Sensors and will be activated beginning in May.
The data collected will be used primarily by facilities and planning teams to improve HVAC performance, energy efficiency, and space management decisions across campus.
Occuspace is the creator of privacy-friendly occupancy monitoring sensors that determine how busy spaces are in real time. Sensors plug into a standard wall outlets and will be visible in public areas within the locations noted above.
These sensors estimate room occupancy by detecting aggregate Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi signal activity from electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones.
The system provides modeled estimates of how many people are in a given space at a particular time. This information helps facilities teams understand patterns of use—such as peak times, consistently underused spaces, or spaces that require additional ventilation—without identifying any individual.
Your privacy is a top priority. The Occuspace system:
- Does not collect or store names, phone numbers, email addresses, or other personal information.
- Does not track individuals or follow movement from one space to another.
- Does not connect to or access any personal device.
- Does not report specific seats, desks, or individual office occupancy.