Case Study: Supportive Housing
Seattle’s Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) is dedicated to ending homelessness among vulnerable populations, specifically those struggling with severe mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and/or chronic health issues. Domatic installed its smart building automation system to transform DESC’s latest housing development.
About DESC
Founded in 1979, DESC was established to offer emergency shelter and survival support for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. The center provides a range of services, including supportive housing, with a focus on developing properties whose programs promote long-term success for residents.
The Challenge
In December of 2023, DESC announced the grand opening of its newest affordable housing development in Seattle’s Aurora-Licton Springs neighborhood. The building offers 124 units of affordable housing with supportive services and indoor/outdoor community spaces, serving single adults living with disabilities who have been experiencing homelessness.
Recognizing the importance of safety, energy conservation, and operational efficiency, DESC decided on a smart building solution that met all of its requirements in a single system. Seattle building codes require occupancy and daylight harvesting controls in modern buildings, and a smart building system is the only feasible way to accomplish this without costly delays and heavy infrastructure.
DESC needed a system that would cover Seattle’s energy conservation requirements, and that would also provide visibility into the occupancy and usage of the building to ensure safety for its residents. In the event of a leak, for example, a rapid maintenance response is essential to minimize damage, cost, and impact to other residents. With potential safety hazards such as electrical appliances left on being a common concern, DESC wanted a discreet and dependable monitoring solution for the building.
DESC’s priorities came down to three things: low voltage lighting, metering, and building monitoring.
The Solution
Domatic provides a power distribution and building automation system that allows fixtures in a building to be connected, powered, and controlled with simple wiring and plug-and-play provisioning.
In October of 2023, the builders of Burbridge Place began installing Domatic’s low-voltage wiring system, which combines power and data to network fixtures and enable intelligent applications. Working with Domatic’s fixture partners, the builder installed fixtures throughout the building — lights, switches, daylight and occupancy sensors, plus water and energy monitoring devices.
With Domatic’s system, every fixture has an IP address, so data can be collected from all building fixtures and monitored in a centralized platform. The Domatic Cloud replaces the traditional self-reporting method for building monitoring with a unified dashboard that pinpoints maintenance issues and potential safety hazards. Property owners can oversee the building’s fixtures and applications, gather data, and receive alerts about faults — an integrated view of how the building is performing.
The Results
DESC quickly realized the positive impact of the collaboration. Integrating Domatic’s power distribution system enhanced energy and operational efficiency, leading to reduced long-term maintenance costs.
Building management and the staff supporting residents can now ensure a secure environment with monitoring, while still upholding occupants’ privacy.
Concerns about building automation systems usually revolve around added components and extended installation and commissioning times. Domatic’s low-voltage, network-based approach instead offers a straightforward and efficient installation process.
The success of the implementation has prompted plans to introduce Domatic’s system at another DESC property.