Reliable, Accessible Power.
When one of the largest urban commercial Living Buildings globally needed a reliable power solution for its essential wastewater systems, Artek delivered. The PAE Living Building in downtown Portland—renowned for its ambitious sustainability goals—relies on 24V marine-grade pump systems to handle all of its composting sewage processes. These pumps are distributed throughout the facility, and supply a large composting infrastructure within the utility room beneath the building. These systems are vital to daily operations—and they can’t afford to fail.
Unfortunately, the original power system implemented by a third party was unreliable, lacked visibility, and introduced unacceptable risk to the building’s zero-waste mission. Artek was brought in to redesign and implement an updated Victron Energy-based system capable of delivering dependable, around-the-clock performance. Since commissioning, the system has achieved 100% uptime.
"The team at Artek was able to review our highly customized DC power application and make recommendations to improve system reliability and long-term maintenance routines. They offered support at every step and since the upgrades, we have not had a single DC power system failure."
Craig Collins - Senior Associate, PAE
Remote Monitoring & Control Through VRM
At the core of the redesign is Victron’s Cerbo GX, providing complete system intelligence and integration. Paired with Victron Remote Management (VRM), the facility team now has full visibility into system performance—including voltage, current, state of charge, and real-time alerts—from anywhere in the world. This capability eliminates guesswork, reduces maintenance delays, and ensures the entire building infrastructure runs smoothly without manual oversight.
A Targeted Retrofit That Solved Critical Voltage Issues
To resolve the persistent reliability problems, Artek integrated a Victron Energy IP43 charger to address voltage drop issues that were causing intermittent failures in the 24V marine pump system. These low-voltage conditions had previously led to pump failures and posed a risk of costly damage or replacement. By stabilizing DC voltage across the system, the IP43 charger restored consistent performance, eliminating failures and ensuring uninterrupted wastewater operation. This fix avoided downtime and prevented significant replacement costs, bringing long-term stability to a critical part of the building’s infrastructure. It also allowed all regeneration data to be captured on the Cerbo GX.
Why It Matters
For mission-critical systems like wastewater processing, power reliability isn’t optional—it’s essential. Artek’s ability to redesign, implement, and remotely monitor power systems at this level sets a new standard for high-performance, sustainable infrastructure.