The issue of global warming and effective energy use has become a worldwide concern that requires the adoption of energy-efficient measures across industries and businesses. Buildings being a crucial player in our transition to a future with reduced carbon emissions are also required to transform into energy-efficient spaces.
According to studies, commercial buildings squander 30% of the energy they use on average. They are also the source of around one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 40% of the world’s energy consumption. They are responsible for a quarter of CO2 emissions and a third of world demand. Energy-efficient buildings are becoming more and more important as energy is becoming a central economic concern that has rising demand and finite supplies.
Creating Energy Efficient Built Environment
The main sources of energy used in built spaces include heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting. According to recent estimates, heating and cooling account for 40% of the energy utilized in the commercial sector. An essential tactic for cutting energy waste is to eliminate and optimize the needless use of these sources. The end goal must be to run HVAC systems on electricity produced by a clean energy source, benefitting both the environment and the building owner due to reduced energy wastage and costs.
The energy efficiency of an HVAC system depends on a variety of factors. Including the system’s design and upkeep practices. Most HVAC operators are seeking equipment and solutions that lessen their adverse environmental impact as sustainable growth becomes more of a priority. During the forecast period, 2022–2026, the market for energy-efficient HVAC systems is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 11.02%.
But, to comprehend energy consumption trends and make practical choices for the future of the building, advanced analytics are required. Advanced analytics platforms give a detailed view of installed systems, and can reveal areas that could use improvement to make spaces energy efficient.
Benchmarks can be incredibly useful for comprehending and assessing a building’s energy usage. Using historical data gathered from the network of equipment, sensors, and devices in your building makes the built space performance comparable.
Energy Optimization Through Building Management and Automation
The ideal time to concentrate on energy efficiency is during the construction phase of a building because it allows easy integration of new energy efficiency measures. However, built environments can be streamlined otherwise as well.
Building Management System (BMS) can be used to monitor power consumption to maximize energy use. BEMS, a little more advanced energy management system than BMS, helps facilities managers make decisions based on the surveillance and data it gives about systems including energy use and requirements. However, certain aspects like CO2 level, humidity, luminosity, conductivity, etc. cannot be monitored or measured by either of them.
Long-term outcomes will be improved by IoT data gathering and analysis that takes these elements into account. Automation is what drives energy efficiency with IoT. IoT technology offers one of the most promising approaches to lowering building energy consumption when combined with intelligent building management platforms that use AI and ML algorithms.
When IoT is integrated with BMS it can regulate the usage of energy in built environments using data obtained by intelligent sensors and controls like daylight sensors, thermostat controls, occupancy sensors, smart meters variable speed drives, HVAC controls, predictive building maintenance, sensors fault & failure detection sensors, etc.
Taking the complete building into consideration and evaluating it and its systems holistically is a trend delivering energy efficiency benefits. Thus, it is feasible to create the best energy management strategy for buildings with the correct data variables, which the IoT collects, correlates, and analyses.
Relying on non-renewable resources is unsustainable, whereas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adopting energy efficiency have local and worldwide environmental benefits. To achieve built environments with zero emissions, it will not only be crucial for facility owners to adopt energy-efficient measures but will also require technology adoption and usage of environment-friendly solutions in the built spaces. To know more visit nhance.ai.
