Introduction
There’s a lot of buzz around the concept of smart buildings, creating the impression that they are rapidly becoming the norm. However, a closer look at the data reveals that many buildings are still far from achieving true intelligence, particularly when it comes to energy efficiency.
The Core of a ‘Smart’ Building: Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a cornerstone of any smart building. Despite advances in technology, building energy consumption has risen across several metrics in recent years, even in the most energy-conscious regions. The issue isn’t the technology itself but rather the lack of its proper implementation. Surprisingly, many commercial buildings could reduce their energy use by at least 30% simply by adopting basic energy efficiency measures.
The United Nations has highlighted the urgent need for such measures, noting that nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions today stem from buildings. In response, the UN is working to establish an international framework aimed at making buildings more sustainable, energy-efficient, and healthier environments for occupants.
Challenges in Achieving True Energy Efficiency
Several factors undermine the energy efficiency of buildings. Ineffective controls and mismatches between design assumptions and occupant behavior are significant contributors. Another critical issue is performance drift, where building systems designed to be efficient quickly deteriorate in performance. To tackle this, the metrics used to measure energy performance in buildings need to be re-evaluated.
Singapore: A Model for Energy Efficiency
Singapore offers an exemplary model of energy efficiency in building management. The country has implemented an energy policy that focuses on meeting specific performance targets, yielding impressive results. For instance, Singapore has established a cooling system standard based on efficiency metrics rather than gross energy consumption. This approach holds designers accountable for creating systems that remain efficient, even if building operators overcool the space.
Singapore also addresses performance drift by incorporating measurement and verification features into the design and construction of building systems. This shift in metrics has led to nearly 50% improvement in the efficiency of cooling systems in buildings. Moving forward, Singapore is expanding these energy use indices to a broader range of buildings, with clear guidelines for tracking energy performance. Once these guidelines are fully in place, identifying the source of performance issues—whether systemic or operational—will become much easier, paving the way for genuinely smart buildings.
Inspiring Action Through Accountability
To drive better performance across the board, establishing a universal metric for building efficiency that applies to all facility types is essential. Public benchmarking of various facilities (e.g., hospitals, parks, office buildings, data centers) can motivate designers and operators to maintain high-performance standards consistently.
Improving performance also requires aligning energy modeling with actionable insights. Architects now have tools to model energy usage across various scenarios, helping identify the greatest potential for savings. Similarly, building operators can use dashboards to visualize energy use and evaluate the impact of different actions. However, operators might hesitate to take action due to the perceived complexity and disruption. Therefore, it’s crucial to integrate these visualizations into automated optimization software that can manage energy efficiency decisions effectively.
The Mutual Benefit of Visualization and Action
Visualization and action must work hand-in-hand. Dashboards are one-dimensional unless used to drive action, while taking action without monitoring can lead to inefficiencies. When performance drifts off course, the value of any remedial action becomes difficult to assess without proper visualization.
Designing for the Future, Not the Past
To achieve real building efficiency, we must rethink infrastructure with a focus on sustainability. Relying on outdated designs and configurations, especially for high-energy-use components like lighting and HVAC systems, will only inflate energy costs. Even new systems with the latest technology can consume more energy than necessary if not designed for efficiency.
HVAC systems account for nearly 50% of the typical energy use in commercial buildings. The primary challenge is that these systems are often over-engineered and more complex than needed. They are typically sized to meet maximum energy demands, not designed for optimal efficiency. In retrofit markets, improving poorly designed systems can significantly boost efficiency, as demonstrated by Singapore’s success.
Key Questions for Designing Smart Buildings
When designing new buildings, several critical questions must be addressed:
1. What would the perfect HVAC system look like?
2. What would the perfect lighting system look like?
3. How can all the building systems be interconnected holistically to eliminate waste?
4. Answering these questions is crucial for addressing performance drift and ushering in the era of truly “smart” buildings.
Conclusion
The journey to smarter buildings involves more than just adopting the latest technology; it requires a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency, accountability, and sustainable design. By learning from models like Singapore and rethinking traditional building infrastructure, we can create environments that are not only smart but also truly sustainable.