Smart buildings are proving to be an indispensable solution to reduce climate change's impact while promoting environmental sustainability.
FREMONT, CA: With extreme weather events and impending climate crises, global temperatures are accelerating beyond the 1.5°C to 2°C Paris Agreement goal. The world’s population has also hit the eight billion mark, indicating the urgent need for leaders to combat socioeconomic challenges and mitigate climate change.
The fast-paced urbanisation accompanied by the rising population will require large cities to maintain a constant supply of energy, food, water, transportation, accommodation, and commercial life. In this light, smart buildings are proving to be an innovative and indispensable solution to reduce the impact of climate change while also promoting environmental sustainability. Though the transition to smart buildings can’t happen overnight, updating older buildings and developing new property technologies can accelerate the adoption.
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Smart buildings have proven their remarkable efficiencies in allowing budding custodians to manage heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation, reducing unnecessary use of power and maximising the usability of utilities and the comfort of the tenants. In addition to this, smart buildings can schedule preventive maintenance, automatically identify issues, prioritise them, and continuously optimise the overall efficiency of a building.
Despite the benefits, building owners, traditionally, have been hesitant to implement property technologies, fearing a prolonged and expensive remodelling. However, owners can start with something as simple as using the latest technologies to optimise and manage HVAC usage.
Building owners can comprehensively view the overall efficiency of their properties, energy consumption, and other resources and update decision-makers regarding the same. With visualisation tools, stakeholders can holistically view the areas that require improvement, prioritise issues, and monitor the progress of each development plan. In addition to examining online dashboards, building managers and facilities crews can utilise analytics and modelling to build smarter spaces with digital twins.
Digital twins software can be used to identify problems such as open windows that should be closed, heating and cooling systems that are running, or excessive heating and cooling on weekends and holidays. This technology also can be employed to modify lighting, temperature, and technology to real requirements, decreasing unnecessary usage without sacrificing comfort.
There is a clear path forward when regard to climate change that is business-led and economically viable. As businesses and other organisations share their triumphs with energy savings and connectivity augmentations, it’s likely that local governments and cities will join in with mandates, investments, and resources. Smart buildings deliver a rare chance to do what is morally responsible, provide better services and outcomes, foster a sustainable future, and produce pro-business cost savings.
