Maintaining building energy conservation standards isn’t tough anymore

Energy optimisation has become an essential concern over time for effective building energy conservation with global warming being one of the major reasons. Global warming has become a very hot topic, and shifting to more energy efficiency is one of the best methods to prevent its adverse effects on the environment. We can greatly reduce the number of greenhouse gases discharged into the environment by reducing the energy we use in buildings.

Realizing the need of the hour, the regulatory bodies across the globe (both in the developed and the developing economies) have introduced various energy conservation standards and regulations to promote the improvement of the energy performance of commercial buildings.

Some of the regulations are as follows:

• The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2007 – India
• The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) – Europe
• Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) Directive No.1 2015 – UAE
• German Buildings Energy Act (GEG 2020) – Germany
• Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) – Italy
• Energy Conservation Act 2012 – Singapore
• Energy Efficiency Law No. 5627 of 2007 – Turkey

The main aim behind introducing these standards/ regulations is to ensure optimal operations and to minimize energy wastage in buildings. The building owners/ facility managers are bound to comply with maintaining these energy conservation standards to avoid any hefty penalties. Moreover, these regulations act as a catalyst for various organizations to help them achieve their sustainability goals quickly. With reduced energy consumption in their buildings (offices, warehouses, industries, etc.), organizations get closer to their sustainability goals of achieving Carbon-Neutrality or NetZero, along with reduced operational costs and improved efficiency.

IoT can help maintain energy conservation standards

To make energy consumption in buildings efficient, IoT adoption has become far more critical.  Businesses can use the IoT solution to collect and analyze data to obtain new insights and improve operations. Wireless sensors and energy meters driven by the IoT can assist monitor energy consumption across multiple assets. The information gathered from those sensors is then used to identify any anomalies using AI/ML-based algorithms. Sensors powered by the Internet of Things, for example, may detect when a room is occupied and adjust lighting, cooling, and heating systems to save energy. These devices can also adjust their settings in response to occupancy numbers, operator-defined schedules, or environmental factors. This is how organizations can use wireless connectivity and sensors to collect real-time operating data, analyze consumption, and forecast demand in order to take proactive sustainability initiatives.

The way ahead

With the world moving closer toward global warming, there is indeed an immediate and increasing need to further introduce new and improvise the current energy conservation standards for buildings as a vital step to save our planet for the generations to come. Moreover, with increased and strict energy conservation compliances, the building owners definitely need reliable and promising energy and building management solution. This is where IoT can provide an affordable and reliable end-to-end solution to help maintain energy conservation regulations. IoT-powered solutions not only help reduce overall operational expenses by reducing energy consumption but also provide multiple other benefits like reduced equipment breakdown, improved comfort compliances & automated anomaly alerts.