Building Energy Management for Smart Buildings: How Smart Controls Cut Energy Waste
Smart buildings aren’t really smart because they have a bunch of connected gadgets. Instead, they become smart when they understand where energy goes and automatically do something about it.
That’s where building energy management comes into play.
A modern Building Energy Management System (BEMS) connects sensors, meters, software and automated controls. Together, these technologies monitor how a building operates. More importantly, they help owners reduce energy consumption without sacrificing comfort.
Back in 2011, building energy analytics already looked like the future of commercial energy efficiency. Today, that future has arrived.
Smart Building Energy Management Analytics Change the Game
Traditional buildings often operate on schedules.
For example, HVAC equipment might start at 6 a.m. every morning. Lights might remain on throughout an entire floor. Meanwhile, heating and cooling systems can continue operating even when sections of the building sit empty.
That’s energy waste.
However, smart building energy analytics create another option.
Sensors can track temperature, occupancy, humidity, lighting conditions and equipment performance. Then, building energy management software analyzes that information.
As a result, facility managers gain much greater visibility into what’s actually happening.
Even better, advanced controls can respond automatically.
The U.S. Department of Energy describes building controls as essentially the intelligent nervous system of a building. They integrate systems such as HVAC, lighting and hot water while balancing comfort, indoor air quality, energy consumption and operating costs.
According to the DOE, successful implementation of high-performance controls has demonstrated the potential to reduce commercial-building HVAC energy use by 30 percent. (The Department of Energy’s Energy.gov)
That’s serious energy efficiency.
Building Energy Management Turns Data Into Savings
Collecting energy data isn’t enough.
You have to use it.
Therefore, an effective building energy management strategy continuously looks for opportunities to reduce unnecessary consumption.
For example, a BEMS can identify equipment operating after business hours. Similarly, it can detect unusual increases in electricity consumption. In addition, operators can adjust heating and cooling schedules based on occupancy instead of simply relying on the clock.
ENERGY STAR emphasizes this same approach. Comprehensive energy management involves monitoring, controlling and reducing energy consumption while continuously measuring performance and verifying savings. (ENERGY STAR)
Consequently, building owners move beyond guessing.
They can actually see where their energy dollars go.
HVAC Controls Offer Huge Opportunities
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems represent one of the biggest opportunities.
That’s because HVAC equipment can waste enormous amounts of energy when controls aren’t properly programmed.
For example, a building may heat or cool empty spaces overnight. Likewise, equipment can start earlier than necessary. Meanwhile, poorly coordinated systems can sometimes heat and cool different parts of a building at the same time.
Smart controls attack those problems.
ENERGY STAR recommends strategies such as optimal start and stop, night setbacks, temperature resets, economizer controls and improved equipment scheduling. Furthermore, ENERGY STAR notes that many facilities already have sophisticated energy management systems but fail to use their full capabilities. (ENERGY STAR)
That’s an important point.
Sometimes the technology is already sitting inside the building.
Operators simply need to use it better.
Smart Building Energy Management Respond to Occupancy
Occupancy data adds another layer of intelligence.
Why illuminate, heat or cool an empty room?
Instead, smart buildings can adjust systems according to how people actually use the space.
For example, occupancy sensors can reduce lighting when employees leave a conference room. Similarly, HVAC systems can adjust temperatures in lightly occupied areas.
Therefore, energy consumption starts following actual building demand.
This approach has also moved into homes. ENERGY STAR’s Smart Home Energy Management Systems program includes technologies that can automatically control connected devices based on occupancy and usage patterns. Systems can also incorporate smart thermostats, lighting, plug loads, appliances and EV charging. (ENERGY STAR)
In other words, the same basic idea works at multiple scales:
Measure. Analyze. Control. Save.
Artificial Intelligence Makes Buildings Even Smarter
Today’s building energy management systems can go much further than their 2011 predecessors.
Analytics software can examine enormous amounts of operating data. Consequently, building managers can identify patterns that humans might miss.
For example, software may detect an HVAC unit gradually consuming more electricity than comparable equipment. That could indicate maintenance problems before the unit actually fails.
Therefore, energy analytics can support both energy efficiency and predictive maintenance.
Modern platforms can also monitor energy performance in real time, automate heating and cooling, control lighting and produce information useful for energy and emissions reporting. (IBM)
That’s a major evolution from simply switching equipment on and off.
Smart Buildings Can Work With the Electric Grid
The next step gets even more interesting.
Buildings don’t have to operate independently from the electric grid.
Instead, smart controls can help buildings respond to electricity prices, grid conditions and renewable-energy availability.
For example, a building with solar panels and battery storage could use stored electricity during expensive peak-demand periods. Meanwhile, flexible loads could shift to another time.
Electric vehicle charging adds another opportunity.
Rather than charging every vehicle immediately, intelligent systems can schedule charging when electricity demand and prices are lower.
Consequently, buildings can become active energy resources instead of passive electricity consumers.
The federal government’s work on advanced building technologies specifically includes integrating smart technologies, controls and data processing while optimizing building energy consumption for grid stability and resilience. (U.S. Code)
That’s where smart buildings start connecting directly with the smart grid.
Interoperability Still Matters
However, there’s still a challenge.
Building systems don’t always communicate easily.
One manufacturer may control the HVAC system. Another may provide lighting controls. Meanwhile, separate platforms can manage batteries, solar panels, security systems and EV chargers.
Therefore, interoperability remains critical.
The Department of Energy continues working with national laboratories, industry partners and organizations such as ASHRAE to develop standards and open-source tools that make advanced building controls easier to deploy. (The Department of Energy’s Energy.gov)
Ultimately, smart building technology works best when all these systems communicate.
Energy Efficiency Becomes an Operating Strategy
Perhaps the biggest change isn’t technological.
It’s organizational.
Energy once looked like another fixed operating expense. You received the utility bill. Then, you paid it.
However, smart building energy management changes that mindset.
Energy becomes something managers can actively measure, control and optimize.
Therefore, facility managers, sustainability teams, IT departments and corporate executives increasingly have reasons to work together.
Lower energy consumption reduces operating costs. In addition, better controls can improve comfort and equipment performance. Meanwhile, lower electricity and fuel consumption can reduce a building’s environmental footprint.
That’s why building energy management has become much bigger than installing a few smart thermostats.
It’s about turning the entire building into an intelligent energy system.
The Green Living Guy Take
Smart buildings show exactly why energy efficiency should come before simply producing more energy.
Because the cleanest kilowatt-hour is still the one you never needed to consume.
First, measure where the energy goes.
Then, eliminate waste.
Next, automate the savings.
Finally, connect renewable energy, battery storage, EV charging and smart-grid technology.
That’s how we turn ordinary buildings into truly smart, efficient and resilient buildings.
And more than a decade after smart building energy analytics began changing facility management, the opportunity has only gotten bigger.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy — Building Controls
