BSEE


Terry Sharp, president of the Building Controls Industry Associaon (BCIA), addresses some challenges that could potenally hinder the wider adopon of smart building technology.


exists in the majority of buildings, there is a resource or education gap in the use of the data harvested. Its future outlook summary; “an ambitious industry, albeit facing challenges” I thought summed up our current position very well. The survey found that although most respondents have smart building technologies in their facilities and collect their data, 42% of them do not analyse building data from their facilities to identify changes and patterns that can support the buildings’ operation and


have made no secret of my excitement for the crest of the wave the building sector is riding in terms of innovation and the mine of potential that we can do with it. However, nothing is ever straightforward and there are numerous issues to solve if we are truly to make full use of the abilities of smart buildings. In July survey results released by IFSEC Media and Omdia provided an in-depth understanding of the perspective of end users on smart building technologies. The report argued that though the capability


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By Nico van de Merwe, VP of Home & Distribuon at Schneider Electric


management and, when collected, the data is primarily used to provide visibility of performance of equipment rather than for running advanced analytics.


The vast amounts data produced by buildings has been well documented, but it is access to this data and presenting it usefully that will add real added value to BMS systems in terms of making both energy and financial savings. The percentage of end-users that currently have smart building technologies/applications within all or part of their organisation was relatively high, more than 70% but, perhaps significantly, a lack of training available to staff who would


INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA Fulfilling ambitions


operate the systems/equipment was one of the two most cited issues that end users encountered in the first year of using their smart building technologies. There are companies already moves towards data harvesting including existing BMS manufacturers, plus IT giants such as Google, Microsoft & IBM and System Integrators providing lower level access to the huge amount of data that can be harvested through a BMS.


If end user knowledge and engagement is one challenge, then another is the ongoing issue of the ‘skills gap’, which triggered a discussion in a CIBSE webinar hosted by my predecessor Jon Belfield. One aspect of the skills gap discussion was raised by Tom Randall from Ove Arup, when he explained occasions where the skills that BEMS engineers already have were not being tapped in to and there was no incentive for these to be brought to the fore. The example he gave was a site where during a post occupancy discussion with the BEMS engineer about more energy efficient methods of controlling the plant, the BEMS engineer pulled up strategy on the laptop to show sites where this had successfully been


done previously but there had been no incentive or motivation to bring this expert knowledge into play on this particular project. This is a real opportunity for the supply chain and part of ‘bringing BEMS out of the shadows’ so that the drive for best practice is constantly pursued, it is shared and made available, and most importantly these skills and this knowledge become standard practice.


Thank you Finally, I would like to say


congratulations to all the winners of this year’s BCIA Awards and also a big thank you to everybody who participated in our first ever BCIA Virtual Awards and made it a night to remember. We have been dealt some truly exceptional


circumstances in 2020 and, despite it not being quite the big night we all wanted it served a reminder to me of the brilliant, talented, imaginative and good humoured people and companies we are lucky to have in our industry.


www.bcia.co.uk


INDUSTRY COMMENT Tackling the Climate Emergency at Home


We have already made progress - cutting carbon emissions by 40% since the 90s, while the economy grew by 75%. In 2020, we are expected to break all renewable and low carbon generated electricity records. However, while the UK is gradually moving toward a carbon neutral society, to meet the challenge ahead we must address one area specifically – our energy consumption at home.


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s the size of the challenge has become clearer, as has our ability to collaborate and focus on the goal.


This same clarity of thought, and investment in innovation, must next be turned to the climate emergency. For decades, we have understood the scale of the challenge facing us, now is the time to invest in technology that puts the UK on the Net-Zero path.


By 2050, the UK economy has made a legal commitment to be ‘zero carbon. The Committee on Climate Change, which monitors Britain’s progress on climate targets, said in 2018 that this is not possible “without near complete decarbonisation of the housing stock”. Yet, electricity use in homes to set to more than double by 2050, outstripping industry, as well as commercial and transport use combined.


To meet this challenge, we must spark a net zero home revolution – the widespread move to homes that produces at least as much energy as it consumes. Before the revolution, we must be clear on its aims – what makes up a net zero home and how will that journey look:


Fundamentals of a Net Zero Home


Visibility – Consumers, businesses and governments need to be able to optimise household energy use, from heating and lighting to energy generation, consumption and storage. They can only do so by have insights into every aspect of their systems. Sensor technology will be become hugely important in measuring room temperatures, oven timings and water usage. Connectivity – Everything must be connected to generate an accurate view of operations; only then can it be truly optimised. Utilising sensor technology and fusing it with software able to analyse and draw insights, is fundamental to a net-zero home.


Automation – Having complete visibility and connectivity enables automation, which in turn enables greater efficiencies to be made. Building towards an autonomous future will be vital in meeting the challenges ahead


Interoperability – To meet the challenge, solutions must be built towards a common goal and collaborate. This requires


manufacturers to work together and greater open interoperable system that can deliver greater efficiency and effectiveness. We must seek a new era of collaboration, with cutting edge innovators work with legacy companies to develop, test and distribution the best technology, with government backing.


Education – Consumer behaviour must change. Our study found that most consumers were not willing to change their day-to-day lives in order to become more


environmentally friendly. Rather than seeing this as an insurmountable roadblock, we must begin to understand how such feeling are formed and learn to proactively change minds and enforce long term change.


8 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2020


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