BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT


The hidden dividend: better outcomes for students


Energy savings and reduced emissions are persuasive, but perhaps the most compelling case for smart building technology lies in something less often discussed: the direct impact on learning. Research shows that poor air quality, uncomfortable temperatures and inadequate ventilation impair cognitive function – the very thing these institutions exist to develop. Yet in many older campus buildings, these factors are chronically unmanaged.


By continuously monitoring indoor conditions and automatically adjusting ventilation in real time, intelligent systems maintain the consistent, healthy environment in which students can actually focus. Tröinge School in Falkenberg, Sweden, has embedded ABB’s KNX automation, 450 presence detectors, and real-time weather stations from the ground up. The building adjusts levels of lighting, heating and ventilation based on real-time conditions, with presence detection alone projected to cut energy consumption by up to 30%. Dynamic management of the indoor climate is key to keeping students focused, comfortable, and thinking with clarity; as well as saving on energy and emissions.


A future-ready investment


Modular architectures mean smart building platforms can scale from a single classroom or lecture hall to a sprawling multi-site estate. Built on open standards, they integrate with new technologies as they emerge rather than locking institutions into a single vendor’s ecosystem. As regulatory frameworks tighten through LEED, ASHRAE, WELL, and forthcoming UK-specific standards, these platforms also generate the data universities need to demonstrate performance and meet their obligations.


strategy; its Grosvenor East building features ABB’s Cylon Building Management System, providing automated control and 24/7 web- based access to alarms, trends and scheduling for temperature, lighting and air quality. The system offers backwards compatibility with the university’s installed base of 1,200 legacy devices, future-proofing the campus without wholesale replacement. For MMU, smart building technology demonstrates values that, according to a survey by QS in 2024, now matter more to more than two thirds of students than a university’s ranking.


Real-world impact: the University of Exeter The practical value of smart building technology at scale is well illustrated by the University of Exeter. Spread across four campuses and dozens of buildings, the university needed to maintain a large, complex estate while keeping every building safe and compliant – without overwhelming a small facilities team. Their solution was ABB’s Naveo®Pro, an IoT-based platform for managing emergency lighting. Across 28 buildings and 6,000 fittings, the maintenance manager can now monitor, test and control everything through a single app, with interactive mapping that makes navigating the estate straightforward. When a fitting needs repair, the team can action the fix and move on with confidence – the system confirms everything


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is working as expected. For an institution managing thousands of safety-critical fittings, that peace of mind is invaluable.


The lesson is clear: where critical infrastructure is distributed across large sites, intelligent remote monitoring is the most practical approach.


The decarbonisation of the UK’s educational estate cannot wait for the next new-build programme. The technology is available today, can be retrofitted to existing buildings, and pays dividends in healthier learning environments, lower running costs, and fewer tonnes of CO2. For sector leaders, the question is no longer whether smart building technology is viable, it’s whether they can afford to wait.


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