Business and Competitiveness Benefits with Smart Systems

by Professor Risto Kosonen

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) calls for improved building smartness. The Commission is calling for a significantly better integration of the energy system with the building services systems. To accelerate this development, the EU Commission has proposed a Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) to compare the intelligence of systems. In this context, building intelligence refers to the ability of a building or its systems to detect, interpret, communicate and actively respond optimally to changing conditions or the operation of the external environment (including the energy system) and the requirements of the building's users. 

​Compared to other Member States, the Nordic countries are well prepared to implement smart control, as the building stock is already largely equipped with advanced building automation. However, there is still a need for development in the integration of buildings and real estate systems in order to better utilize the opportunities offered by automation.

System integration is key to improving the service level of HVAC systems. System integration in this context refers to the fact that building technical services can be better integrated with the energy system in order to optimally utilize dynamically changing energy prices. An intelligent integrated system collects measurement data on indoor conditions and system operation, which is used for monitoring operations and cost-optimal control of the system performance. In practice, this means comfortable indoor climate conditions and optimized energy use.

Increasing the energy flexibility of buildings and improving the indoor climate requires that HVAC systems must be smarter than they are today. With modern technology, building automation can be used to charge and discharge the thermal mass of a building and adjust the room air temperature accordingly in response to heating demand and energy price. In addition, hot water thermal storage and electric car batteries can be charged during periods of cheap electricity.

Energy flexibility has also been shown to increase the value of a property. This means that developers should invest in improving smart readiness and energy flexibility, as this directly increases the value of the property in the market. Smart and adaptive systems can thus bring a competitive advantage to property developers and building owners. 

There are two possible development paths for future building services systems: either the systems are as simple as possible and self-regulating, or buildings make full use of the algorithms offered by data analytics. Simple systems are reliable and require little maintenance, but their disadvantage is the limited ability to control, for example, indoor climate conditions and energy use. With a self-regulating system, the user must accept a fairly large variation in indoor conditions as both outdoor conditions and internal heat gains vary. These systems must allow conditions to drift within certain acceptable indoor climate conditions limits.

On the other hand, smart systems offer the possibility of managing indoor climate conditions according to the user's wishes and optimizing energy use. However, smart systems are complex. They require extensive overall management in design and during the operation phase.

​Smart technology has significant practical benefits for the real estate and construction sector, such as building fault diagnostics, user comfort and optimization of energy use. The above-mentioned issues mean cost savings, reliable buildings and user satisfaction, among other things, in relation to indoor climate conditions. However, it is still common today that systems do not work as desired. In order to get the best possible benefit from them, their functionality and the quality of the data they produce must be ensured. In addition, real estate and construction sector operators must develop their expertise so that increasingly complex automation solutions and data analytics can be fully utilized. Only after the basics are in place, will it be possible to bring both economic and competitive benefits to property owners and developers.