As India continues on its path to becoming a global superpower, it also has to contend with the rate of commercial energy consumption. Data from the World Bank shows an increase in emissions from 890,000 tonnes in 2000 to 2.2 billion tonnes in 2020; and this is only set to go up as the rate of urbanisation increases and commercial buildings proliferate. The solution may seem simple, but businesses are still hesitant to invest in energy efficiency due to a lack of clear, real-time data to guide their decisions.
Moving beyond policy alone is crucial; we need to take a data-driven approach to create compelling cases for where energy initiatives should be directed.
In this regard, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Energy Data Management Unit (EDMU) has done some valuable work to guide businesses in optimising their commercial energy usage, by incorporating automation and smart technology.
The Case for Energy Efficiency in the Commercial Buildings Sector
The commercial buildings sector consumes extensive amounts of energy to maintain a consistent environment for their tenants. While energy efficiency offers the obvious – cost advantage – lower energy consumption eventually means lower operational costs, which further translates to greater competitive advantage.
Yet, many businesses hesitate to invest as there is a standing perception that energy management systems are extremely expensive and difficult to wield.
The EDMU recognises this challenge with an evidence-based approach. They collect and analyze energy consumption data, identify areas of maximum consumption, and recommend targeted interventions, ensuring resources and effort go where they are most needed.
For instance, specific patterns that led to wasteful energy consumption, such as suboptimal zoning, irregular equipment maintenance schedules, and a tendency towards overcooling in office environments, led to important recommendations for HVAC optimisation in Indian commercial spaces.
This includes the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), and today, data shows that ECBC-compliant buildings are 20% more energy efficient than regular buildings, while those rated ECBC+ and Super ECBC are up to 35% and 45% more efficient respectively.
Real-Time Analytics in Commercial HVAC Management
Efficient energy management can be simpler than one expects if one has timely access to the right data. Real-time data on energy usage patterns enables automated energy management systems to give commercial buildings immediate feedback on what their heating and cooling patterns look like and how they can be optimized. There already exist several building automation solutions that use AI and real-time data from IoT sensors to adjust HVAC levels autonomously.
Imagine running an office where energy costs are cut by 20% without compromising employee comfort. You need real-time information on comfort levels, temperature preferences, weather outside the establishment, etc. You can achieve this with smart systems.
It can study usage patterns to proactively adjust temperature, lighting, and ventilation for maximum comfort. These systems are also equipped with powerful algorithms that are continuously learning about energy usage patterns, allowing the system to make even more granular recommendations over time.
For instance, in an office space, the system can start cooling the floors and letting in fresh air two hours before clock-in time, so that employees can feel comfortable the moment they step in. This also allows for less energy consumption than if the AC were to run at full blast to bring temperatures down.
The same applies to retail spaces as well. The system might observe that foot traffic in a retail space is at its highest on the apparel floor during the festive season. It can thus recommend increased temperature control and ventilation there to keep everyone cool and avoid stale air due to overcrowding.
Beyond optimization, real-time data and AI-driven automation in commercial spaces enhances maintenance efficiency as well. We can also detect early signs of wear and tear in the HVAC system and proactively schedule maintenance, thereby avoiding unexpected breakdowns and getting the repairs done at a much lower cost.
The longer businesses delay these investments, fearing high costs and complex integrations, the more they lose in inefficiencies.
Getting Stakeholders Onboard
Businesses should stop seeing energy efficiency as a compliance headache and start seeing it as an investment that guarantees returns.
Different commercial industries have their respective operational needs, and the EDMU considers this when designing energy efficiency recommendations. Maintaining smart building automation systems requires specialised knowledge. Future policies can address this by providing support for skill-building and onsite training for commercial employees.
Particularly for businesses with budget constraints, government subsidies or tax benefits for installing energy-efficient systems can be what pushes them towards taking that critical step.
The need for energy efficiency will only increase as climate change becomes ever more pressing. Rather than updating policies every few years and forcing buildings to keep making upgrades, energy policies should anticipate future needs and emphasise systems and standards that can evolve with time.
Here again, smart HVAC solutions are ideal, as the machine learning algorithms underpinning them are able to learn and adapt on the go.
The Way Forward
In other words, it recognises that lasting support from industries will not come from the imposition of strict laws, but from the creation of policies that lay out the clear business case for investing in energy-efficient infrastructure.
For commercial operators too, these recommendations in favour of energy efficiency should be seen as an opportunity. By proactively investing in smart building automation solutions, they are not only saving costs but also positioning themselves as sustainable brands.
And as the push towards fighting climate change continues, it is this sustainable edge that will attract more consumer goodwill and more lucrative investment from both private and public sources.
Energy efficiency will only become more critical as time goes by, and the countries that invest in it now will be the standard-bearers for generations to come. If India can combine its impressive economic advances with sustainability advances, its future as a global superpower is assured.
*All the opinions in this article are of Gaurav Burman, Managing Director, APAC Operations, 75F. The Volt Post takes no responsibility for the opinions, figures, and statistics mentioned in the column.*
