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The future of sustainable buildings: the role of ISO 52120 in building energy management

A few years back, the International Organisation for Standards began providing a methodology for ranking a Building Energy Management System’s performance, which is crucial to optimising energy efficiency. It was developed as a European Standard as part of the European Union’s response to its climate change commitment and is now often seen as a significant guideline for assessing energy management, monitoring, and more. And this is why. Read more >

The three pillars of zero-emissions buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy has introduced a standardised, verifiable basis for defining a zero-emissions building. The first part of this definition, focusing on Operating Emissions, outlines three fundamental criteria that are crucial for a building to be considered a zero-emissions building:

How you can get big results with little data

Ever used or heard of Shazam? When you hear a song you like and get curious about the title, Shazam will take a small piece of information and analyse it to tell you exactly what music is playing around you, including the name of the songs, the lyrics, the artist - and more.

What does comfort and air quality actually cost you?

Things as simple as simultaneously heating and cooling adjacent spaces leads to waste - and reduced comfort. Only one in five buildings has a control system regulating heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water generation. And still most of these buildings operate at a Class C energy efficiency level. The ones without control systems are worse again, operating at efficiency grades of E, F or G.

How sustainable practices pay off in more ways than one

Reducing waste leads to a lower base of energy usage - and that only brings benefits. If you’re in the market for a new house, would you go for a townhouse with a D-BER certification, or would you rather invest in a sustainable A-rated property? Many would most likely choose the A-rated property. There’s less maintenance, little investment and lower risk.

Why having too much information is not efficient

We’ve all heard variations of the expression: “Too close to the wood to see the trees”. It’s where you’ve gotten so deep into the detail that you have lost sight of the bigger picture. Or to put it another way – you have so much information, that you have no idea what to do with it.

It can be very easy to find ourselves in that place with building performance data. There is so much a building can tell us, with all of the data that technology makes available. But the question you need to ask yourself is – which information do you really need?

The cost of data: the hidden expenses in building monitoring

Did you know an average email can produce about 5 to 10 grams of CO2 emissions? Strange to think of, isn’t it? If you ask me, it gives us pause to question how much of our daily data is avoidable. It’s also why we believe that achieving decarbonisation of buildings means collecting the right information, rather than every single piece of data we can get our hands on.