A few years back, the International Organisation for Standards began providing a methodology for ranking a Building Energy Management System\u2019s performance, which is crucial to optimising energy efficiency. It was developed as a European Standard as part of the European Union\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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ISO 52120 makes it incredibly easy to judge the performance of a building\u2019s energy management system, after which it can be graded from classes A to D. Currently, most buildings receive a mere Class D or, in the case of newer buildings, a Class C rating. This is surprisingly low, especially as energy efficiency should be the first step toward reaching net-zero targets.<\/p>\n
So, how can ISO 52120 help in reaching those targets? This standard allows us to assess the operational efficiency of heating, cooling, hot water systems, ventilation, building control systems, and more. And as if that\u2019s not enough, it also makes it possible to assess how each system interacts with the others easily, how systems relate to demand, and how the demand is actually linked to building usage.<\/p>\n
This is where it gets interesting. By seeing how efficiently our systems work (are they using too much energy, for example?), we can quickly identify inefficiencies, stop energy waste, and reduce carbon emissions and running costs.<\/p>\n
Which is precisely why the ISO standard is so important. Before considering renewables or replacing capital equipment, the first step should always be energy efficiency\u2014reducing and optimising energy use. The reason is simple: reducing your energy load has a significant knock-on effect, greatly influencing the size of renewable systems or new equipment you might need.<\/p>\n
Having clear guidance on optimising energy use is crucial\u2014and that\u2019s where ISO 52120 comes in. As a best-practice guideline (not an auditable standard like ISO 50001), ISO 52120 can be one of the most significant resources for determining the best approach to energy optimisation in buildings and facilities. It provides a benchmark to ensure you maximise your decarbonisation efforts and align with best practices. Having a recognised standard as a reference point is incredibly helpful in ensuring you’re on the right track.<\/p>\n
Combined with the right information about your building\u2019s performance, ISO 52120 is an excellent tool for discovering what needs to be done to reach those net-zero targets. Want to know more? Get in touch for a free demo<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ISO 52120 is often seen as a significant guideline for assessing energy management, monitoring, and more. And this is why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,11,10],"tags":[20,16],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions\/318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opnbuildings.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}