As the race to net zero intensifies, pressure is mounting for commercial building operators to improve their green credentials. Considering that buildings generate 40% of all CO2 emissions and consume over 30% of the world’s energy, the sector’s environmental footprint is now under the microscope.

The challenges posed by climate change mean that ‘business as usual’ is not an option. But thanks to digitisation, the emergence of a new energy landscape is underway. This digital transformation represents a golden opportunity for commercial building operators to slash emissions and improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores, which investors increasingly use to choose where to invest their money.

In addition to creating resilience against brand reputation and business model risks, putting sustainability at the top of the agenda can deliver bottom-line savings as digitising buildings can help reduce energy bills through improved operational efficiency.

This post will explain how digitisation has altered the energy landscape and why it is a game changer for commercial building owners and operators.

4 key benefits of digitisation

1. Actionable data

The more meters a building has and the more advanced those meters are, the more insight and potential savings can be found. Our connected products, including MasterPacT IoT-connected air circuit breakers, ComPacT embedded metering moulded case circuit breakers, intelligent sensors, and control and communication devices, provide enormous amounts of data in real-time, enabling commercial building owners to take action and optimise energy. This data can aid decisions that help maximise:

  • Electrical safety
  • Power availability
  • Maintenance
  • Energy efficiency
  • Sustainability
  • Power system cybersecurity

New energy use data that is now available can also reveal risks and opportunities to unlock your building’s full potential. Software solutions such as EcoStruxure Power Monitoring Expert utilises advanced dashboards, energy visualisation, and analysis tools that seamlessly integrate for overarching building management and provide the insights you need to make informed decisions to maximise energy efficiency.

2. Simplified reporting and compliance

Globally, 80% of companies report on sustainability. To continue accessing capital from investors, companies will need to prove they have a solid ESG rating and that their buildings meet sustainability standards. Through digitisation, the collection and storage of data points required for tracking and reporting carbon emissions are now easier than ever before. Technology can provide new levels of granularity in environmental data. Meanwhile, carbon emissions can even be represented by tons of CO2 equivalent and segmented by source, scope, and pollutant.

Software solutions from EcoStruxure Power include the monitoring and reporting tools and services your sustainability team needs to help follow energy management best practices, comply with local regulations, and achieve green building certifications.

3. Active management

With the increased amount of data collected from digitally connected devices, it becomes important to have an efficient way of analysing this data, in order to gain useful insights that can again be utilised by the facility manager. This can be done utilising EcoStruxure Power Advisor, a connected service designed to proactively manage your power management and power distribution systems with remote consultancy, support etc., and on-site maintenance. Its combined advanced algorithms can provide continuous, remote monitoring of the health of your electrical system and improve performance based on energy audits.

4. Optimised on-site energy with predictive modelling

As the race to net zero accelerates, the digital transformation makes it possible now for commercial building owners and operators to become ‘prosumers’ and even net-positive by producing their green energy with on-site energy options. Tariff management enables building owners and operators to sell their renewable electricity to the grid when prices are high and consume or store grid energy when prices are low.

Predictive modelling forecasts and identifies new ways to save money by uncovering wasteful energy usage. This modelling can also enable microgrid optimisation strategies for tariff management, self-consumption, and demand charge reduction. EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor seamlessly connects to your energy resources to automatically forecast and optimise how and when to consume, produce, and store energy, ultimately helping to improve economic performance, sustainability, and resilience at your site.

Begin your decarbonisation journey

The digital revolution in the built environment is transforming the sector. Thanks to digitisation, buildings can be greener and more energy-efficient than ever before, leading to reduced and optimised energy consumption and providing companies with bottom-line savings. Schneider Electric helps provide advanced sustainability solutions from CapEx to OpEx, empowering your customers to make the most of their energy as they turn climate ambition into concrete action.