Ongoing Funding Partner

Operational Building Optimisation Action Learning Labs Project Partners

UKGBC is seeking partnership for a new project on operational building optimisation as part of their industry-leading Advancing Net Zero Programme.

Climate Change Mitigation Advancing Net Zero Funding Partner

Future opportunity

An important aspect of change needed to achieve the UK’s 2050 target is the practical actions to ensure buildings maintain a net zero trajectory over their operational lifetime.

An emerging finding of the current UKGBC Commercial Retrofit project is the significance of optimisation. On average, almost one third reduction in EUI can be achieved through optimisation alone (i.e., ensuring the building systems and appliances are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible, and that their operation more accurately aligns with building use – i.e., operating hours and zoning etc).

While technological solutions play an important part, increased awareness and closer collaboration are essential to ensure building systems can be optimised holistically, with positive impacts on occupant comfort. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence on how optimisation can be achieved but a lack of tangible evidence that illustrates the most common issues and supports understanding of how to resolve them for the long term.

Objectives

Using UKGBC’s Learning Lab format, this project will explore the challenges and solutions associated with reducing and eliminating inefficiencies to drive down energy consumption. It will share the learnings, outcomes, and solutions identified and deepen our shared understanding of how inefficiencies stem from the way buildings currently operate. Key issues that could be investigated include:

Lack of transparency of data, especially energy usage.
Inappropriate metering of energy.
Lack of detailed understanding of how building systems operate.
Split incentives between landlord and tenant.
Lack of collaboration between landlord and tenant over energy efficiency.
Facilities managers not incentivised or empowered to reduce energy consumption.

There are technological solutions to these issues, but at the core is a need to collaboratively take action and facilitate increased awareness, so that building systems can be optimised holistically, for the long term.

Anticipated outcomes:

Compendium of experience of how to optimise buildings’ energy use
Toolkit to support optimisation activities, including the soft skills needed to support mutually beneficial relationships and
collaboration between key stakeholders (tenant, landlord, facilities manager etc)
Increased knowledge and skills base to encourage a focus on optimisation opportunities and solutions
Insights into the most appropriate interventions in different situations
A shift in thinking that supports an iterative, long-term approach to optimising performance.