REDUCING a building’s carbon footprint is challenging, but the benefits are substantial, says chief commercial officer at Remote Metering Solutions, Frikkie Malan.
Efficient, low-carbon facilities utilise cost-effective solutions to minimise emissions while enhancing health, equity, and lowering operational costs. Property managers and building owners can consider several tools for carbon emissions reduction and cost savings:
- Decarbonisation
- Electrification
- Efficiency
- Digitalisation
The World Economic Forum emphasises that these approaches are essential for reducing carbon emissions and overall building operation costs. Buildings can achieve low or zero-carbon-ready performance by reducing (or eliminating) energy produced from fossil fuels, utilising renewable energy, reducing high global warming potential refrigerants, and incorporating low-carbon, reused, or recycled energy materials in construction.
Energy efficiency saves energy supply costs and reduces future grid infrastructure expenses. Passive measures like improved insulation and high-efficiency equipment can lower overall electrical demand. In addition, real-time data and analytics enable energy efficiency and demand flexibility in buildings.
Energy-smart buildings can save up to 15% of energy through basic automated controls, with demand-controlled ventilation saving an additional 10%, says Malan. Integrating building systems can yield incremental energy savings of up to 18% over basic HVAC and lighting control. Moreover, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) can reduce energy costs by up to 20% through active demand management.
Considering the cost savings and environmental benefits, transitioning to low-carbon buildings through these interventions makes business sense.
Established in 2005, Remote Metering Solutions (RMS) is the largest privately-owned South African utilities network manager. The company serves more than 2 300 retail, office, and industrial properties as well as local councils and municipalities.
RMS removes the complexity of measuring and validating the consumption of electricity, water, or gas regardless of the metering point or device, geographic location, or time interval.
Through the RMS Sustainability Services division, the company assist its customers to comply with legislation pertaining to energy performance certification. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) measures the energy performance of a building and provides a rating valid for five years.
