With the environmental challenges we face, the energy performance of buildings has become a priority for many professionals. In France, the tertiary sector alone accounts for 17% of national energy consumption, in fourth place behind transport (32%), residential (29%) and industry (19%).
BMS: a reliable, technological data source for setting your energy targets
Over the last ten years or so, large companies have embraced the digital revolution, integrating new uses into their property management processes, notably through the implementation of building management systems. These control systems represent a veritable gold mine, often under-exploited, enabling the concentration of energy data from meters, sensors, PLCs and connected objects, for a real-time vision of the company’s assets and the setting of energy performance targets. This hardware and technology is the first step in a smart building strategy.
Through BMS systems, the use of Big Data in building energy management has encouraged the emergence of entirely new types of services, notably through the introduction of artificial intelligence.
AI has thus become one of the driving forces behind the energy transition, helping to identify the main areas for optimization and set investment plans to comply with BACS and Tertiary regulations. With this new type of data, buildings become more “readable” in terms of their consumption behavior, which can be analyzed and optimized in real time.
At Eficia, human expertise completes the useful data analysis combo.
Lighting control to simulate human intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the set of technologies used to create machines capable of simulating human intelligence. It is based on algorithms that enable BMS, for example, to process data and learn from it. Control systems can thus improve as they process new data, enabling them to solve complex problems autonomously, such as anticipating ignition scenarios on HVAC equipment.
With Artificial Intelligence, the building also integrates occupant usage much more effectively, as well as the impact of external elements on its thermal inertia, which can be anticipated thanks to the intelligent algorithms we are developing. With AI, decisions and scenarios improve with each iteration, contributing to the building’s sustainability.
Your energy data is a performance lever for your business
Artificial Intelligence opens up access to early detection of energy consumption drift, and revolutionizes the real-time aspect of decision-making for operational teams. This new technological foundation, a key element of smart building, translates complex building data and energy expertise knowledge into a unified operational concept that can be automated, fast and accessible to all – all with a computing speed incomparable with that possible by human teams.
With Artificial Intelligence, the building finally becomes “smart” and acquires a new analytical capacity for anticipating usage and proposing new scenarios, by integrating a wealth of data that would be impossible for the occupant and/or manager. The building thus behaves more dynamically in relation to its occupants. Continuously integrated and analyzed data includes :
- The various activities planned in the building’s different zones: occupancy schedules, current and future occupancy, planned events, alarm signals, etc.
- The building’s thermal characteristics: thermal inertia, exposure to radiation, activities affecting current and future temperatures
- Equipment coordination and operability: coordination between equipment, consideration of equipment availability at time t, current breakdowns
- Weather forecasts: increases and decreases in temperature, wind and radiation at time T and in the future.
- Air quality in the building: CO2 and humidity, opportunity or necessity to renew the air.
- Contractual energy supply conditions: subscribed power, peak/off-peak hours, etc.
- Opportunities for network shedding
- Regular review of HVAC equipment parameters
- Business constraints of building occupants and/or customers
Give your building a brain with a control solution
Making buildings intelligent, capable of self-regulation while remaining remotely controllable, is the quickest and least intrusive way to save energy and facilitate building operation.
In fact, by integrating and exploiting this data, AI makes it possible to understand and anticipate the uses of a building’s occupants, and suggest new settings.
The direct results are reduced energy consumption and costs; lower breakdown rates, less wear and tear, shorter intervention times; fewer unnecessary or ineffective maintenance operations; increased equipment availability, service quality and responsiveness; and improved occupant comfort.
