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The energy efficiency plan for your buildings in 3 steps

How can companies mobilize for energy sobriety and efficiency with simple and immediate actions?

EFICIA has been working with professionals for many years on these issues and now offers you – while building your own longer term investments plan – a special anti-waste checklist for commercial buildings for this at risk upcoming winter.  

Actions that your technical team can implement 

• Limit heating to 19° or 18° (and even 17° Ecowatt).  
• Control your heating according to the weather, activity schedules and the thermal inertia of the building. Example: early start and stop in the morning and stop at 5:00 p.m., on working/openning days only. 
• Condition the air renewal according to the air quality only and stop it during the closing hours. 
• Change the lighting that is not yet LED. 
• Install presence sensors to control lighting in the lobby/reception, break and passage areas.  
• Limit lighting between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in particular (which are the peak hours of the day) and until nightfall.  
• Turn off interior lighting in buildings when they are closed and reduce exterior lighting on buildings, especially for advertising.
• Automatically turn off lights 3 hours after sunrise in naturally lit rooms. 
• Install power strips with switches for all workstations and plug in devices that remain on standby (screens, chargers, individual ECLs, wifi relays, etc.). 
• Turn off the wifi when the offices are closed. 
• Limit the amount of equipment and avoid oversizing it (number of screens, size of these screens, power of the computer equipment compared to the need…) 

Recommendations to make to your employees  

• Turn off your computer and phone at night. 
• Turn off the power supply of your workstation every evening when you leave. 
• Clean up your mailbox every month. 
• Reduce or turn off non-essential audio-visual systems, such as projectors or screens in reception areas or cafeterias during peak hours (8am-1pm & 5pm-8pm). 
• Favour soft mobility or public transport.  
• Do not charge your electric vehicle during peak hours (between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm and between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm) and use off-peak hours (between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am or on weekends). 
• Limit the use of the elevator when possible. 
• Dress warmly in winter. 
• Close doors to prevent heat loss or heat gain. 

Guidelines your management can follow  

• Gather employees who work in open spaces to free up areas that should not be heated or lit on slow days. 

• Organize an energy saving contest between the different offices of the company.
• Raise employee awareness of energy efficiency issues through regular educational messages. 
• Organize work to facilitate employee commuting outside of peak traffic hours whenever possible. 
• Sourcing suppliers and partners locally in order to reduce the number of kilometers traveled by products, among other things. 
• Give preference to reconditioned equipment (computers, telephones, etc.). 
• Raise employee awareness of eco-driving and offer courses and training. 
• Pooling and limiting meal deliveries by opening a Canteen 2.0. 
  

EFICIA success story

Assessment and prospects of the rising French Tech

The energy transition, a major challenge for companies

Paris, May 2022 – The latest IPCC report calls on companies to reduce their energy consumption. At the same time, their finances are being severely impacted by the inflation of energy prices and the carbon tax. In this environmental and economic context, where energy efficiency is a key issue, EFICIA, a global and innovative French Tech, supports companies wishing to reduce their ecological impact while optimizing their productivity. The company takes stock of its activity and announces its short- and long-term ambitions.

Innovative French Tech

Founded in 2013 by a young entrepreneur, Alric MARC, EFICIA is one of the most innovative French Techs, specializing in energy management for commercial buildings. The company is developing an offer that is still exclusive on the market today: a global and 100% integrated solution capable of optimizing the operation of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and lighting equipment in real time thanks to exclusive intelligent algorithms and a team of energy specialists available around the clock. This offer combines technology, software and human expertise.

“When EFICIA was launched, for the first time a smart building player offered to support large companies by outsourcing the end-to-end energy issue. Today, we are still the only ones to do so on the French market. We support our customers throughout the entire process of technical energy management of their buildings by optimizing energy expenses through a global system. Because pointing out malfunctions and making recommendations for use is not enough, our energy specialists work permanently, 24/7, alongside our clients on the operation of their facilities to maximize savings, ensure the comfort of building occupants – employees and clients – while ensuring a return on investment,” explains Alric Marc, founder and president of EFICIA.

Since its creation, Eficia has raised more than 2 million euros and has expanded internationally with a presence in Spain and Italy. The company manages the energy performance of more than 3,000 buildings across Europe. Over the last 12 months, its expertise has helped save about 50,000 MegaWh, equivalent to the consumption of a city like Biarritz or Orly (~23,000 inhabitants). EFICIA’s clients already include such big names as Stellantis, Cultura, EDF, Villages Club du Soleil, Darty, Leroy Merlin and many others.

Ambitions

On the strength of these first years of success and supported by a favorable economic context (ELAN law / tertiary decree, BACS decree, etc.), EFICIA wishes to continue its expansion by strengthening its international development. The company has set itself the goal of quadrupling its workforce by 2025 and expanding its network of partners. After conquering the world of retailers, it is now also looking at other markets such as communities, logistics sites, offices and factories. Technological developments are also underway as EFICIA is currently working on a new, more cross-functional offer as well as a new service exclusive to the market.

“We are proud to be able to support professionals in their efforts to make their buildings more environmentally friendly. The success of EFICIA’s first years has been confirmed and the new legislation is an opportunity to help companies accelerate their energy transition while optimizing their technical operations and productivity” explains Alric Marc. “The economic context and global environmental challenges are in line with our development ambitions and point to a bright future for the company.”

The influence of climate change on buildings 

When we talk about climate-related changes, we mainly talk about global warming. In recent years, summers are getting hotter and earlier. This has consequences for the commercial and residential building sector.   

Coping with climate change  

In France, buildings are not always ready to face climate change, especially during hot weather. They are often equipped with heating systems, but few are equipped with cooling systems. However, with global warming becoming more and more present, the issue of cooling solutions is becoming a necessity for all buildings. 

Some countries such as Spain or the United States have understood this and have already been equipped for several years in order to cope with high temperatures. In France, more and more air conditioning systems are being installed in new buildings. As for those which did not have any, they are very often equipped during renovation works. 

Insulation 

Insulating a building makes it possible to intelligently reduce energy expenses related to air conditioning. Modern architectural trends call for buildings to have more and more glass surfaces. Unfortunately, these surfaces can make the interior heat even more important. Therefore, there is a need for architects and planners to design more insulated buildings in order to adapt them more to the changes that result from global warming. By installing vegetated roofs or walls, for example, or by favoring buildings with white walls, since these capture less heat than darker walls. In addition, a building that is well insulated in summer will also be well insulated in winter. It will therefore consume much less heating. 

Sunshades  

Widely used in recent years, sunshades are innovative systems that are installed in front of the windows of buildings. Depending on the orientation of the sun, they are able to provide shade so that the windows are not directly affected by the heat. With the help of new technologies, this equipment can even adapt to the weather via automatic systems such as GTB. In winter, if the sun is low, it is also possible to make sure that the sunshades do not cast a shadow in order to bring heat from outside and consume less energy for heating.  

Unfortunately, global warming is going to drive more and more energy consumption in the summer. Buildings will increasingly try to adapt and be autonomous, whether by installing air conditioning systems, photovoltaic panels, sunshades or green walls, in order to protect themselves from heat that is expected to become more frequent and longer.  

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA

People at the heart of building energy optimization

Sustainable development, energy savings in buildings, the Elan law, the tertiary sector decree, rising energy prices… We hear about it every day, especially since the building sector represents one of the largest areas of energy consumption in France. Many solutions and technologies are emerging to help companies navigate through the various constraints and opportunities. But what about the role of the human being in these issues? 

Daily uses: a considerable impact

While new technologies related to IoT and Big Data are multiplying in energy performance and more generally, in building activity, the human factor remains the most important to generate energy savings or environmental actions. 

And, before connecting your building and using a remote-control service for your equipment – the most effective today to maximize its operation – there are many quick, simple and effective actions to be taken by the users.

It all starts with the occupants’ approach to electricity consumption. Where at home, the bill and the lights left off have a direct impact on the wallet, it is true that in the office or in public buildings, the feeling is quite different. 

The first action is therefore to make people aware of eco-responsible gestures and explain that the issue is not in “who pays the bill” but “what consequences” our consumption habits can have on the environment and on the use of energy resources. Whether at home or outside, everyone’s habits should contribute to energy savings. 

Light is of course not the only lever for a good energy transition: heating remains today one of the biggest expenses of households and companies. And as for light, where we are careful not to increase the bill at home by keeping the heating at 20°, it is easier to raise the temperature to 25° in winter. Nevertheless, the ideal thermal comfort is close to 20° and this temperature is sufficient to preserve an optimal thermal comfort for the occupants.

The responsible user has a huge impact on energy optimization, especially since there are ways to find the right balance between consumption and comfort.

New technologies: self-sufficient?

It is often mistakenly thought that technology can automate everything. But a technology, as perfect as it may be, without human control, will necessarily present drifts or a lack of optimization.

Indeed, more and more “connected” buildings see their performance decrease with time and encounter multiple malfunctions. The first year, the installed systems work without monitoring but as the building evolves, the multitude of systems that were initially programmed end up, by lack of attention, not meeting expectations.

Human intervention remains essential for the proper operation of the sites and is complementary to the automation; for example, for a building whose use was initially planned for 13 hours, it would be reduced to 10 hours. A maintainer or a technician or an energy specialist must readjust the parameters in order to optimize the operation and continue to generate energy savings.

In the end, technologies are an excellent tool to manage the activity in buildings, but they remain a controlled aid in time, to the human being; whether it is to control the consumptions, to maximize the exploitation or simply in a sustainable development approach.

Energy monitoring: the human asset

In the building sector and in the maintenance and management of sites, consumption analysis and energy monitoring are becoming increasingly important in the thinking about the activity of companies.

At the same time, in recent years, industries have gone digital. This results in a high production of energy data from meters, sensors, machines, automats, connected objects, etc. This information is a real mine of information. This information is a real gold mine, often under-exploited.  

Technologies and tools are now available to monitor this data in real time and report critical information about the business, such as breakdowns or malfunctions. However, these alerts remain insufficient because they do not provide any solution or action. 

And because pointing out malfunctions is not enough; human intervention remains essential to the proper operation of a building. For example, if a site’s consumption increases when it is hot, why not install photovoltaic panels?

The energy revolution at the service of business growth

For many companies, investing in sustainable development represents a financial burden. However, according to a study published by Barclays Bank, becoming an eco-responsible company would benefit its profitability and economic growth. According to this study, 73% of respondents believe they have made a profit since investing in sustainability and 40% say that this ecological transition has had a positive impact on their business.

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA

The energy revolution at the service of business growth

For many companies, investing in sustainable development represents a financial burden. However, according to a study published by Barclays Bank, becoming an eco-responsible company would benefit its profitability and economic growth. According to this study, 73% of respondents believe they have made a profit since investing in sustainability and 40% say that this ecological transition has had a positive impact on their business.

How can sustainable development become a growth lever for companies?

Often wrongly considered as an economic brake, sustainable development and sustainable development and CSR policies in general are considered too costly or too restrictive to implement. Under the impetus of financial mechanisms and incentives and the desire of some companies to encourage the emergence of societal and environmental policies in their overall strategy, some large companies have been able to see the positive role played by sustainable development and its significant impact on profitability and revenue growth. This lever is in fact multiple and is based on three main values: improving profitability and economic growth, improving team performance and improving building operations. 

Improving profitability and growth

Investing in sustainability directly contributes to significant and potentially sustainable energy savings depending on the solutions implemented. Energy performance and related policies are therefore a very objective way for companies to reduce their expenses and operating costs and thus be able to invest in other areas. What was initially a cost center can be transformed into a profit center thanks to the transversal savings that will be generated. Today, the investment required to implement solutions that promote profitability and growth is no longer a hindrance and the associated business models proposed by some innovative companies on the market show almost immediate profitability. A company committed to the environment is also a vector of brand image not only with their customers but also with their own internal resources, constituting in passing an additional element of growth. 

Improving the performance of teams

Investing in sustainable development by implementing tools and technical solutions that promote thermal comfort can also be a driver for change and influence team performance. For the past 15 years, all studies have converged in the same direction: comfort and well-being in the workplace encourage the involvement of teams in their work and their productivity, and even their attachment to the company itself. Moreover, many employees appreciate the fact that they work in a company concerned with the environment and feel more comfortable in a structure that adopts eco-responsible gestures and is concerned about their well-being. Better temperature management allows employees to feel more comfortable in their workspace and reduces the risk of sick leave due to poorly adapted temperatures. 

Improving technical operations. 

Investing in sustainable development also means ensuring, through data collection, a better vision of the company’s operations (waste collection, building energy consumption, etc.) and being able to act more directly on technical operations and thus promote better management of operating costs by allowing, for example, the prevention of possible equipment breakdowns to better optimize maintenance operations. 

Reducing one’s impact on the environment while making profits is therefore a reality. Taking into consideration the many benefits of sustainable development is the first step to a successful energy transition, so that it is finally perceived as what it really is: a lever for growth.

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA

The price of energy as an influence on the building

During the half-century we have just passed, energy prices have continued to rise. The building industry, as the most energy-intensive sector in France (49.9% of total consumption), is particularly affected by this increase, which has had a lasting impact on its design, use and operation over the years.  

The building sector is above all a consumption of electricity and gas. As these two main energy sources are very volatile, their prices are influenced by numerous criteria such as supply and demand, variations in the price of raw materials, but also natural parameters such as the climate.  

The trend of the past decade is no exception to this analysis: energy prices have increased overall, whether for electricity or gas. The domino effect of rising prices is increasing operating costs for users, which in the long term will affect the amortization costs of real estate projects. 

In a bygone era when energy costs were still low, the question of environmental impact or the “low consumption” construction model did not arise. Industrial shocks and climate problems have accompanied increases in energy costs, imposing reform after reform, as well as construction standards (HQE, BEE labels…) favoring the emergence of energy savings, particularly in the context of the most recent constructions.

Concerning existing buildings, the sustainable increase in prices coupled with the obligations set by the state in terms of energy savings for companies (ELAN law) will push economic actors, whatever their sector, to reinvest in their buildings to meet their reduction targets (-40% in 2030). For example, they will be able to improve the building envelope or integrate an intelligent energy management system. 

In practice, sustained price increases should also influence the behavior of building users, who will be aware of the impact of energy costs on the operation and economic performance of their business. In summary, the more energy prices rise, the more everyday uses will naturally change, even if this transformation stage may take time. 

Rising energy costs can also have less noticeable effects, especially in some sectors where companies voluntarily limit the size of their buildings to minimize the impact of their building operating costs on their bottom line.

Most importantly, higher energy prices will have a long-term impact on the real estate market itself. Both investors and tenants will prefer to invest in buildings with low energy consumption. This evidence will favor the emergence of major energy renovation plans in a logic of optimization and revaluation of their real estate assets.

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA

What if energy savings became sustainable (finally)?

In France, as in many other countries, energy consumption in buildings has become a key issue in terms of sustainable development and profitability for companies, accounting for nearly 50% of total consumption.

Companies are often faced with a challenge: not only to reduce the energy consumption of their equipment in order to comply with new regulations, but also to make these savings sustainable over time.

In recent years, many regulations have been set to manage more effectively the impact of the building sector on the environment. Among these regulations: the ELAN law (of November 23, 2018, on the evolution of housing, development and digital) whose article 175, imposes a reduction in energy consumption of the French real estate stock and the tertiary decree which specifies the obligations to reduce by 2050 by 60% the consumption of buildings compared to a reference year between 2010 and 2020.

At the same time, property managers, technical departments and associated general services work every day to ensure the continuity of service of their buildings while trying to meet these regulations. However, the reality is that the actions of the stakeholders in the operation of buildings do not cover all the needs to generate significant and sustainable energy savings.

On the one hand, some manufacturers or integrators limit themselves to the implementation of solutions without ever having control over the operation, and on the other hand, the technical operators in charge of managing the systems only have the mission of maintaining the heating and air conditioning installations, etc. In addition, many systems are obsolete and do not allow for intelligent management of the infrastructure, often resulting in drifts and malfunctions that weigh down profitability and overall technical operations.

Moreover, professionals want to be accompanied in a transversal way on the question of energy management of their real estate and not only at the time of the installation of a maintenance contract or recommendations of experts.

The solution to these challenges and for visible and lasting results? 

More efficient and intelligent management of equipment, coupled with support in the implementation of technological tools enabling them to have the right information, at the right time, to make the right decisions.

In this context, the convergence of the energy professions has become one of the fundamental conditions for the emergence of an energy policy that promotes sustainable results and contributes to optimizing the profitability and performance of buildings. The players and the “new generation” tools exist, all that remains is for companies to use these sustainable solutions.

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA

Real-time vision to make the right decisions

Thanks to new technologies related to IoT (Internet of Things) and new generation BMS (Building Management System), we now can have real time information on real estate assets. This information offers many advantages in the operation of buildings, both economically and technically.

Saving time and energy

When we talk about real time information, it can concern the instantaneous temperature, the opening of a door, the triggering of an alarm or the level of CO2 present in the building. The advantage of having all these data in real time is to be able to act much faster and to optimize the whole technical management of the building. 

If the temperature inside the building is too high, for example, the maintenance company or the service that deals with this type of problem will be warned by one of the building’s occupants. The intervention can only be done after a certain waiting time. Having information in real time will allow to anticipate these actions and launch them automatically, without wasting time. 

To go further: it will be possible to prevent a rise in temperature beforehand and to act immediately. Such a system can also report failures in real time and immediately trigger an intervention. This saves a lot of time, not only in terms of administration, but also in terms of technology. Everything will be done automatically, certain steps that were previously necessary will no longer be necessary and the time between the breakdown and the resolution will be considerably reduced.

Intelligent control

The control of a building must also be adapted to the time of day. Indeed, a building does not behave in the same way in the morning, at noon or in the afternoon, depending on the number and habits of the occupants. The information on temperature, sunshine or CO2 level in real time allows to act immediately on the indoor temperature, for example. It will be possible to put ventilation, to start the boilers, the air-conditioning, or other equipment in order to control the building in an optimized way. 

With the ELAN law that requires companies to make energy savings, the need for an intelligent and efficient control is growing. And contrary to what some building managers may think, it is not enough to be able to visualize the monthly consumption to be able to generate savings. The overconsumption having already taken place during the month, it is already too late to reduce them!

Visualizing your energy consumption in real time allows you to spot, for example, an anomaly that occurred during the night and to rectify it without waiting, instead of waiting for the next month. The decision making is much faster and the understanding of the life of its building is more accurate and closer to reality at a moment T.

Real time information, better maintenance, better decision making on control rules, optimization of temperatures necessary to obtain an optimal comfort…many advantages that open the way to immediate energy savings. However, this remote information alone is not enough. Companies need to be accompanied by a specialized service, able to assist them on site and provide a more detailed understanding of the data. These experts will be able to make decisions and centralize information and actions, greatly simplifying and optimizing the technical management of the building.

By Alric MARC, Founder of EFICIA