With the acceleration of urbanization, governments around the world have passed legislation to guide the sustainable development direction of buildings. We also need to re-examine our building design and operation methods and choose more energy-efficient designs and technologies to reduce energy consumption.

Intelligent building management

Modern buildings need to establish a new building management system. So that the energy demand of buildings can be automatically adjusted to meet the actual needs. For example, the building management system can turn off the lights automatically when the room is not used. The system can also automatically reduce the ventilation and heating of the office on weekends and even during lunch breaks. By constantly adapting to actual needs, energy use can be reduced. Since more than 50% of the operating costs of commercial buildings come from the operation of HVAC systems, it is of positive financial significance to improve the intelligence level of building systems.

More efficient equipment control

Another way to reduce operating costs is to operate the equipment in the building system more efficiently. In older buildings, the motor often runs at full load and performs unnecessary work. A better and more efficient option is to use frequency converters to control these motors. Through the frequency converter, the motor can run accurately at the speed required for each application, and the running speed can be adjusted as needed. Similarly, the technology can also adapt to the actual energy demand of motors and buildings, so as to reduce energy consumption and cost.

Establish the thinking of overall planning and system

We need to consider how the power systems in the building are interrelated and treat the system as a whole to formulate and find more significant efficiency savings.

For example, using building management systems and frequency converters to control HVAC can reduce energy consumption. As part of the system, the efficiency of the fan motor must also be considered. If it is an older ie3 motor, upgrading to a more efficient IE5 motor will save more energy.

Another example is the elevator system. Although the motor may already be very efficient, adding regenerative braking will allow the building to recover power every time the elevator drops and stops. This can also reduce the overall energy consumption.

Even the quality of electricity in buildings is important. If there are high-level harmonics in the building power system, it will damage the equipment and reduce the efficiency. ABB’s ultra-low harmonic drive technology can protect the motor from harmonic interference and improve the overall system efficiency.

Digital future

The world is moving towards digitization, and the building field is no exception. Digital technology can help optimize building system performance, improve living comfort and reduce energy consumption.

For example, the building management system will connect not only the information in the building, but also the information in the outside world. This will realize the functions of heating and cooling demand prediction management according to the weather forecast, intelligent management of electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot based on traffic data, and find opportunities to improve the efficiency of the whole property assets.