Top Tips: How The UK’s Building Environment Can Prepare For Extreme Weather
By Ross Sheil, SVP at Infogrid.
The UK recently experienced its worst recorded case of extreme heat, with some areas of the country reporting scorching temperatures of 40C for the first time ever. Whilst the heatwave caused severe disruptions to general services such as healthcare and travel, the country’s infrastructure and buildings also suffered as a result.
This is because much of the architecture and buildings in the UK have been designed to retain heat. In fact, England’s 25 million homes - some of the oldest in the world - are currently unfit to withstand high temperatures.
With another heatwave this summer, it’s clear that extreme weather will continue as a result of the climate change emergency. The UK’s infrastructure needs an overhaul - and quickly - to adapt to such conditions or else risk affecting occupants’ health and safety. This doesn’t mean tearing down and rebuilding structures, but rather taking advantage of new advancements to retrofit existing buildings.
Here are three top tips businesses should consider to be better prepared when faced with rising temperatures:
1. Understand The Benefits Of Going “Smart”
Given that 80% of buildings that will exist by 2050 already exist, we need to understand more about them now and how they entwine with climate change.
It’s difficult to improve a process if you can’t track it, so being “smarter” is the first building block to ensure that we can address and mitigate the impact of heatwaves over time. However, less than 5% of commercial buildings are smart. In order to make buildings in the UK and around the world healthier, more operationally effective and sustainable, it is necessary to renovate them.
Making buildings “smart” may seem like an overwhelming task, but it is doable if small steps are taken, including using technology systems that are modular and interoperable. The building blocks can and ought to be simple, scalable and affordable, where we can anticipate immediate and significant gains. For example, by tracking space usage, you can clean it more effectively. By improving air quality, occupants will be happier, healthier and more productive and by optimising HVAC systems, you will save huge amounts of energy.
2. Double Down On Data
To comprehend what impact the heat is having on interiors requires data. Plenty of it. For example, in offices, do we see occupancy rates go up in the heat, with employees seeking out an air-conditioned environment? Does this lead to warmer temperatures in the building, or higher levels of CO2 in the air, and therefore could facilities managers automate building control for temperature based on real-time occupancy insights in a building?
Retrofitting existing buildings with the right kind of technology to monitor the structure in real-time - in most cases, small and easy-to-install sensors - can go a long way towards addressing the current data black hole that is the commercial building sector. During scenarios of extreme weather conditions such as the heatwave, capturing and analysing data points such as temperature, energy usage, occupancy, and air quality can provide actionable insights that help facilities managers make efficient decisions at the building level. Furthermore, by keeping the temperature regulated and the environment comfortable, occupants will be happier, healthier and more productive.
3. Position The Greater Benefits Of ESG To Get Buy In
The insights gained from aggregated data captured across the entire global commercial building sector will help us all better understand the actual changes that need to be made to ensure we can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of building environments as a whole. And that’s great for the planet.
However, at a business level, negotiating any new investments can be difficult, especially when we’re facing one of the biggest economic downturns in decades. That’s why it’s important to position how retrofitting buildings with smart technologies has the potential to make significant energy savings, as well as greater business benefits, in the long run.
Typically, buildings and the construction industry are responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions. As temperatures rise and weather forecasts become less predictable, it will very likely exceed this level by orders of magnitude based on energy usage and the carbon footprint of the building. Reducing this is vital for protecting the planet by lowering carbon emissions and benefiting companies by saving money. In the eyes of stakeholders, it is also good news. ESG for buildings has tangible financial benefits and incentives attached such as higher premiums, increased occupancy and lower cost finance.
Final Thoughts
In the face of climate change and unpredictable weather conditions, facilities management teams must start thinking seriously about how smart buildings and technology can help ensure a safe and healthy working environment for employees, while also enhancing efficiency in their own daily tasks.
Though many investments are under the spotlight at the moment, having greater building intelligence doesn’t just stand to benefit organisations in the short term, it will deliver ROI long into the future too from energy savings to happier employees. If you’re not considering smart buildings as part of your business strategy, now’s the time to.
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