Going green: cutting costs with smart buildings

By 2050, according to current forecasts, about 6,3 billion people, comprising nearly 70% of the world's population, will be living in cities. This great surge of urbanization and the rise of megacities, each with a population greater than 10 million, will occur mostly in developing countries and boost demand for smart buildings and housing. 

 By Peter Feuilherade

Smart buildings in Lusail City, Qatar

---

This article first appeared in the November 2013 issue of e-tech, published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Geneva.
 

Evolving concept

The concept of a smart (or intelligent) building has evolved over the last four decades and now generally refers to the integration of a range of systems that improve the lifestyles of a building’s occupants and the efficiency of its operations, especially its consumption of energy and other utilities. The automation of building operations, management and maintenance is integral to the concept.

In the words of the US-based Institute for Building Efficiency, "at the most fundamental level, smart buildings deliver useful building services that make occupants productive (e.g. illumination, thermal comfort, air quality, physical security, sanitation, and many more) at the lowest cost and environmental impact over the building lifecycle."

Smart buildings are often, but not exclusively, associated with the smart city, a term originally used to signify the roles of technology and innovation in urban development, but now increasingly linked with achieving sustainability.

Wide range of features

Achieving a smart building's aims, for economic and environmental reasons, involves the use of a wide range of features including adaptive lighting with occupancy sensing; smart meters that display overall use of electricity and help consumers to monitor and reduce their usage; sensors that gather and wirelessly communicate alerts or data about heat, light, movement and use of space; and the exchange of data between different systems. The cost of wireless sensors has dropped below USD 10 per unit and makes the installation of a smart building management system increasingly affordable.

With commercial buildings accounting for 40% of global energy consumption and contributing 20% of the carbon emissions, BEMS (building energy management systems) can help minimize energy use and cost. Smart buildings play a vital role in the effectiveness of Smart Grids, by helping to align energy generation with energy consumption. Buildings can receive requests to reduce demand when wholesale prices are high or when grid reliability is jeopardized. A smart building management system can also usually detect when an item of equipment is close to failure and alert staff to deal with the problem.

The main forces driving the smart building market are the ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, cut maintenance and operating costs and enhance the life of the building as well as improving the comfort and security of its occupants.

Asia and Middle East lead

Central courtyard and windtower at the Masdar Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Although Europe and North America pioneered smart cities in the 1980s-90s, more smart buildings are now being built from scratch in the Middle East and even more so in Asia, with its soaring rates of urbanization.

Smart buildings can be found in smart city projects such as Masdar City in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Lusail City in Qatar, King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, Songdo in South Korea and Fujisawa in Japan. In China, the government has planned more than 600 smart city projects during its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), with an emphasis on water and energy infrastructure, energy-efficient buildings and traffic management. Asia’s dynamic construction activity is expected to bolster its current share (25%) of the global market for building automation systems and controls, BEMS (20%) and intelligent lighting controls (17%).

The Middle East, despite enjoying low energy costs, is also a prolific source of progressive smart building design. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE allocated more than USD 63 billion to develop smart city projects between 2012 and 2017. The aim of the developers of the USD 22 billion project in Masdar City, 17 km from Abu Dhabi, is to create the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, with the emphasis on energy efficiency.

Huge developing market

The US-based market research and consulting firm Navigant Research forecast in July 2013 that the worldwide market for BEMS, driven by technology advances as well as growing familiarity among customers with the benefits they bring, will grow from just under USD 1,8 billion in annual revenues in 2012 to nearly USD 5,6 billion in 2020, a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 15,3%. The market will be concentrated in North America and Europe, although the Asia-Pacific market is where growth is fastest.

Meanwhile, global revenues from wireless control systems for building automation will reach USD 294,8 million by 2020, when annual worldwide shipments of wireless nodes for building controls will total 36 million units. And global revenues from networked lighting control equipment within commercial buildings will grow from USD 1,7 billion in 2013 to USD 5,3 billion in 2020.

According to Navigant, the trillions of dollars that will be spent on urban infrastructure present "an immense opportunity for new transport management systems, Smart Grids, water monitoring systems, and energy efficient buildings".

The smart buildings market, along with other "smart" sectors such as energy, water and transport, is a major contributor to the worldwide growth of the overall smart cities market.

A forecast by the US company IDC Energy Insights estimates that global spending on smart building technologies alone will grow from USD 5,5 billion in 2012 to USD 18,1 billion in 2017 (a CAGR of 27,1%).

Global technology research firm ON World predicted in September 2013 that 100 million WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) devices would be installed in non-residential smart buildings globally by 2019, an 11-fold increase from 2011.

Energy and electricity are key

The IEC develops International Standards covering a broad range of systems, equipment and applications used in the construction and maintenance of smart buildings, encompassing lighting, automation, access control, energy systems, appliances, elevators and escalators, among others. The work of IEC TCs (Technical Committees) plays a vital role in helping to ensure safety as well as interoperability.

Some of the IEC TCs working in the smart buildings sector include TC 34: Lamps and related equipment for general, professional and emergency lighting; TC 59: Performance of household and similar electrical appliances; TC 82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems; TC 47: Semiconductor devices; and TC 72: Automatic electrical controls.

For Smart Grid applications, the IEC published a Smart Grid Standardization Roadmap in 2010 and has defined a range of Standards, among them Standards for substation control (IEC 61850), energy (IEC 61970) and distribution management (IEC 61968) and meter reading (IEC 62056). The CIM (Common Information Model) for Distribution and Energy Management provides a CIM necessary for exchanges of data between devices and networks, primarily in the transmission (IEC 61970) and distribution (IEC 61968) domains, and is a cornerstone of IEC Smart Grid standardization.

Integration and interoperability of smart building technologies

Smart building technologies such as wireless sensors are becoming increasingly interoperable. Several technologies are converging in building controls that will, for example, allow light sources to carry out a dual role as sensors and information nodes too in a distributed network, managing heat, air conditioning, and building security as well as office lighting. Cloud-based technology will have a growing impact on how intelligent buildings are run, linking them with power grids and multimodal transport systems.

There is a strong business case for strategic investments in smart building technologies which help to reduce facility operating costs over time. However, some property owners and investors still need persuading. In the view of Leo O'Loughlin, senior vice-president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s energy and sustainability services business, "not everyone is aware that the tremendous advantages of today’s affordable smart building management technologies easily justify the cost".

Smart cities rise from the Gulf’s deserts

With urbanization on the increase around the world, just over half of the planet’s population now live in cities. They also produce 75% of carbon emissions worldwide. As urban populations have mushroomed during the last 50 years, “smart” information and communication technologies (ICTs) have led efforts to improve the efficiency of urban systems and services.

 

 Masdar City, UAE

The quest for sustainable urban development has led to the loosely defined concept of the “smart city” (also called “digital” or “connected” city). Although Europe and North America led the way in the 1980s and 90s, attention is turning to Asia and the Middle East, where the concept is gaining momentum and smart cities are being built from scratch.

This article was first published in The Middle East magazine, July/August 2012 issue.

Smart cities use ICT to build new or adapt existing infrastructure, buildings and systems to make better use of energy and resources in meeting the challenges of climate change, population growth, demographic change, urbanization and resource depletion, and contribute to reducing emissions while increasing living standards.

A 2011 report from Pike Research, a US firm that analyses global clean technology markets, forecast that investment in smart city technology infrastructure would total $108 billion in the decade from 2010 to 2020.  By the end of that period, annual spending will reach nearly $16 billion, Pike Research anticipates.

Ali al-Khulaifi, market development manager at ictQATAR, the country’s telecoms regulator and technology advocate, defines a smart city as an “intelligent ecosystem employing integrated technology to provide public and private services”. They tend to be long-term projects, usually taking between 5-10 years, which require significant investments.

In the Middle East, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have earmarked more than $63 billion over the next five years for development authorities, infrastructure companies, governmental and corporate entities to develop smart city projects.

At the Arab Future Cities Summit in Doha in April 2012, participants agreed on the importance of developing smart and sustainable cities in the Arab region, given that the majority of the population in the GCC region now live in cities.

While global corporate giants such as IBM, Cisco, Siemens and Orange look for their slice of the smart city pie, commentators also see social aspects such as investment in human and social capital and participatory governance as vital elements.

The GCC countries are leading the way in implementing smart infrastructure developments in the Middle East, lavishing vast sums in investment and funding for major projects such as Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Lusail in Qatar and King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia.

Qatar, which currently has the highest per capita rate of CO2 emissions in the world, is investing billions in “green” building and solar technologies in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint.

Lusail, an extension to Doha, is intended to be Qatar’s biggest green field area once it is completed over the next 15 years. Extending across 38 sq. km, the new city includes four islands and 19 multi-purpose residential, mixed use, entertainment and commercial districts. As well as 200,000 permanent residents, it will have 170,000 employees and 80,000 daily commuters.  The promoters of the project describe Lusail as the “conscience of sustainable development”.

In Saudi Arabia, the ambition of Dubai property giant Emaar is to develop its $100 billion King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) project, taking shape 100 km north of the Red Sea port of Jeddah, into one of the world's most advanced smart cities.

The KAEC website paints a picture of “seamless integration of state-of-the-art infrastructure and advanced technology with business and public services”.

KAEC will include one of the largest ports in the world. It forms part of a $400 billion plan announced by the Saudi government in 2008 to make the kingdom less dependent on the oil industry and provide jobs and housing for the 10 million Saudis under the age of 17.

But it is Masdar City, 17 km from Abu Dhabi, which stands out as the Gulf’s current landmark smart city. The aim of the developers of the $22 billion project was to create the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, with the emphasis on energy efficiency. The 36 sq. km city, designed by British architects Foster + Partners, incorporated renewable energy and clean technologies as part of its design.

There is a strong emphasis on natural cooling, with streets aligned to provide daytime shading, parks located to channel prevailing winds into the city, and traditional Arabic building principles such as wind towers. Exterior materials and windows were chosen to provide maximum cooling and reduce heat gain in buildings.

Construction began in 2008, and when it is completed in 2025 the city is expected to accommodate 40,000 residents and 50,000 daily commuters. Conventional cars have been replaced by public transport using electric pod cars.

Masdar City treats wastewater for landscaping, to reduce the need for desalination, and uses 54% less water than the average UAE city.

Its 10MW solar-power plant, the largest grid-connected plant of its kind in the Middle East, is designed to produce more electricity overall than the city consumes, with excess transferred to the national grid. By 2020, Abu Dhabi aims to generate at least 7% of its power needs from renewable sources.

Every electrical outlet in the city is monitored, and smart meters collect and continuously analyse data about power usage to provide an accurate "live" model of energy use.

Smart energy grids are vital to smart cities. They can reduce peak demand for electricity by providing information and incentives to consumers, allowing them to shift consumption to other periods.

Smart metering is key to the effective operation of smart energy grids. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Geneva-based global standards organization for all areas of electrotechnology, maintains that without accurate measurement it is not possible to demonstrate energy efficiency improvements credibly.

The UAE currently leads the smart meter market in the Middle East and North African region. A June 2012 report by Northeast Group, a Washington-based market intelligence firm, projected that MENA countries could save between $300 million and $1 billion every year by adopting smart grids to incorporate renewable energy sources, cope with rising demand and reduce energy losses on networks. The report predicted that capital spending in the MENA smart metering market would rise to $3.9 billion by 2022, with smart meters installed in 86% of homes in the Gulf.

But while conspicuous energy consumption remains a feature of Abu Dhabi, Masdar comes across more as a development project rather than an environmental one. And other regions of the world, such as Europe, are still ahead of the GCC in using real-time data systems to collect data on water and power usage and increase user awareness in environmentally friendly smart homes.

So, given the enormous financial resources of the Gulf states, why are there relatively few smart cities in development in the region?

Andrew Nusca, editor of the US-based website SmartPlanet, believes that while the Gulf states have considerable wealth, traditionally they have not been good at distributing it throughout the population or investing in public works projects that enable wealth generation. He told The Middle East: “By definition, the term ‘smart city’ denotes not just physical capital - infrastructure - but intellectual and social capital, too. That can't happen until the Gulf states begin to give their own people the tools to generate economic benefit for themselves and the state. That kind of progress takes generations to materialize, which is why we're only seeing the beginnings of this in the Middle East today.”