COVER STORY
Building for the future
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EU funding makes building automation the smart choice for energy saving by Graham Martin, Chairman and CEO, EnOcean Alliance
nvesting in saving energy in the built environment is often viewed as a tricky trade-off between short-term capital outlay and disruption versus long-term cost reductions, well-being and environmental benefits. With a return on investment (ROI) that could take several years or even decades to manifest, and the possibility of significant and expensive inconvenience to building users while works and subsequent redecoration take place, it can be tempting to stick with the status quo for as long as possible, no matter how suboptimum that may be. And that is despite an ever-tightening regulatory environment aimed at compelling organisations to make the changes needed to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This cost-benefit conundrum is undergoing a substantial readjustment, however, with the
4 | Summer 2021 | SMART AUTOMATION
injection of a very large tranche of new EU funding designed to help Europe recover rapidly from the coronavirus pandemic while becoming greener, more digital and more resilient. Thirty percent of the €750 billion Next Generation EU COVID-19 recovery package announced last July is earmarked for fighting climate change, as is the same proportion of the Union’s longer-term budget to 2027 of €1,074 billion. That means there has never been more funding available for green upgrade projects, in the form of grants and low-interest loans – and that’s before you factor in the various finance packages and tax breaks made available within individual countries by national governments. This could effectively remove the cost barrier for many building owners. When you also consider
that it’s actually perfectly possible to implement energy-saving initiatives without causing upheaval for facilities managers or occupants, it’s likely we will see a big uplift in these types of upgrades in the near future. Least pain, fast gain When people think about curbing energy consumption and reducing emissions, they tend to gravitate towards alterations to the shell of a building, such as double glazing and insulation, or upgrading heating systems, for example by switching to a green energy source like solar power. It’s less common to consider smart automation designed to greatly increase the efficiency of functions like heating, lighting and air conditioning - even though this is much quicker, easier and cheaper to implement and offers a far more rapid ROI.
