Trends to watch out for in 2023

With a turbulent 2022 behind us, it’s time to look ahead at trends that will shape the commercial, industrial and residential building sector in 2023. Unsurprisingly, energy is the overarching theme, along with carbon emissions reduction, writes Phil Kane, Country Manager, Eaton Ireland.

Energy shortages that emerged in Europe as demand picked up after the Covid crisis were deepened by the war in Ukraine, leading to an unprecedented supply squeeze. The outcome is ongoing EU and national efforts to boost energy security.

Reducing carbon emissions remains an equally pressing priority, with the United Nation’s COP27 meeting in November providing an urgent reminder – if one was needed – that while energy security is important, the need to mitigate climate change is an imperative. The building sector in Europe has much to consider as it responds to the demands that will be made of it in 2023.

Trend 1

Improved energy management

Governments are doing all they can to reduce energy demand. The independent think-tank, Bruegel, has prepared a country-by-country summary of the range of measures adopted which shows the diversity of approach: National fiscal policy responses to the energy crisis (bruegel.org). For building owners everywhere, the common thread is the need to manage energy carefully and differently.

Strategic use of energy storage systems will be a favoured option for many. With the benefit of energy storage, the business or homeowner can retain off-peak power from the grid, plus any energy they generate from renewable sources, to use how and when they wish. This shift in energyuse patterns, which was already emerging, has been accelerated by the energy crisis and associated high prices. Expect to see heightened demand during 2023 for energy storage systems.

Trend 2

Regulatory deadline

Action to reduce energy consumption is driven by regulatory deadlines, and efforts to deliver on deadlines will intensify in 2023. EU countries have been tasked with implementing the Fit-for-55 legislative package, designed to drive entire economies towards a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

In addition, some requirements were revised upward in 2022 to support the REPowerEU initiative. REPowerEU will speed up Europe’s progress towards energy security through, among other things, enhanced levels of distributed energy generation from renewables. All of this will make 2023 a pivotal year because building owners will need to work out how to reduce both energy use and emissions.

Trend 3

Electric vehicles and renewables

Building owners are sometimes surprised when we discuss electric vehicle (EV) charging and renewables in the same conversation. It is not immediately obvious to them how EV charging infrastructure can boost the energy efficiency of a building. However, that is exactly what can happen thanks to sector coupling which involves linking energy production more closely with energy consumption and making very efficient use of renewable energy.

This type of approach – we call it “Buildings as a Grid” for commercial and industrial property, or “Homes as a Grid” for residential property –turns a building into an energy hub, something that is easily possible now. Expect to see more building owners taking this approach in 2023, as phase-out dates for petrol and diesel vehicles get closer.

Expect calls to become louder for national grids to permit bi-directional charging too, as the owners of EV chargers see how they could make money by selling energy to the grid. This is already allowed and popular in Norway.

Trend 4

Renovation and retrofit

Renewed focus on renovation will be a feature of 2023, as building owners and homeowners seek to reduce the impact of high energy prices by retrofitting insulation and assets such as solar panels. Extra incentive to retrofit will come in national regulations that will flow from stock is renovated each year. Other European countries face similar issues.

Trend 5

Beating the skills shortage

Specialist electrical skills are lacking across Europe, so training workforces to install the infrastructure needed for the energy transition is a priority everywhere. The nations of Europe will need to strive harder in 2023 to ensure that the commercial, industrial and residential building sectors are supplied with the skilled workers needed for this process.

The delivery of strategies that will replace fossil fuels with a new energy mix, which will be much more heavily weighted towards renewables, will demand a lot of infrastructure work … and people to do it. Automation and the adoption of efficient, repeatable work processes will help because it will enable fewer skilled people to achieve more. government initiatives such as the EU’s revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

Editor’s note: Building services engineers in particular are best qualified and positioned to take the lead in responding to these trends, and in devising solutions. While there are undoubtedly many challenges to overcome, the situation also presents many opportunities.

Among other things, the EPBD wants countries to mandate EV charging in both new and renovated buildings to speed up the switch to electromobility. Most countries, both inside and outside the EU, are expected to introduce similar regulations if they don’t have them already.

Renovation has a vital role to play in the energy transition because approximately 35% of the EU’s buildings are more than 50 years old, almost 75% of the building stock is considered energy inefficient, and only about 1% of the building