The electrification of heat in commercial office buildings is a critical cornerstone to reduce emissions, ensure regulatory compliance, attract investment and – if done correctly – shrink operating costs without ‘blowing’ electrical circuits or capex budgets. But it’s not an overnight proposition. Better building data is the key first step to making incremental improvements and the right choices in the short, medium and long-term.
Space heating is the single largest energy consumer in commercial office buildings.
In the UK, office buildings (both public sector and private) were last year responsible for 18% of the services sector’s consumption. Heating made up the biggest single chunk of demand and remains largely fossil fuel powered. Per 2023 consumption data, circa 67% of the energy used for space heating in commercial buildings came from natural gas – and another 10% from oil. Just under 12% came via electricity, the majority within the private sector.
Similarly the EU services sector, largely commercial buildings, is responsible for around 13% of total energy consumption, with space heating making up a significant portion. While across the bloc latest data suggests around 23% of all (domestic and non-domestic) heating is delivered via renewables, those figures are skewed because the renewable component is largely use of solid biomass in households, i.e. burning wood and pellets in stoves and boilers. Gas still underpins the lion’s share within commercial buildings. To hit EU Net Zero mandates, that will have to change quickly.
In Australia, the consumption split is lower, with commercial buildings contributing to circa 7% of national final energy consumption. Given the warmer climate, cooling is a larger requirement than heating, though gas delivers circa 80% of space heating and circa 15% of hot water demand.
First data step is crucial
Moving from gas to electrified heating is no small task. Existing building infrastructures are complex, and the financial and operational implications are manifold. Building a phased plan that aligns with existing investment cycles is key.
In any business process, the first step is optimisation of current gas-fired heating systems, reducing consumption, carbon and costs – and laying more solid financial and technical foundations for a smoother wholesale transition.
Optimising existing heat infrastructure also acts as a flywheel for a highly valuable planning resource: better data collection and analysis.
By getting a sharper read on heating demand – and understanding where sub-systems can be fighting each other – building operators can better plan and size future systems.
Over- or under-sizing heat pumps, for example, will lead to inefficiencies and cost blowouts, both in terms of initial capex and ongoing costs, not to mention remedial fixes.
Collecting and interrogating data on current energy use and peak demand is therefore essential to making informed decisions when transitioning to low-carbon heating technologies.
It is critical to not do this in isolation, because electrifying heat has broader implications for the building’s other systems, internal loads and external capacity requirements.
In short, use better building data to map out all loads and consumption patterns, identify inefficiencies and then balance and reduce them as optimally as possible to shrink the capex and opex requirements of shifting to an increasingly electrified and low carbon operation.
Which is where a robust data strategy comes in – and where building asset data, meter data, and smart analytics are key tools, highlighting areas for immediate improvement that will likewise reduce longer-term expenditure.
Sub-metering for smarter load balancing
Sub-metering (installing meters downstream of the main meter to measure energy use in different building zones or within specific assets) gets amongst the weeds of consumption, pinpointing energy wastage and returning the granular data that underpins optimisation strategies.
It also means energy consumption (plus costs and carbon) can be automatically allocated to different areas, functions and departments while enabling better energy load balancing across the building’s electrical system.
Load balancing – ensuring even distribution of demand across different circuits, reducing the strain on the overall infrastructure – is a critical step when considering the roadmap towards full electrification of heating. It also has a useful side effect in preventing potentially dangerous overloads and outages – and can provide significant financial upside in enabling buildings to avoid peak power costs and excess capacity charges.
Reducing Consumption During Peak Tariff Times
Across countries and regions, both peak consumption and capacity are commanding higher premiums as policy drives heat and transport to decarbonise, increasing pressure and constraints on power grids.
This is where load shifting or shedding comes into play. Switching systems off, up r down to respond to higher tariff prices will help reduce costs, this will become increasingly important as more of the heating load switches from gas to electricity, with commensurate impact on cost pass throughs.
Being able to reduce consumption of energy intensive assets when tariff prices are highest means lower bills and lower carbon – because peak demand periods tend to coincide with highest fossil fuel generation in the power mix.
Smarter capacity planning
Sub-metering data and building management system (BMS) analysis likewise underpin smarter forward capacity planning, enabling facilities managers to optimise existing loads and circuits, gauge whether current infrastructure can handle additional load – and map out the upgrades required to accommodate greater electrification of heat.
It means major capex projects, like switching to heat pumps, can be better matched with investment cycles – i.e. if a building is due to upgrade its electrical system in five years’ time, it makes sense to work towards minimising and optimising demand until that point and then align the two investments.
Which is why sub-metering, smarter building controls and more intelligent optimisation should be the first crucial steps of any commercial building decarbonisation strategy – because sharper data and smarter analytics underpins cost and carbon savings now, as well as all follow-on actions.
Driving a phased, data-driven approach means business leaders can deliver multiple wins – lower operating costs, greater operational resilience, higher profit and shareholder value, reduced emissions, and regulatory and reporting compliance.
Which in turn makes the sustainable transition a strategic and competitive advantage – and crucially, makes the next steps easier and less expensive to take.
About EP&T
Founded in Australia, ASX-listed EP&T Global provides data-enabled technology to a growing portfolio of building assets in over 26 countries throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and North America.
EP&T’s EDGE Intelligent System is a data repository incorporating 20-plus years of building energy efficiency knowledge – collecting and analysing more than 5.6 billion points of data per annum with proprietary algorithmic analysis and machine learning across more than 7 million sqm of net lettable area and 523 commercial buildings.
EP&T Global’s current portfolio, which monitors over 1 billion kWh annually, averages of 21% energy savings, enabling equivalent annual reductions in CO2 emissions.
Find out more at eptglobal.com.
