Co-benefits of building automation and control systems

an analysis of smart office buildings

Abstract

The more and more widespread availability and implementation of building automation and control systems (BACS) is revealing how building monitoring, control, and real-time data, can support building users' well-being, providing additional co-benefits, besides the positive energetic impacts. Therefore, these technologies will play an important role in the transition towards a smart built environment, reducing energy consumption, enhancing comfort and interacting with a smart grid and building users. The Standard EN15232 with the BAC factor method introduces smart control efficiency classes and provides quantitative data for estimating the energy savings associated with the installation of smart controls. Although this method is not very detailed, it aims to provide a rough estimation in the early design stages. Assessment methods for BACS (such as the European Smart Readiness Indicator, the French SBA' Ready to Service label's) also stress the importance of non-energetic impacts of BACS. At present, these methods mostly rely on qualitative assessments or use ordinal scores, since investigation on non-energetic benefits and quantitative data are largely lacking. This paper analyses the multiple co-benefits of smart controls in office buildings in greater detail. By means of data reported in literature and building simulations, the most important co-benefits are identified and to the extent possible also quantified. A contemporary office building is used as case study to apply and demonstrate the proposed analysis framework.