Why 87% of Commercial Buildings Are Blindfolded to Their Energy Waste
In an era of increasing energy costs and climate urgency, it’s astonishing that 87% of buildings worldwide lack a Building Management System (BMS), according to a report by Memoori. These systems provide vital data about energy usage, allowing building managers to optimise operations, reduce waste, and cut costs. Without a BMS, most buildings are operating in the dark when it comes to understanding their energy consumption, resulting in inefficiencies that go unnoticed.
The Hidden Costs of Energy Blindness
Buildings account for nearly 40% of global energy consumption and are responsible for a significant portion of carbon emissions. Yet, without data from a BMS, identifying where energy is being wasted-whether through inefficient heating, cooling, or lighting-becomes nearly impossible. This “blindfold” leads to increased operational costs and missed opportunities to reduce environmental impact.
Stranded Assets: A Growing Risk
The lack of energy performance data isn’t just costly-it can threaten the long-term value of buildings. With tightening regulations, such as the UK’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), buildings that don’t meet certain energy efficiency benchmarks could be classified as stranded assets. This means they might become unlettable or significantly depreciate in value, a risk that building owners and managers can’t afford to ignore.
Missed Opportunities for Proactive Maintenance
A key benefit of having a BMS is the ability to implement proactive maintenance. By monitoring equipment performance in real time, building managers can detect faults early and fix issues before they result in costly breakdowns or downtime. Without these insights, most facilities rely on reactive, or even outdated scheduled maintenance approaches, missing out on potential savings and operational improvements. Verv hardware is fairly unique in that it collects ultra-high-speed energy data (sampling every 0.0001 seconds, as opposed to a BMS every 15-30 minutes), this paves the way for predictive maintenance strategies, as we can monitor harmonics in the energy patterns.
What Can Be Done?
Retrofitting buildings with energy monitoring technology or incorporating newer solutions during renovation or development can offer an alternative to full-scale BMS installation. By capturing detailed data on energy usage, these systems can provide the visibility needed to optimise energy efficiency, reduce waste, and future-proof buildings in an increasingly regulatory-heavy environment.
Verv is a non-intrusive, retrofit option to bring your non-BMS buildings online, find out more by clicking the button below.
