Research Overview

Building energy management is now a cornerstone of building energy sustainability. Mass digitization targets building systems management and focuses on occupant health and well-being, enabling proactive performance improvements and making buildings more human-centric. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the importance of minimizing ecological footprint, optimizing energy and operational efficiency, adhering to building regulations, and adopting certifications. Collectively, these allow intelligent buildings to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Technology trends such as greater penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, and edge computing; rising adoption of AI-driven solutions at the management level; and cloud-based remote services fuel these changes and will be sought-after post-pandemic. Digital services will play a vital role in connectivity, new technology convergence, and seamless integration with systems to generate greater granular value and mitigate the pandemic’s impact.

Comprehensive and customizable business models dedicated to building sustainability such as connectivity-as-a-service with cloud-based platforms as well as energy-, healthy buildings-, pandemic management-, and digital tools-as-a-service are growing. These services will generate energy and cost benefits. Unlike the pre-COVID-19 scenario, building owners and managers are prioritizing value-based outcomes along with human health, wellness, and safety services.