This software needs inputs to work with, and so there has also been a rapid demand for sensors in recent years, and ever more manufacturers are offering multi-criteria sensors that capture a range of building variables, such as temperature, humidity, occupancy and air quality.
The trend is towards more open and connected systems, with more devices becoming Internet Protocol (IP) enabled, and capable of supporting a variety of industry-standard open communication protocols. At the same time, manufacturers are addressing cybersecurity from initial product conception, through design, manufacture and implementation.
Global conflicts have raised the threat to energy security and pushed-up prices, which has encouraged building owners to invest in systems to improve building performance including BACS, although high inflation and high interest rates have held back the new-build market in some countries. Governments, especially in Europe and North America have been legislating to encourage greater efficiency, and this is also encouraging more concentration on the refurbishment market and greater deployment of BACS in smaller buildings. Nevertheless, a serious shortage of skilled labour is hampering market development and increasing costs in some of the wealthier countries.
Many of these trends were evident at the recent Light+Building trade show in Frankfurt, Germany. There is a clear move towards sustainability, in all its forms. From products made from recycled materials, to “eco” marking with certification of products through their entire lifetime, including factors such as manufacture solely with renewable energy, as well as end-of-life take-back and disassembly. Other innovations include operational data-based forecasting of when individual buildings, or building portfolios will reach zero-carbon emissions, based on planned renovations and usage, and to estimate whether this will achieve goals such as the 2050 net zero target in the European Union.
The western world has a large stock of old, energy-inefficient buildings, and there was an increasing array of new and innovative product ranges on display at Light+Building which include novel energy-saving techniques to retrofit homes and non-residential buildings.