Legislations of various countries around the world require new and old buildings to strive to save energy and reduce emissions to gradually meet the standard of net zero, which also brings great market opportunities for smart building technology. Building carbon emissions can be further divided into operational carbon emissions of buildings in use, such as air conditioning, lighting, water, and electricity, and others, and embodied carbon emissions, such as the construction process, building materials, transportation, and disposal, with each accounting for 28% and 11% of global carbon emissions respectively. In Europe, the operational carbon emissions of buildings alone account for 36% of the overall carbon emissions.
As operational carbon emissions account for the bulk, how to make good use of technology to reduce operational carbon emissions has become the focus of attention for net-zero buildings. The World Economic Forum lists four key elements of net-zero buildings: decarbonizaton, electrification, efficiency, and digitalization. The four complement each other in reducing the environmental cost and overall cost of buildings. Among them, "energy efficiency" is the top priority, which can lead to "carbon reduction," whereas "electrification" and "digitization" are tools and means.
Great market potential for net-zero building-related technology and Services
Building technologies that revolve around the above four elements have long existed, and some are even quite mature. For example, terminal software and hardware technologies such as HVAC (high-efficiency air conditioning system and heat pump), LED high-efficiency lighting (LED, daylight applications, human-induced lighting), on-site renewable energy (such as solar photovoltaic, hydrogen energy), energy storage systems (electricity and heat storage, stationary batteries, electric vehicles, fuel cells), IoT sensing and monitoring (air conditioning and lighting, airflow and environment control, and others), security surveillance, and building management system (BMS) or BAS building automation systems (BAS) that integrate various systems mentioned above.
From individual net-zero buildings to net-zero energy zones
Delta has been devoted to developing best practices for near-zero/net-zero buildings for many years: Y.S. Sun Green Building by Delta Electronics Inc. was selected as one of the exemplary low- and net zero- energy buildings worldwide by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change. Namaxia Minquan Elementary School integrated solar photovoltaic, LED lighting, energy management, and energy storage systems, making it the first campus in Taiwan with net zero energy consumption. Delta's DALI lighting system for Manchester Airport in the United Kingdom, combining field smart sensing and then connected with flight information through BMS, serves to save energy up to 89%. Moreover, Delta's Americas Headquarters has also achieved superior energy performance by comprehensively introducing a number of technologies such as HVAC smart air conditioning, ground source heat pumps, rainwater recycling, renewable energy, and electric vehicle charging and having them work through an IP networked building control system.
In addition to the net zero energy consumption of individual buildings, the European Union, the United States, and Japan, among others, are also promoting the design of zero energy districts (ZED) or positive energy zones (PEZ). It works by connecting buildings to regional power grids and urban services to achieve a wider range of net zero energy consumption, related technologies of which include dynamic load control of energy-consuming equipment according to grid conditions, power demand response, connection to decentralized energy (energy storage cabinets, electric vehicles, renewable energy), multi-building management systems, and others. From individual to regional, more emphasis is placed on energy management services and grid interactive applications, which also represents longer-term market opportunities for net-zero buildings. #