Digitalized building automation makes the energy transition attractive

In line with the VDMA initiative for building automation, Schneider Electric relies on digital energy efficiency technologies to enable socially and economically compatible climate protection.

Digitalized building automation is a key technology for operating climate-friendly and therefore sustainable properties. This is what the VDMA Automation + Management for House + Buildings (AMG) association did in its “Building Automation. The industry. “The benchmark” formulates and refers in particular to the potential of smart, automated building functions for active energy efficiency. Since around 26 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions are caused by buildings, energy efficiency measures in this area make a particular contribution to achieving global climate protection goals. At the same time, modern, digitalized building automation increases the attractiveness of a building for residents, operators and investors - and thus creates significant economic added value.

Digitalization makes the energy transition economically attractive

“When it comes to climate protection, the public debate is often too one-sided about energy production,” comments Markus Hettig, who, as Vice President Buildings DACH at Schneider Electric, is responsible for topics such as building automation and energy efficiency, among other things. “For economically and socially acceptable climate protection, energy efficiency, i.e. the consumption side, is at least as important. With the support of digital technologies, we can already automate a building so intelligently that hardly any energy is wasted. And that has an enormous ecological and economic effect.”

For Hettig and Schneider Electric, as active supporters of the VDMA initiative, it is clear that more social and political attention is needed for issues such as building automation and energy efficiency in the spirit of the energy transition. Only if the energy transition is not recognized as a burden but as an attractive economic project can it succeed. The good thing: “The technologies for digitalized building automation are all available. And in contrast to passive energy efficiency measures, they can be easily retrofitted practically anywhere,” emphasizes energy expert Hettig. “It's not about turning everything upside down. It's about making things smarter. And this can be achieved with the necessary data transparency and a holistic approach to the needs-based regulation of all processes and functions.”

More energy efficiency in the smart factory

In keeping with the VDMA initiative for energy-saving building automation, tech group Schneider Electric has been a pioneer in the field of digital energy efficiency technologies for several years. These are used not only by customers around the world, but also at the company's own locations. For example, in the Smart Factory in Le Vaudreuil, France, which was recognized as a “Sustainability Lighthouse” by the World Economic Forum. Not only were the production processes digitally optimized, but - since around 50 percent of the total energy consumption was accounted for by pure building operation - the automated control of the building's functions was also digitally optimized using 160 data points. The result: By reducing annual energy consumption from 11,361 MWh to just 8,039 MWh, CO2 emissions could be reduced by more than 30 percent. And all this while increasing output volume, flexibility and resilience.