President-elect Joe Biden has committed his administration to focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy — admirable goals to be sure. But the new Biden Administration must also focus on smart building technology, smart cities, and building automation, according to a piece on ARCWeb.
That’s because so many buildings are old. The latest Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey reported that half of all existing buildings were built between 1960 and 1999, and 21 percent were built before 1960.
But the technology in the buildings themselves is the real problem from an energy perspective. Many of the traditional HVAC systems in existing buildings today still use pneumatic controls and outdated hardware. And as these building technologies age, they drift farther and farther from optimal performance, and require more and more attention to keep them working efficiently.
The Biden Administration plans to create more than one million jobs by focusing on replacing outdated energy-using equipment in buildings. Biden also plans to “establish a series of building performance standards for existing buildings,” according to ARCWeb. As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, spending on smart building technologies should increase, and Biden Administration policy should accelerate this adoption.
This post was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, editor, Building Operating Management and FacilitiesNet.com.
