How can a building achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating or LEED Platinum accreditation yet perform poorly in practice? The answer lies in the ‘performance gap’, the difference between a building’s expected energy efficiency at the design stage and its actual performance once operational. Closing this gap is essential for achieving true sustainability in the built environment.
Understanding the Performance Gap
The performance gap refers to the disparity between a building’s predicted energy use and carbon emissions during design and its real-world performance. Research suggests that non-domestic buildings can emit up to 3.8 times more carbon than originally estimated.
Alarmingly, in one study all but one assessed building were between 1.8 and 10 times less efficient than intended. Shockingly, a building that was 10 times less efficient had achieved a BREEAM Excellent certification. This highlights a fundamental issue: accreditation schemes like BREEAM, LEED and EPCs provide only a snapshot of potential performance at a given time, rather than awarding sustained efficiency. Addressing the performance gap is crucial to tackling excessive energy consumption across the built environment.
Why larger buildings are more affected
The performance gap is often greater in larger buildings, particularly those with complex systems such as Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), which rely on intricate Building Management Systems (BMS). For instance, a single faulty sensor can lead to continuous heating or cooling output, go unnoticed, and significantly increase energy waste.
Fortunately, recent technology now enables the creation of ‘digital twins’ almost instantaneously, providing real-time data to detect inefficiencies and anomalies remotely. These tools help eliminate operational energy waste quickly and effectively, making them essential for large buildings.
The role of commissioning
Addressing the performance gap in existing building stock is critical, especially since 80% of today’s buildings will still be in use by 2050. However, issues often arise immediately after commissioning. Comprehensive commissioning of building services is vital for safe and energy-efficient operation, yet tight budget and time constraints frequently lead to oversights. Without adequate, real-time visibility of newly installed systems, performance issues can easily, and often do, go unnoticed.
How Building Analytics can close the gap
Building Analytics platforms provide a solution by analysing and visualising complex BMS, meter and other IoT data. They streamline the commissioning process, uncover hidden inefficiencies, and promote open collaboration between project and operations/maintenance stakeholders. Building Analytics not only reduces project time and cost but also improves overall building performance.
Real estate professionals involved in new builds or refurbishments should consider using Building Analytics to ensure buildings operate as intended. The good news is that these systems can be implemented during both construction and operational phases with minimal disruption.
Continuous monitoring for long-term efficiency
Like a car requiring regular servicing, buildings also need ongoing monitoring to maintain optimal efficiency. The increasing complexity of modern building systems makes traditional manual maintenance approaches less effective. Buildings often contain thousands of sensors hidden within ceilings and walls. Without the right tools, it is both unrealistic and impossible for engineers to manage these systems effectively.
This is why continuous performance analysis, or ‘continuous commissioning’, is essential. By ensuring systems operate as designed, it not only reduces operational costs and carbon emissions, but also extends equipment lifespan and improves long-term investment planning.
Less talk, more action
The urgency of the climate crisis is undeniable and the time for yet more discussion has passed, it is now time for action. Solutions to drastically reduce carbon emissions from buildings already exist, and they must be implemented without delay if anyone is serious about meeting their sustainability responsibilities.
The UK Green Building Council has made it clear: a 60% reduction in office energy demand is needed by 2050. A significant portion of this can be achieved by eliminating the performance gap through existing technology. There is no excuse for further delay, our buildings must be made to perform as efficiently in reality as they do on paper.
About Demand Logic
Demand Logic is a multi-award-winning building analytics platform which provides real-time data intelligence on how a building is operating. The Demand Logic platform delivers actionable insights and measurable benefits, such as energy and carbon savings, enhanced asset value, streamlined maintenance, cost reductions, improved comfort, and tenant retention.
Demand Logic is saving clients £25 million in energy cost and 124,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. For more information, visit: www.demandlogic.co.uk or request a demo here