How To Reduce Energy Use in Buildings

A white paper released by the World Economic Forum and PwC outlines “actionable interventions” that could reduce emissions from buildings by up to 38 percent. As Nish Amarnath explains in Smart Cities Dive, these interventions include efficiency measures and electrification.

“Demand-side actions can be undertaken by “‘reallocating previously wasted or unnecessarily used energy to new consumers and/or new uses,’ the paper says, noting that the cheapest form of energy is ‘energy that is not used.’” In addition to reducing the amount and intensity of energy used, the paper recommends “retrofits and other upgrades that enable buildings to use less energy to perform the same task and are typically funded by capital expenditure with payback in less than 15 years.”

The paper adds a more systemic solution. “As a third lever, it recommends collaboration measures across the value chain, such as changing building design, putting in place district heating and cooling systems and district energy management systems, on-site energy production and storage, and the use of greener materials as well as demand response programs.”