How Past Innovations In Sustainability Impact The Future Of Facilities

Facility managers can reflect on past trends and breakthroughs in sustainability to see how they will help shape the future of facilities.

While oil and electricity contribute to ongoing environmental issues, renewable energies are explored. Early applications for solar power are discovered in the mid-1800s, with the first solar cell created in 1883.

Modern Renewable Energy Begins To Take Root (1950-2000)

With an increasing public awareness of the adverse effects of global warming, renewable, and recyclable energies became more prolific in the latter half of the 20th century. Further developments in solar energy lead to increased adoption of solar panels. Projects such as the University of Delaware’s Solar One home in 1973 demonstrate the capabilities of solar energy, but the materials needed to produce panels are cost-prohibitive for wide adoption. Wind farms also begin appearing, though adoption is slow and wind powers less than a million homes worldwide at the century’s end. Nuclear plants emerge, but their usage peaks in the 1990s.

The growth of renewable energies is at first inhibited by an increased focus on tenant comfort in built spaces, creating an immediate demand for power in built spaces. Air conditioning becomes more common in many commercial and residential spaces, leading to higher electricity usage, which only petroleum and coal can immediately power on a large scale.

Climate Change Urges The Need For Sustainable Buildings (2000-2022)

The entrance into the 21st century is met with a wider public awareness of environmental causes. Public figures like Al Gore and Greta Thunberg call for immediate action against climate change from the public and private sectors. As the world more frequently witnesses devastating ecological and climate disasters such as oil spills, wildfires, and heatwaves, there is increased demand for more sustainable energy sources.

Progress is made toward more sustainable buildings and amenities. While there are still hurdles in the way of wide adoption of renewable energy, as of 2020, it creates 30% of all electricity worldwide—though the amount of electricity produced is very different depending on the region/country. LED lighting becomes more common, lasting over 25 times longer and reducing energy consumption by at least 75% compared to incandescent bulbs. Sustainability and tenant comfort are able to coexist with the introduction of smart technology, which further reduces energy use by lowering or disabling lighting and HVAC systems according to tenancy levels.

But challenges still lie ahead. For example, as electric vehicles become more affordable and commonplace, facilities look to install charging stations and help the world begin to move away from fossil fuels entirely. However, these stations will increase energy demand by about 250%. The road ahead will focus on intelligently addressing these arising issues in sustainability.

Technology And Sustainability Light The Way Toward A Green Future (2022 Onward)

green buildings
Photo by Adobe Stock

With more technology breakthroughs making sustainable living a more viable option every day, what is needed to make our future living more and more environmentally-friendly? For one, more and more data will be needed for smart, automatic sensors and systems to quickly predict, interpret, and react to changes in building conditions, such as tenant traffic and outdoor climate conditions.

Energy management will also become more creative and introduce sustainable solutions to our largest problems. For example, more data collection results in more energy intensive data centers—but their carbon emissions could be offset by directing their heat toward greenhouse gardens for crop production.

Such breakthroughs in technology mean a large, innovative workforce of energy professionals will be needed to oversee energy use and continuously develop better management practices. There will be more opportunities for passionate and dedicated professionals to build their careers based on making our buildings—and therefore our cities, nations, and world—the most environmentally-friendly they have been in centuries.

Blauvelt is the Senior Product Director for Atrius, Acuity Brands. He works with building owners, operators, consultants, and systems integrators to help provide an integration IoT platform which aggregates, normalizes, and benchmarks all building related data to help achieve sustainability goals. 

Désiré is the Connected Building Solution Manager of Distech Controls. He is passionate about designing products and services that leverage the latest technologies and support innovative business models to develop differentiating digital offerings.

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