The building sector is a major consumer of energy, representing alone nearly 45% of the final energy consumed in France, or around 70 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year. As a result, it also constitutes an important reservoir for potential energy savings.
To mitigate this impact, France has initiated various legislative and regulatory measures over the years, such as the Grenelle law, RE2020 and the tertiary decree, with the aim of reducing the energy consumption of buildings and, consequently, their greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sobriety plan, launched by the government in September 2022, has further accelerated the efforts deployed by various actors to improve energy performance of buildings.
In this context, a growing number of companies and communities are adopting energy management strategies. However, a question remains: how to measure the impact of these strategies and demonstrate the energy efficiency of your company?
4 actions to guarantee energy efficiency in business
Energy efficiency in business: carrying out an energy audit
Analyze the existing
By evaluating your current energy profile via an energy audit, you will identify priority areas to improve the energy efficiency of your business. You will have to take into account various elements such as building management, hot and cold production and distribution units. It is crucial to know which equipment and activities consume the most energy.
A mandatory energy audit for large companies
In the context of the DDADUE law dated July 16, 2013, companies with more than 250 employees, and with a turnover exceeding 50 million euros, as well as a balance sheet total exceeding 43 million euros, must carry out an energy audit every 4 years.
Evaluate your energy mix
Evaluating your current energy sources can also be a way to incorporate new forms of energy into your mix. Ask yourself questions like:
- What energies are you currently using?
- Is it possible to replace them with renewable energies, self-consumption or recovered energies?
- Are your current energy contracts optimized for your specific needs?
Energy efficiency in business: establishing and monitoring Energy Performance Indicators
To ensure effective energy management in a building or real estate complex, it is essential to set up and monitor Energy Performance Indicators (EPI).
EPIs are used to evaluate the energy efficiency of a specific energy use based on certain conditions, such as geographic location and altitude. Several types of EPI exist, such as energy consumption per unit area, cost per unit area, total energy consumption, and total billing amount.
For example, an organization could set a goal that building B does not exceed a consumption of 160 kWh/m² per year.
Once established, these indicators facilitate the comparison of energy performance over specific periods and allow detailed monitoring of their progress. They are also useful for quickly detecting any anomalies in energy consumption in order to take corrective action. In this way, they reliably contribute to energy savings and the continuous improvement of the company's energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency in business: implementing concrete strategic actions
Energy Renovation of Buildings
The energy efficiency of your business is strongly influenced by the quality of the insulation in its buildings. To maximize energy performance, it is crucial to ensure the correct implementation of insulation measures adapted to your work spaces. An effective insulation system for your business buildings should include both walls and roofs.
It is essential to focus your efforts on minimizing thermal losses when designing your insulation system. By neglecting this aspect, your business risks increasing its energy consumption, which will result in higher costs and reduced energy performance.
Optimized Heat Management
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as motors and other machinery, constitute a significant portion of your energy expenses. It is also possible to recover the heat emitted to convert it into usable energy for your industry.
You cannot maximize the energy efficiency of your business without wise heat management. This involves turning on the air conditioning only when absolutely necessary and ensuring less frequented spaces are set to an appropriate temperature.
These measures are crucial because the heating system is one of the largest contributors to your business's energy costs. Additionally, it is important to consider investing in modern equipment which, although potentially more expensive initially, proves to be more energy efficient in the long term.
Lighting Improvement
Adopting solutions such as LEDs or high-efficiency lighting fixtures can represent an additional opportunity for energy savings.
By using the right lighting, you not only reduce your business' operational costs, but you also improve your customers' experience. It is therefore essential to choose lighting solutions that are in line with your specific energy needs. For example, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting is significantly more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.
Additionally, consider installing motion detectors and twilight detectors in areas with little or sporadically frequented traffic.This type of lighting system is particularly suitable for spaces such as conference rooms, toilets or staircases.
Establishment of a good ventilation system
Setting up the appropriate ventilation system is essential to maintaining good air quality within your business. Insufficient ventilation can also lead to problems such as mold growth in your premises. Therefore, selecting and installing the right ventilation system is a crucial step in improving the energy efficiency of your business.
In short, it is important to choose a ventilation system that is not only economical, but also modular to allow you to adjust the parameters according to your specific needs at any time.
Implementation of a GTC regulation system
GTC is a centralized technical building management system which facilitates the management of various energy installations. When it comes to electricity, BMS can manage elements such as lighting, motion detection and monitoring electricity consumption through analysis of the data collected.
These energy management devices, by providing continuous information, make it possible to adjust a company's consumption to optimize energy savings. It is possible for a company to have several BMS, each dedicated to supervising specific aspects such as heating or air conditioning.
Introduction of the BACS decree
The BACS decree stipulates that tertiary buildings must be equipped with automation and control systems. This requirement is already in force for new construction and will be mandatory for existing buildings from January 1, 2025.
The main objective of this decree is to reduce the energy consumption of tertiary buildings by making their management more efficient. The BACS Decree, like the Tertiary Decree, aims to reduce the carbon impact. Ensuring efficient energy management in buildings has become essential.
BMS systems make it possible to supervise and regulate the technical installations of a building, such as air conditioning, heating, lighting and ventilation. They are part of an approach aimed at efficiency, technical mastery and financial profitability, while guaranteeing a balance between the energy needs and the operational requirements of the building. Thus, these intelligent management and control devices play a key role in achieving the energy performance targets of buildings.
Transport Optimization
From raw materials management to finished product distribution, streamlining your transportation chain offers another avenue for reducing energy consumption.
Energy efficiency in business: evaluation of energy savings achieved
After implementing actions to improve the energy efficiency of your business, it is essential to quantify the energy savings achieved over a given period. In 1997, the NGO Efficiency Valuation Organization introduced the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), which has become the most recognized certification for measuring and verifying energy savings in the building sector.
How IPMVP works
The main objective of the IPMVP is to measure the reduction in energy consumption. For example, if insulation work has been carried out on a building, it will consume less energy. The IPMVP therefore compares consumption "before" and "after" the works to determine the improvements in terms of energy performance between the reference period (before the works), the current period and a monitored period (after the works).
Certification Requirements
Just like an energy audit, the IPMVP requires implementation by certified companies. Used effectively, it also helps to comply with the objectives set by various government standards or regulations.
In summary, these approaches provide the tools necessary to monitor energy performance, ensure sustainable improvements and engage in a long-term environmental approach.
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