Page 38 - Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

energy use, optimize energy distribution, automate building operations and subsequently improve
their overall energy performance.

A smart building may encompass of several smart technologies: 6

• HVAC – Smart heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems use sensors to monitor
and control building’s operations; software programmes will then analyse the collected data.
Allowing an HVAC system can limit energy use in unoccupied zones, detect and diagnose faulty
events, and optimize energy use during peak energy demand hours.
• Lighting – Smart lighting refers to the use of sensors to optimize the lighting function of a
building. This may include incorporating natural daylighting and dimming controls depending
on the time of the day. Smart lighting systems can be operated wirelessly and though a digital
lighting management platform.

• Automated system optimization (AOS) – AOS uses ICT to collect and analyse building systems’
operational and energy performance data. The data will then be used to make anticipatory changes
based on external factors such as occupancy patterns, weather forecasts and the utility rate.
• Window shading – a smart wind system manages the amount of solar heat and daylight
that enters a building. Windows are then capable of responding to changes in sunlight and
temperature, which allows shades to be deployed as necessary or to optimize solar heat gain.

ICTs are being utilized in smart buildings to reduce their energy consumption and the subsequent
emissions. Two examples are: ‘The Edge’ smart building in Amsterdam and the turning of old
7 8 9 10
buildings into smart buildings in Finland. 11

4.2 Using ICTs to improve data centre management
It is estimated that by 2021, there will be a total of 25 billion connected devices, producing an
immense volume of data. As more people are coming online, the Internet of Things (IoT), driverless
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cars, robots, and other technologies driven by connected devices are becoming major drivers of this
growing volume of data. As the volume of data continues to increase, the power consumption of
data centres grows in parallel. Reports indicate that data centres are already consuming more than 3
per cent of global electricity. Coupling with the proliferation of frontier technologies, which are also
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largely data-driven, there is an urgent need to minimize the carbon footprint of data centres and to
develop innovative strategies that would support such an endeavour.
The use of renewable energy to power data centres and the reuse of the heat produced by them
is one possible way to reduce their potential negative impact on the environment. Advanced DCIM

6 King, Jennifer, and Christopher Perry. ‘Smart Buildings: Using Smart Technology to Save Energy in Existing Buildings.’
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Feb. 2017, aceee .org/ sites/ default/ files/ publications/
researchreports/ a1701 .pdf.
7 BREEAM. ‘The Edge, Amsterdam.’ Building Research Establishment Ltd, 3 Apr. 2018, www .breeam .com/ case -studies/
offices/ the -edge -amsterdam/ .
8 Randall, Tom. ‘The Smartest Building in the World.’ Bloomberg Businessweek, 23 Sept. 2015, www .bloomberg .com/
features/ 2015 -the -edge -the -worlds -greenest -building/ .
9 Hutt, Rosamond. ‘Is This the World's Greenest, Smartest Office Building?’ World Economic Forum (WEF), 28 Mar.
2017, www .weforum .org/ agenda/ 2017/ 03/ smart -building -amsterdam -the -edge -sustainability/ .
10 van Hooijdonk, Richard. ‘The Smartest, Greenest Office Building on Earth – The Edge – Is like a Computer with a Roof.’
Richard Van Hooijdonk Blog, 26 Jun. 2018, www .richardvanhooijdonk .com/ en/ blog/ smartest -greenest -building -earth
-edge -like -computer -roof/ .
11 Smart Cities World. ‘Helsinki and Vantaa Make Old Buildings Smart.’ 6 June 2019, www .smartcitiesworld .net/ news/
news/ helsinki -and -vantaa -make -old -buildings -smart -4250.
12 Gartner. ‘Gartner Identifies Top 10 Strategic IoT Technologies and Trends.’ Gartner, Inc., 7 Nov. 2018, www .gartner
.com/ en/ newsroom/ press -releases/ 2018 -11 -07 -gartner -identifies -top -10 -strategic -iot -technologies -and -trends.
13 Danilak, Radoslav. ‘Why Energy is a Big and Rapidly Growing Problem for Data Centers.’ Forbes Magazine, Forbes
Media LLC, 15 Dec. 2017, www .forbes .com/ sites/ forbestechcouncil/ 2017/ 12/ 15/ why -energy -is -a -big -and -rapidly
-growing -problem -for -data -centers/ #61e075255a30.

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