ENERGY TRANSITION
45 %
Buildings accounted for nearly half of global electricity demand growth in 2025
Q. HOW DOES AN AGEING COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TRANSITION FROM A PASSIVE ENERGY DRAIN TO AN ACTIVE GRID PARTICIPANT?
» The first step is visibility. You cannot optimise what you cannot see. Many older buildings still operate largely as isolated assets. They consume energy, pay the bill and repeat the cycle. The opportunity today is to make buildings active participants within the wider energy ecosystem.
This starts with understanding how energy is being used across the building. From there, owners can begin introducing smarter controls, electrification technologies, load management strategies and eventually participate in demand-response programmes.
This is becoming increasingly important as electricity demand grows. Buildings accounted for nearly 45 % of global electricity demand growth in 2025. At the same time, grids are under pressure in many regions. Rather than simply drawing more power from the grid, buildings can increasingly help balance it.
Q. WHAT IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST BOTTLENECK ENGINEERS FACE WHEN TRYING TO DROP MODERN TECHNOLOGY INTO LEGACY BUILDINGS?
» Interoperability. People often assume the challenge is age. In reality, the bigger challenge is fragmentation. Many older buildings contain systems that were installed years apart, often by different vendors and using different communication protocols. Lighting operates separately from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning( HVAC). Energy systems operate separately from security systems.
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