Urge to Act Immediately!
A Modern Approach to Building Management: The New Deal for Buildings
It's the year 2018, and on February 22, a new initiative called the New Deal for Buildings is gaining traction. This modern approach is not related to the historic New Deal of the 1930s but shares similar principles in driving sustainable improvements in buildings.
The New Deal for Buildings is primarily focused on enhancing the relationship between building owners and vendors, particularly in the area of building automation systems (BAS). These systems control HVAC, lighting, electrical systems, and other infrastructure, allowing for more efficient building operation and significant energy savings.
Vendors, including large multinational equipment vendors, independent control system vendors, software and technology vendors, consultants, engineering firms, control contractors, system integrators, and maintenance & service providers, all stand to benefit from the New Deal's focus on open standards, model-based analytics, and transparency.
The relationship between building owners and vendors is being transformed in several key ways:
- Shared goals for sustainability and cost savings: BAS help reduce nearly 40% of emissions attributed to buildings and can cut energy use by up to 15%, providing financial incentives for owners while creating business opportunities for vendors.
- Ongoing technical partnership: Vendors support building owners through BAS installation, integration, and maintenance, requiring technicians skilled in HVAC, electrical systems, and programming.
- Education and workforce development: Programs like the BAS certificate at Roxbury Community College train technicians, benefiting vendors by supplying skilled labor and building owners by ensuring quality service.
- Data-driven collaboration: Building automation creates a centralized, real-time source of operational data, allowing owners and vendors to make informed decisions and optimize building performance continuously.
Corporate owners prioritize maximizing the productivity of their employees and other assets, while REITs focus on the capital and lease value of their buildings. Institutional owners, such as government, schools, religious groups, and others, desire facilities that work as specified and rapid resolution of any issues, while showing restraint and cost-consciousness to the community they serve.
The widespread acceptance of BACnet open standards has created a large base of industry professionals globally, providing owners the flexibility to choose based on attributes such as transparency of their offerings. Service transparency, enabled by BACnet and model-based analytics, turns buildings into a powerful accountability tool for vendors.
As a vendor in the industry, you are encouraged to review the alignment of your products to the New Deal building blocks, review your service offerings for transparency, get your team on board with the New Deal, and tell your customers about the New Deal and the value it offers to them.
Stakeholders are invited to follow the New Deal blog, share the site and stories on social media, engage by making comments on stories, and contact the New Deal team if they have a point of view to share. Today's buildings serve as centers for productivity, learning, art, entertainment, and urban life, and the New Deal for Buildings aims to make them even better.
- The New Deal for Buildings, with its focus on open standards and model-based analytics, presents significant opportunities for finance and investing in the real-estate industry, as buildings equipped with building automation systems (BAS) can provide substantial energy savings and financial incentives for building owners.
- In the realm of finance and business, vendors furnishing technologies and services related to building automation, such as software, equipment, and maintenance providers, are poised to reap benefits from the New Deal by collaborating with building owners for ongoing technical partnerships and data-driven decision-making.
- Embracing technologies like BAS, the finance sector can also play a critical role in the growth of sustainable industries driven by big data, real-estate, and technology, contributing to a greener and more efficient business landscape for the upcoming years.
