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Building management systems for energy savings
Building energy management systems have traditionally been considered an unnecessary capital expenditure in South Africa, as energy prices were too low to justify a realistic payback period for the investment. However, South Africa is facing an impeding energy crisis and the increasing cost of power is significantly raising energy and operational expenditure for companies.
“Non-residential buildings account for approximately 40% of the global energy usage.” “Building management systems may reduce energy consumption by up to 30%, whilst lowering operational costs and providing greater staff comfort and productivity levels,” says Frost & Sullivan building technologies analyst Linda Harding.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, a growth partnership company, finds that the South African market for building management systems earned revenues of $19.2 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach $57.3 million in 2015.
“The current generation capacity crisis and associated rise in the price of power are and will continue to be the main drivers of growth of the South African building management systems market,” says Harding.
“South African electricity is fast becoming an expensive commodity, accounting for a far greater portion of a company’s operating costs than it did two to three years ago,” she said.
Business cases for energy-efficient projects, deemed too expensive and unnecessary a few years ago, are now being approved. This is spurring the demand for the installation of building management systems to monitor, control and optimise building functions and equipment, thereby considerably minimising energy and operational costs.
However, while systems for controlling various building equipment have been in use ever since commercial buildings have existed, the concept of an integrated building management system to control and optimise building functions is relatively new in South Africa.
A large majority of building owners and tenants are unable to fully understand the benefits of these systems and are often discouraged by the capital outlay involved. This low level of awareness is a significant challenge for the South African building management systems market.
“Currently, only the largest and most complex buildings consider the installation of building management systems. The concept of a building management system is largely misunderstood or misinterpreted to imply a large capital outlay, with no realistic return-on-investment (ROI). says Harding.
“Offering clients a scalable and user-friendly building management system, with measurable ROI and energy savings, is not only important to secure contracts, but also critical in fostering customer loyalty and awareness. Establishing a strong and trustworthy reputation through a system’s delivery of timely, integrated and reliable information will guarantee the manufacturer a strong market share and ultimately provide noteworthy value to the client.
“Despite a low awareness from end-users, the demand for building management systems in response to the energy crisis is expected to accelerate the maturity of the industry in South Africa,” concludes Harding. “Increasing demand for building management systems is also likely to result in more companies entering the market, thereby leading to a reduction in the price of certain system components and the enhancement of system quality,” says Harding
South African Market for Building Management Systems is part of the Building Management Technologies Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following markets: South African Facilities Management Market, South African HVAC Market, South African Lighting Controls Market, and South African Security Systems Market.
