Energy management in buildings

Energy management in buildings is an essential element in the fight against climate change. In fact, in 2022, the building sector in France will be responsible for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions and will consume around 45% of energy.

In order to activate the various levers of energy management in buildings, it is first necessary to understand the multiple objectives of energy use in buildings: maintaining summer or winter comfort and producing domestic hot water in housing, maintaining comfort and processes in commercial or industrial buildings, and so on.

The various ways of improving energy use are then presented, with an emphasis on the spirit of these solutions, and on the physical concepts that guide them. Examples include ventilation management, building envelope improvement, optimization of technical systems, use of renewable energies, building renovation, etc.

Tomorrow's solutions are not yet fully known, but they will obey the same physical and thermodynamic principles.

Finally, energy management must also be seen in the context of an evolving regulatory framework, which will constrain certain solutions and guide their design. These regulatory requirements apply to the technical solutions discussed in this article, through incentives such as labels, but also constraints such as environmental regulations. Acceptance and implementation of these regulatory or incentive tools require both a good understanding of all the physical phenomena involved, and a sound technical knowledge of current solutions.