Long considered energy-intensive, IoT now has an important role to play in the fight against climate change and reducing energy consumption, an increasingly crucial issue in our current context of energy crisis, as highlighted by the IPCC in its latest report.
IoT, an essential ally on the path to energy sobriety
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations has published a new report Heavy with meaning and consequences. Thus, socioeconomic scenarios show that the global warming level of 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era will be reached as early as the early 2030s, regardless of immediate efforts to reduce global CO2 emissions. The version published by the group last March identifies the main levers to be activated: reducing the consumption and production of fossil fuels, increasing the production of decarbonized energy, renovating buildings for energy efficiency and constructing passive energy buildings, increasing green mobility, reducing waste and pollution, increasing agroecology, planting trees, and reusing water.
The value and importance of tools aimed at better understanding energy consumption, both for individuals and for businesses or communities, are no longer to be demonstrated. The contribution of the IoT in the fight for environmental preservation will prove essential.
IoT for Buildings: Contributing to Energy Efficiency
While individual initiatives and awareness are necessary, businesses are particularly expected to address these issues and therefore have a leading role to play, especially for those that are now compelled to do so by The Tertiary Decree of the ELAN Law of 2018
requires that all commercial buildings or premises with a floor area of 1,000 square meters or more reduce their energy consumption by 40% by 2030 (-50% by 2040 and -60% by 2050).
By integrating intelligence and automation into business practices and operations, IoT can enable economies of scale and the achievement of objectives set within the framework of a CSR strategy, all without any noticeable decrease in comfort for teams and employees.
Real-time energy consumption adjustment
Thus, within offices, connected objects have the capacity to adjust the energy consumption of equipment thanks to the data provided by connected sensors. Electricity and heating can then adapt to the natural temperature of each room, but also make it possible to anticipate weather data and the hours of occupancy of the rooms. No more leaving offices lit by default. Now, if a meeting is scheduled for early morning hours, the heating and lighting can remain off all night and their start-up can be programmed for the start time of the meeting.
In this respect, the installation of sensors in the different living areas makes it possible to avoid significant waste. Their operation can be modeled thanks to the analysis of large quantities of data, which also allow the design of powerful predictive models that take into account datasets such as the weather or the schedules of previous months. Real-time monitoring of energy consumption will allow administrators and managers to track expenses by item.
Even beyond these specific use cases, it’s easy to imagine the substantial savings that can be achieved through the IoT. The networking of connected devices even enables buildings to synchronize to give or receive surplus energy on a perfectly collaborative model. In this way, a Ericsson study suggested that IoT alone could reduce carbon emissions by around 15% by 2030.
IoT for Cities to Control Air Pollution
IoT is already being used in large conurbations affected by air pollution (the famous “smog”) such as the city of Beijing in China or Delhi in India, which are both particularly affected by this phenomenon, but medium-sized and small towns have also adopted it. The city of Rennes, for example, has deployed its own network which it uses both to manage air quality, public lighting, the filling of glass containers or… the nest boxes installed for birds!
On the subject of air pollution, IoT can indeed be combined with different types of initiatives to accelerate the obtaining of significant results and to facilitate decision-making by the authorities. For example, in the management of the road network and traffic in order to reduce congestion. In 2015, a report by Ofcom, the British telecommunications regulator, concluded that a 15% reduction in congestion could save around $1 billion per year, while also reducing car emissions. Dallas in Texas or Darmstadt in Germany have already integrated the use of these intelligent systems.
A recent IDTechEx report estimates that the environmental sensor market could therefore exceed $3 billion by 2027. This evolution should be driven by environmental regulations and increased consumer awareness. However, let us not forget the IPCC’s warning that specifies that digital technology will only be able to properly support decarbonization if it is itself properly managed.
On these subjects, Green WiFi supports you and benefits you from its unique expertise. Contact our team so that we can define an eco-responsible network infrastructure adapted to the challenges of your business.
