The contribution of smart buildings to low-carbon built environment

Abstract

Decarbonizing the energy sector is one of the most significant challenges of our time. Accordingly, the electrification of the energy system, deployment of renewables, and implementation of smart electricity control in the built environment is at the core of the in-force European Union policy actions. Recently, the European Commission released the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) for buildings framework. The SRI intends to raise awareness of the benefits of demand-based smart electricity control in energy- and carbon-intensive buildings. However, it is unclear whether implementing SRI-compatible smart electricity control technologies truly reduces carbon emissions in the built environment. This study modeled an SRI-compatible smart electricity control to every ground-source heat pump heated building in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. The study evaluated the climate mitigation implications before and after the smart electricity control using hourly-level energy consumption data. The study revealed how the climate mitigation potential of smart electricity control was only 0.02% annually. The reason for such a slight decrease in emissions appeared to be Finland’s relatively clean electricity network. Accordingly, the results questioned whether the SRI delivers its primary objective – i.e., decarbonizing the electricity grid – in northern European countries.