Harnessing Smart Building Strategies for Energy Efficiency

On April 22nd each year, people around the world participate in Earth Day events and activities that address issues impacting our environment. The theme for Earth Day 2025, “OUR POWER, OUR PLANET,” focuses on reducing energy consumption and transitioning to clean and renewable sources of energy. It’s a theme that’s especially relevant for real estate stakeholders, as buildings account for a third of global energy demand, according to the International Energy Agency.

Reducing consumption of fossil fuel-generated electricity is a worthwhile initiative, and one that organizations must embrace if humanity hopes to slow climate change. With the right tools and insights, organizations can make meaningful changes to how they use electricity — changes that are good not just for the planet, but for business.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how companies can leverage FM:Systems workplace management and smart building solutions to optimize energy use, reduce costs and minimize a building’s carbon footprint.

Uncovering Hidden Sources of Energy Waste in Buildings

On average, 30% of energy used in commercial buildings is wasted, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy. While some sources of energy waste are obvious, like leaving the lights on in an unoccupied room, others are more difficult to pinpoint. For example, the issue of where employees choose to sit in an office might seem unrelated to energy waste. But the fact is that allowing workers to spread out can lead to unnecessary electricity use. Consolidating workers in one area, on the other hand, enables you to leave the lights off in the rest of the office, greatly reducing energy consumption and costs.

Uncovering these less obvious sources of energy waste requires understanding not just how much electricity is being used, but where, when and how. FM:Systems solutions, like our new Energy Dashboard, collect data from multiple sources to give FMs those deeper, actionable insights. Part of our FMS:Insights multi-data point analysis platform, the Energy Dashboard combines consumption data from your utility provider with utilization data from Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors to show you where your electricity use makes sense — and where it doesn’t.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Optimizing Equipment Performance

Another major source of energy waste is poor equipment performance. The main culprit here is HVAC equipment, which accounts for 52% of energy use in commercial buildings, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. IoT devices like environmental and occupancy sensors play a role in addressing this issue, as well.

Organizations use environmental sensors to help achieve and maintain good indoor air quality (IAQ). Poor IAQ can cause headaches and fatigue in employees and make it hard for them to concentrate. Environmental sensors measure temperature, humidity, particulates and other variables that can impact worker well-being, morale and productivity. In addition to indicating worsening IAQ, however, anomalies in readings from these sensors can give FMs early warning of impending HVAC equipment malfunctions. For example, the detection of increased levels of particulate matter in the air around a sensor means two things for an FM: The air in that area is suboptimal, and it’s likely that a filter needs to be changed.

Addressing an equipment malfunction as soon as you become aware of it is also crucial in reducing energy consumption and waste. Every hour of delay is more kilowatt-hours, and dollars, down the drain. The recent integration of our FMS:Workplace workplace management solution with Johnson Controls Metasys building automation system allows for rapid response to equipment alarms by qualified technicians, minimizing wasted time, effort and energy. It accomplishes this by automating the creation dispatch of a work order ticket in the FMS:Workplace Facility Maintenance Module based on alarms from Metasys.

By eliminating the extra step for operator intervention, FMs gain earlier visibility of potential problems and are able to address them sooner, reducing cost from wasted energy use and impact on carbon footprint. Catching issues early also means repairing them when they’re still relatively minor and inexpensive.

Sustained Energy Efficiency with Smart Solutions

Action from real estate stakeholders on reducing energy consumption is critical, not just on Earth Day but every day. But optimizing energy use requires more sophisticated insights than you can get from the cost and consumption information your power company provides. Before you can substantially reduce energy use and the cost associated with it, you need to understand not just how much power you’re using, but how you’re using it.

FM:Systems workplace management and smart building solutions can help organizations improve energy management and identify and address hidden sources of energy waste, while keeping costs down. Check out 7 Steps to Creating a Successful Smart Building Strategy Guide.