Can AI Help Commercial Landlords Comply With MEES?

• Contents
• Property
• Can synthetic intelligence assist industrial landlords adjust to MEES rules?

November 22, 2022

As the extension to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for industrial buildings attracts ever nearer, are EPC assessments sufficient to actually measure vitality effectivity?

Andrew Fitzpatrick, Director, Business Development UK at BrainBox AI, explains how synthetic intelligence (AI) could be an ally for homeowners and traders as they navigate the altering regulatory atmosphere within the UK.

Andrew Fitzpatrick leads all UK enterprise improvement actions for BrainBox AI, together with gross sales and administration of key strategic partnerships. Prior to becoming a member of BrainBox AI, Andrew developed almost a decade of gross sales, engineering and commercialization expertise throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, forging experience in implementing digital actual property options. Some of his most outstanding work so far spans a variety of extremely advanced multimillion building initiatives, together with the Battersea Power Station redevelopment challenge. Andrew holds an MBA in Business Administration from Bayes Business School and a BA in Engineering from McGill University.

Changes to Energy Efficiency Compliance

The elevated volatility of vitality markets all through 2022 has seen vitality effectivity stand up facility managers’ agendas. Additional impetus additionally arose from legislative adjustments carried out in Ukraine earlier than the struggle, together with looming adjustments to the legislative panorama ensuing from the growth of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) to cowl the industrial constructing sector.

From 1 April 2023, MEES will apply to industrial landlords along with residential; stop them from granting, renewing or extending leases except they obtain a required stage of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of E, aside from sure exceptions. A latest authorities white paper and subsequent consultations foresee an intention for future necessities to be elevated to an EPC ranking of C by 2027 and B by 2030.


For a few years, the EPC has supplied a fast information to vitality effectivity and due to this fact a reference for figuring out the price of vitality payments. Factors thought of embody the quantity of vitality used per m² and the extent of carbon dioxide emissions.

“While EPC standards help to boost the inherent energy efficiency of buildings, the rating merely provides a corresponding snapshot at a given point in time. In order to optimize the use of energy for cooling and heating commercial property, there is a need for more dynamic assessments.”

Are EPCs alone sufficient?

Extending MEES to the industrial sector will assist enhance vitality effectivity requirements, however EPCs on their very own are more likely to be flawed. The EPC evaluation merely compares to a checklist-style method and dispenses with any assessments or measurements of the working situations of a constructing’s features.

Furthermore, MEES solely addresses one facet of the carbon footprint equation for industrial actual property. Buildings at the moment account for 39 % of worldwide energy-related carbon emissions: of which 28 % of operational emissions come from vitality wanted to warmth, cool and energy them, and the remaining 11 % from supplies and building.

To obtain additional reductions in emissions, managers of economic constructing services might want to use massive information options to maximise the operational vitality effectivity of their buildings.

While EPC requirements assist enhance the inherent vitality effectivity of buildings, the ranking merely supplies a corresponding snapshot at a given cut-off date. To optimize using vitality for cooling and heating industrial property, there’s a want for extra dynamic assessments. These evaluations could be supplied by analyzing information and fine-tuning HVAC techniques relying on occupancy, daylight publicity, ambient temperature, and a bunch of different variables.


However, performing dynamic assessments and changes at scale in a industrial constructing would require a lot bigger facility administration groups. The deployment of a lot extremely expert labor will most probably mitigate any value financial savings proprietor and owner-operators may even see from such work. This is why progressive facility administration groups are more and more trying to know-how options. It can take the info accessible and make these changes in actual time all through a constructing.


Where that know-how is supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI), it may well additionally assist cut back the pressure on a constructing’s HVAC techniques, which can assist prolong their operational lifespan.

Looking to the long run, one of these facility administration know-how can even assist maximize native vitality consumption, both by sharing or shifting load shedding and probably additional lowering carbon emissions by aligning vitality consumption with vitality provide. This may probably permit buildings to favor vitality from renewable sources over fossil gasoline manufacturing.

Improving UK vitality requirements

AI serves to advertise improved vitality effectivity by the real-time evaluations it supplies to optimize vitality consumption. A extra centered regulatory framework will oblige landlords and constructing managers to use the total capabilities of AI in a tailor-made method. MEES does a superb job of addressing the standard of the constructing supplies and tools, however does a much less good job of measuring operational vitality consumption.


A significant out-of-the-box customary already making progress within the UK is the brand new NABERS UK customary, a extra detailed six-star vitality effectivity ranking system. This mannequin accounts for element companies inside the constructing that impression vitality consumption, together with heating, cooling techniques, elevators, foyer lighting, and extra.


NABERS supplies a data-driven method with a excessive diploma of granularity that gives rather more data to judge. In that respect, the info method dovetails properly with AI, which is rooted in information and real-time responses. Embedding a NABERS UK system extra deeply into constructing necessities will take time, however there are classes that may be utilized from the NABERS Australia expertise.

Dynamic and quick construct efficiency

AI can be important to know constructing efficiency in a quick and dynamic method. IEA statistics present that in 2021 the operation of buildings accounted for 30 % of worldwide ultimate vitality consumption and 27 % of whole vitality sector emissions, demonstrating the worth of optimized constructing vitality efficiency.


The know-how is now in place to empower us to maneuver away from the times of assessments carried out as soon as each 6 months, 12 months or 5 years. Live information is obtainable and must be used to shortly establish underperforming belongings or tools and counsel adjustments.

The capabilities of AI could be taken a step additional by permitting autonomous real-time motion on suggestions to keep away from wasted vitality. After all, the most cost effective and cleanest vitality is the vitality we do not use within the first place.

Photo: a photograph of Andrew Fitzpatrick talking at a desk. Image credit score: BrainBox AI

Article written by Andrew Fitzpatrick | Published November 22, 2022

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