Dubai, UAE, 25 September 2018: The first day of FM Expo’s forums kicked off with a presentation on ‘Maximising savings and end-user well-being through an integrated energy and FM approach’, from Francisco Ramalheira, Director, Business Development and Marketing, Enova. Ramalheira underlined key facts related to the built-environment, stressing how 70-80% of electricity across the Middle East region is consumed at the building level, and that roughly 25% of the built-environment is inefficient, putting a lot of demand on the utility providers. Ramalheira added that the operation of a building has 100 times greater environmental impact over the environmental impact of its construction and decommissioning, combined. He spoke on how the building code is becoming more stringent to address the problem of energy use, and inefficient operating and maintenance significantly impacts the bottom line of building owners.

Furthermore, Ramalheira put the spotlight on the inhabitants of the building. “I’m interested in the needs of the end-customer of my customer in order to build my strategy around it,” he said, speaking with regard to the need for continuous investment, to enhance the attractiveness of a building. “On average we don’t realise 80-90% of our time is spent inside a building, at home or in the office. Building-related illnesses, or sick building syndrome, are not myths; they exist and are intimately related to productivity levels and absenteeism of staff,” he added.

Ramalheira went on to discuss the role of FM solution providers in optimising the built-environment, elaborating further on energy performance contracts. He added that the surveyor must first assess potential areas of optimisation, looking at all factors that impact overall performance, before setting up a plan, normally seen as a retrofit, that entails executing conservation measures. He also spoke on how, in addition to operations and maintenance, verification and monitoring protocols are also vital, going into details on the guaranteed and shared-savings model, with regard to who bears the risk in each. Essentially, Ramalheira said, a building offers many paths to efficiency and that, with building services contracts, for example, the aim is to reach a situation where the operating cost is lower than the starting point, by having a long-term approach in looking at how to fine-tune FM.

“Going beyond, there are a number of opportunities,” Ramalheira said, “and this is where added value comes in toward the involvement of FM players in energy performance contracts.” This could have significant impact not only on optimising energy saving but also on improving IAQ and overall environmental conditions, all of which enhances the value of the building. Ramelheira stressed that engaging the end-customer is also vital, and having proper data will help FM providers get a good idea of what is happening in the property and how to address and report it. Ramalheira also spoke on how an integrated approach between FM and energy management makes sense, especially when it comes to facilitating exchange between technical capabilities.

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com