by Shane Henson — July 3, 2013—The need for enhanced energy efficiency in both existing and new buildings within European nations is speeding up the demand for building automation systems (BAS), according to new research published by Frost & Sullivan’s Building Management Technologies Research and Consulting practice.
As Frost & Sullivan notes in the European Building Automation Systems Market report, the BAS market earned revenues of $1,800 million in 2012 and is estimated to reach $2,140.8 million in 2017. The research covers nonresidential building segments, including offices, educational, hospitals, wholesale and retail trade, industrial and others (hotels and restaurants, sports facilities, and public buildings).
According to Frost & Sullivan, the drive toward greater energy efficiency has meant greater cost savings for building owners and end users. This too has encouraged the move toward automation.
“In the past 20 years, electricity consumption of nonresidential buildings has increased by 74 percent,” explains Frost & Sullivan’s energy and environmental research analyst Balaji Anand Sagar. “Complete automation of buildings can conserve up to 50 percent of this energy and, hence, reduce carbon dioxide emission.”
Frost & Sullivan has found that another trend is the increasing integration of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and blinding in the BAS to optimize energy consumption by buildings. As a result, companies that offer complete systems and solutions with integration capabilities, rather than individual products, are gaining the competitive edge. However, amid ongoing economic volatility, there has been a drop in public and private building activity. This, together with low end-user awareness about the energy-saving benefits of BAS, has slowed the rate of market growth.
“Market participants need to generate awareness about the potential for reduced energy consumption and increased cost savings through the use of BAS,” concluded Sagar. “They should develop complete solutions for bigger projects and niche solutions that are flexible enough to address smaller, more specific needs.”
