The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has urged the industry to invest in building controls at the design stage of a building in order to lower the overall operating costs in today’s commercial buildings.
10 80 10 concept
The 10 80 10 concept represents the total lifetime costs of a building, whereby 10% of the costs of a building is invested at the construction stage; 80% is spent on operating the building and the remaining 10% is accounted for in dismantling and demolition. The majority of the operational budget is accounted for by the running of building services which includes air conditioning, heating, lighting and ventilation.
A study from the Royal Academy of Engineering showed that for every £1 it costs to build, it will cost £5 to maintain and a further £200 to operate a building during its lifetime. However, too often the £1 spent in the construction phase is squeezed by value engineering and the potential maintenance and operational efficiency benefits are not realised. This is particularly evident with the BEMS where connected points are paired back, metering is removed or commissioning time is cut short.
The latest figures from the BCIA’s Market Information Services (MIS) revealed that a new record was set early in 2018 of £654.8 million for the total controls and BEMS market in the UK. This highlights a 0.3% increase in comparison to one year ago and outlines the impact that controls systems have in today’s buildings.
Therefore, building managers who utilise effective building controls at the design stage will considerably reduce the running and maintenance costs of a building while increasing energy efficiency and performance.
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