Schneider Electric Egypt had organised a one-day event at the Hilton Heliopolis Hotel, entitled ?Innovation Day: Buildings of the future? for all its stakeholders in the buildings industry including consultants, contractors, panel builders, eco-experts and end users
During the event, Schneider Electric?s experts explained the effect of global energy waste due to the mismanagement of buildings and how its full suite of cutting-edge technology will enable better interactions with buildings throughout their lifecycles. They also highlighted the negative impact of bad designs on the safety, emotional and mental health of individuals, especially with the consideration that nearly 90% of people?s time is spent indoors.
Relying on renewable energy and digital tools such as the EcoStruxure platform, Schneider Electric?s solutions for new and old buildings are set to maximise energy utilisation and distribution as well as feed excess power back to the grid, not to mention that the usage of digital technology aids in achieving smarter and more reliable solutions by rapidly responding to technical problems, reducing downtime and losses, and ensuring the continuity of electrical supply in accordance with international standards.
During the discussion, Schneider Electric?s experts also clarified that early integration of their innovative solutions, in the phases of design and construction, will maximise sustainability and operational efficiency throughout the building life cycle.
?Environmental and business challenges are forcing us to examine the role buildings play in carbon emissions and costly waste. Buildings consume about 30% of the world?s energy via their construction and operations, and account for almost 40% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. The future of building construction and operations, both new and retrofit, is where the world will win or lose the fight against climate change,? said Amel Chadli, vice-president of strategy & digital energy for Middle East & Africa, Schneider Electric.
?For decades, the building life cycle has been cited for its inefficiencies in all phases across the design, build, operate and maintain stages for both new buildings and existing ones. The industry needs a massive digital injection to help deliver better, more efficient outcomes,? explained Fouad Zayed, vice- president of digital energy & ecoStruxure for Egypt, North East Africa and Levant Cluster, Schneider Electric.
It is worth mentioning that last January, the headquarters of Schneider Electric in Cairo received the Gold Award for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ?LEED v4? system, as the best smart design that achieves sustainability. This is one of the most prestigious awards that is issued by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Schneider Electric?s Cairo headquarters is the first of its buildings in the Middle East and Africa to receive such credit since the launch of the LEED v4 certification standards in 1998. The award is known to be the most widely used green building rating system globally.
