Cutting carbon emissions in buildings starts with asking the right questions

In 2023, we partnered with Ericsson and The Carbon Trust to study the impact of our Edge system across 356 residential buildings in Sweden and Finland. Victoriahem and JVA were among those that have parts of their building portfolios included in this study. The Carbon Trust was commissioned to evaluate the carbon-saving potential, in line with the ITU L.1480 Standard.

This process included gathering a wide selection of data and comparing scenarios with and without Edge's AI steering. The assessment was then included in a report and methodology document – which we have summarized below.

The methodology behind the report

"For the report, we followed the ITU L.1480 Standard, which lays out the framework for calculating the avoided emissions of ICT solutions." (Information Communications Technology), Veronika Thieme, Head of Delivery – Europe at The Carbon Trust, explains.

What's the carbon cost of implementing this system? Where do the biggest savings come from? Here's how it was done:

The Carbon Trust assessed the impact (emissions) of installing and running Edge. This included:

• The energy needed to manufacture the sensors and Edge Hubs. 
• The electricity required to run the system, including the sensors, network, and AI processing.

There were also indirect effects we couldn't fully measure, like how users might use more energy because costs go down (something called the rebound effect). While we didn't have exact data on this, The Carbon Trust included it in a sensitivity analysis to estimate its potential impact.

The study then examined the energy-saving benefits. The big win was clear: less energy was needed for heating. Other secondary gains were identified, like: 

• Less need for maintenance travel since monitoring can be done remotely.
• Smarter energy management during peak hours to reduce stress on the grid.

Both of these additional effects were not included due to a lack of data and to avoid overstating the solution's positive impact.

The Carbon Trust then combines both positive and negative emissions to assess a solution's overall net carbon impact, giving a clear picture of its effectiveness.

Key findings

The study showed that integrating Edge created a net-positive impact. The biggest wins came from older buildings without recent energy upgrades. These properties showed the most improvement because our AI could fix inefficiencies right away.

Here's what the data and results tell us:

This shows that there still is a huge potential to cut energy usage, especially in older building portfolios where efficiency is lacking.

Why this matters for building owners

This study was based on properties in colder regions like Sweden and Finland, which also are markets with a high use of fairly clean energy sources like district heating based on renewable energy sources rather than markets with a higher use of for example fossil fuels. Imagine also using the system in buildings from different climates or with unique energy needs.

"The study helped us understand how different factors like building types, climates, and local energy grids play a big role in how much energy can be saved. This can support effective deployment of the technology in areas where savings can be maximised."  Veronika shares.

The report also points out specific factors that can make a difference, like how clean your local energy grid is. That means building managers can really fine-tune how they use these systems to get the best results. 

"This study can help property owners understand how to optimize the carbon savings of the technology and minimize any potential negative impacts," Veronika concludes. "It's showing how and where they can get the best results."