The one thing you can be dead sure of is that everyone living in Europe would complain about their electric bills. Businesses have struggled for years to introduce technologies that will make managing power more efficient and cheaper. In light of that, many tech startups nowadays are hoping to move the needle by allowing customers to cut down their energy consumption in commercial buildings by up to 40%

As clean tech companies are pointing the way to a more sustainable future, you may wonder what innovative startup ideas are there on the market to understand where the sector is currently going. JatApp has been in the energy management business long enough to predict the hottest trends on technologies that would shake the power industry. In this blog post, our team will discuss the key benefits of energy efficient building solutions and share some examples of prominent startups that attract millions of dollars in funding. 

What is a building energy management system?

A building energy management system (BEMS) refers to a platform for tracking and controlling a variety of energy building services, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, power systems, lightning, and similar. A relatively small building usually has independent management for energy systems. Meanwhile, larger commercial buildings require integration of operations via a single platform that facilitates greater control and ensures energy savings

The use of sensors is a significant component of a BEMS. Sensors control operational conditions of building equipment and buildings, For example, they track airflow in the building, temperature, sunlight exposure, and so on. Device controllers analyze the gathered data, while actuators carry out the relevant actions to improve environmental conditions. 

 

A BEMS

A BEMS

Why are building energy management systems important?

The global BEMS market is predicted to grow from $4.45 billion in 2016 to an earth-shattering $12.72 billion in 2025. The unprecedented growth can be attributed to environmental targets, energy security issues, the rise of analytics software, and the decreased cost of sensors. Another important trigger is the rising cost of fuel. Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the price of Russia’s natural gas has increased by five times for Europe, compared to the same season in the previous year. 

 

BEMS market size

A BEMS market size

 

Given such rapid market growth, you may wonder why energy efficiency solutions for buildings are such a big thing right now. To sort it all out, let’s talk about the benefits that these technologies bring to organizations one by one. 

Cost reduction

One of the main advantages of having a BEMS is the ability to cut down on operational costs, like lighting, heating, cooling, and water services. An effective BEMS can save up to 40% in energy costs without impacting the health or comfort of building occupants. A BEMS helps to constantly monitor the energy use over a certain period of time, so that users can access the building’s energy performance in order to make cost predictions for the future. 

Decreased carbon footprint

The building carbon footprint is the total amount of CO2 generated by occupants’ actions. Implementing a BEMS to monitor and manage greenhouse gas emissions can help to identify deficiencies in the energy system that can be successfully addressed to reduce the environmental impact. It’s worth noting that buildings are accountable for nearly 40% of CO2 emissions. Since many countries are planning to decrease their overall emissions, BEMSs will become an effective strategy to cut down global buildings’ energy consumption by up to 10% by 2040.  

Improved well-being

By controlling building’s energy performance, like lighting and HVAC, businesses can create comfortable working conditions for their employees. One study found that 60% of staff members report dissatisfaction with the lighting control and temperature within their office, while 90% of workers believe that they have been affected by their workplace environment over a year. An effective BEMS not only improves employees’ productivity but also supports their health and safety. Office workers making reports in poor lighting risk having not only red eyes, but chronic fatigue and psychological problems, too. 

Good brand image

Supporting energy efficiency in buildings can help to enhance the positive brand image in the eyes of potential investors and stakeholders. Businesses tend to emphasize what they’re doing to make our planet a better place to live in, and using a BEMS can be a good place to start. 

Customers are now more ecologically aware and looking to engage with organizations that are introducing environmentally friendly initiatives. Statistically, such businesses witness a 15% annual growth compared to their competitors that disregard green strategies. 

Today, the market is full of innovative energy efficiency solutions that make a difference in the world each and single day. If you’re looking for ideas for your BEMS project, you’re free to “steal” (no illegal advice here intended) some from these awesome startups. 

Kapacity.io 

Kapacity.io is an innovative startup that strives to decarbonize commercial buildings by relying on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy savings. The solution helps to woo companies away from dependence on fossil fuels, while assisting in addressing their cooling and heating needs. It does this by offering incentives to building occupants to promote green energy use through its software. 

The technology integrates with the electricity meters and HVAC system, collecting local energy consumption information in order to make changes to the cooling and heating systems. This helps not only cut down CO2 emissions, but also generate revenue for building occupants, as they’re paid for reducing energy use at times of peak demand. For instance, if the wind energy generation suddenly decreases due to the weather conditions, the utility company needs to compensate for this power imbalance by either opting for natural gas or cutting down energy consumption. Kapacity allows users to determine how much they can reduce power consumption at any given time. 

 

Kapacity app functionality

Kapacity app functionality

 

Of course, there are limits to how much changes can be made to a cooling and heating system by AI without compromising the occupants’ comfort. Let’s be honest: even the most fierce environmental activist probably wouldn’t want to make hot tea every single hour and then dance towards the bathroom to warm themselves up a bit. Therefore, this technology allows users to make small changes, like turning off coolers for ten minutes, which would simply go unnoticed for them.  

Building energy management system from Dusseldorf 

One of our recent clients, a startup from Germany, uses AI to decrease energy use in commercial buildings. This technology helps to save energy by up to 40% as well as improve building occupants’ thermal comfort. Thanks to machine learning, the technology learns occupants’ habits to improve the building environment with each iteration. Moreover, users can submit information about building characteristics to make systems performance even more accurate and flawless. 

 

A BEMS buildings section

A BEMS buildings section

 

The company offers users a carrot by allowing them not to replace their legacy systems. Instead of introducing lots of expensive Internet of things (IoT) devices, the solution integrates with the existing building management system to adjust the HVAC system to indoor and outdoor conditions every five minutes. This, in turn, helps to respond dynamically to any slight changes in the environment. 

 

A BEMS functionality

A BEMS functionality

Ecova

A Boston-based startup, Ecova, wants to make physical audits of commercial buildings old-school and outdated. The matter is that physical audits take much time and require several employees, while such energy auditing technologies as Ecova’s software automates this process. 

Facility managers or engineers who are responsible for energy management enter the basic data they know about an aging building into the system. The technology relies on the available information and large volumes of data about thousands of other buildings with similar characteristics. Thanks to predictive analytics, the software offers an energy strategy for that building. This building energy analysis software generates recommendations as to what type of renovation projects will be most appropriate from a cost and energy perspective. 

 

Ecova app functionality

Ecova app functionality

Samara

Despite the fact that Spain is one of the European countries with the most hours of sunshine, sad to say, there are not so many households that have solar panels installed. Samara is a Spanish startup that strives to change that to speed up the transition to renewable energy. 

The company allows householders to purchase or rent a photovoltaic system as well as connect with local installers. The company’s mission is to promote the adoption of solar technology. This means facilitating the software usage in order to make projects and client proposals much easier. Thanks to this technology, customers know where the solar panels will fit, understand what energy savings would be, and stuff like that. 

David Energy

Meet David Energy, another startup that helps with energy management in buildings. The company built software called Mycor, which allows businesses to sell energy directly to end users in a hope to cut down the energy consumption and carbon emissions of the commercial buildings. The technology processes building power demand data to provide users with renewable energy when it’s the cheapest. 

 

Mycor app functionality

Mycor app functionality

 

David Energy monitors not only the energy consumption but the market price of green power as well. The startup sells energy to clients at a fixed price and then takes advantage of changes in the power demand to make a profit out of the difference in energy pricing. 

Launch your BEMS project with JatApp

It’s never been a better time to create a BEMS to get our world closer to a more sustainable future. Using renewable energy cost-effectively and cutting down the power use are the most important trends on the market right now, and modern startups around the world capitalize on them by offering different software solutions for commercial buildings. 

To build such a technology, you’ll need a vetted software development company that has a rich experience with building energy efficiency software. JatApp is one of them. Our company has been developing building energy management software for seven years. With such an expertise behind our backs, it’s no wonder that our clients report 99% satisfaction rate and leave five stars on Clutch in order to tell how much they loved working with us. In fact, most customers have problems saying goodbye to us and continue collaboration for three years on average.

Ready for fruitful cooperation? Don’t hesitate to write to us and we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible.