Electronic buildings cut heating expenses by 25%
Franka Birke believes that the data generated by buildings is often undervalued and overlooked. Through her startup Metr, she's working to digitalize the real estate industry. "As a tech enthusiast, the first thing that comes to mind is data," she says. She uses this passion to help housing companies save energy and cut carbon emissions. Her IoT platform has already managed to achieve savings of around 25% in heating costs in pilot projects.
The problem, as she sees it, is that many buildings' heating systems are operating on factory settings and not optimally adapted to the buildings' needs. Metr's solutions monitor and optimize these systems automatically, ensuring tenants don't suffer from any reduction in comfort.
A study by Deutsche Telekom states that the real estate industry is still playing catch-up when it comes to "digitization." While many real estate companies are starting to see the value in using building data to improve energy efficiency, only 17% of those surveyed have so far analyzed sensor data. "Buildings produce a large amount of data that is currently underutilized, with immense potential for both operational and technical optimization," says a Deloitte study.
PropTechs, or technological solutions for the digitalization of the real estate industry, can be key partners for established real estate businesses. This isn't just about heating control but also includes smart building applications like digital access systems and remote elevator monitoring. "A smart building will be able to integrate various trades," explains Birke. "It will then be able to analyze and optimize itself."
According to Birke, one of the challenges in moving towards a smart city is the lack of information about the systems installed in buildings. "In the past, energy wasn't a priority. It was always cheap and was outsourced," she says. But the pressure to save energy and reduce carbon emissions is driving the digitalization process forward.
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In the pursuit of digitizing the real estate industry, Metr's platform aims to leverage digitization to improve the energy efficiency of networked households, potentially reducing heating costs by up to 25%. This, in turn, contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions and aligns with the real estate industry's need to adapt to the ongoing digitization trend.
Despite the vast potential of building data in optimizing energy usage, a Deloitte study reported that only 17% of real estate companies surveyed have analyzed sensor data, highlighting the need for collaborations between the real estate industry and PropTechs to accelerate this process.
