Consumption data reveals how a building performs – DB Partners
A building’s energy and water consumption can gradually increase without anyone noticing. Consumption data helps identify anomalies, set targets and address problems before they lead to higher costs.
According to Matti Hellgren from DB Partners, many properties in Finland have opportunities to improve their energy and water efficiency. The first step, however, is understanding their current performance.
“In most buildings, no one really knows whether energy efficiency is at the level it should be or could realistically achieve. In many cases, knowledge brings discomfort, but that discomfort is necessary if we want to achieve the desired outcome. The goal is to ensure that a building operates efficiently and provides healthy, safe conditions while using as little energy as possible,” Matti explains.
One of the main challenges, he says, is that consumption is not monitored closely enough. If current consumption levels are automatically accepted as normal and used as the basis for the following year’s budget, gradual changes can easily go unnoticed.
“Consumption can slowly creep up by one or two per cent a year, but this is considered normal and no action is taken. The most important thing is to manage a building based on insights from consumption monitoring, rather than emotions, assumptions, guesswork or historical consumption data alone.”
Consumption monitoring is part of a housing company’s risk management
Matti compares building consumption monitoring to insurance. Even when everything appears to be running smoothly, circumstances can change quickly. Monitoring consumption in sufficient detail makes it possible to detect changes and respond before problems lead to significant costs.
The key areas to monitor are water, heating and electricity consumption. Analysing these together can also provide valuable clues about the underlying causes of anomalies.
“If we notice a change in water consumption but no corresponding change in heating consumption, we already have additional information that can help us identify where the potential problem lies.”
Consumption monitoring also supports responsible property management. According to Matti, energy and water account for 30–40 per cent of a building’s annual operating costs. Improving energy efficiency therefore also contributes to more sustainable building operations.
From a sustainability perspective, Matti also recommends monitoring the quantities of different waste categories. He considers waste monitoring particularly useful for annual assessments and for supporting sustainability reporting among larger property owners.
How Does Building Consumption Monitoring Work in Practice?
Consumption data can be collected remotely from a building’s meters. This makes it possible, for example, to review the previous day’s consumption on an hourly basis.
“Today, we can see exactly how much electricity, heating and water a building consumed during each hour of yesterday.”
The difference in data accuracy is significant compared with a situation where meters are read manually once a month and the property manager compiles a report at the end of the year.
“At that point, we’re no longer really talking about consumption monitoring. In the worst case, it’s cost monitoring based on information that’s already a year out of date.”
Matti emphasises that consumption monitoring should always have a clear objective. Simply collecting data is not enough if the information is not used to support decision-making.
“We need to monitor whether we’re meeting our targets and, if we’re not, respond quickly. The focus shouldn’t be solely on the past, but on what lies ahead.”
Based on Matti’s experience, consumption monitoring and the measures taken in response to its findings can reduce a building’s energy and water costs by an average of 10–15 per cent.
Consumption data helps residents understand the impact of their everyday choices
According to Matti, the most important thing from a resident’s perspective is to communicate clearly how much energy and water their building consumes and how consumption is developing over time.
Kitte Hamilton, Co-founder of One4all Finland Oy, also emphasises the importance of making consumption data easily accessible to residents. She points out that while consumption monitoring benefits property owners and maintenance teams, its real impact emerges when the information is presented in a way that residents can understand and apply in their everyday lives.
“If residents can’t see their own consumption or understand what contributes to it, it’s difficult for them to assess the impact of their choices. That’s why making consumption data visible and communicating it effectively are essential elements of sustainable living.”
Kitte also highlights the potential influence of large landlords, right-of-occupancy housing companies and other organisations managing extensive residential property portfolios. A single organisation can reach thousands of households. As a result, the way consumption data is communicated and made accessible to residents can have an impact on a considerable scale.
“Property owners can do a great deal to reduce energy and water consumption, but building technology alone can’t solve everything. Residents also have a role to play. It’s important to communicate what is being done in the building while also helping residents understand where their own actions can make a difference.”
According to Kitte, this is precisely why combining consumption data, communication and practical guidance is so important. Sustainability initiatives only achieve their full potential when targets and information translate into practical action and become part of everyday residential life.
Making consumption data part of residents’ daily lives requires easy access to information. One4all has developed an integration with the DB Partners system that automatically makes consumption data available to residents through digital notice boards in building entrances and the resident app, for example.
Consumption anomalies can reveal problems before they escalate
Matti explains that consumption monitoring delivers the greatest benefits when appropriate target values and alert thresholds are established for a building. If consumption deviates from these predefined levels, the system triggers an alert. This allows potential issues to be identified before they develop into more serious problems.
“If a problem occurs, the customer is notified quickly, which provides peace of mind. Similarly, if consumption starts to deviate from the target level, the data alerts about the situation so we can begin investigating the cause.”
Consumption monitoring can therefore indicate that something is wrong, but timely resident communication can be crucial in identifying the cause.
Unusually high consumption may, for example, be caused by a leaking toilet or tap, which residents themselves may be able to identify with the right guidance. By encouraging residents to check for potential leaks in their apartments, the source of the problem can often be located quickly without maintenance staff having to inspect the entire building.
Monitoring systems can detect changes of just over 1.5 decilitres per minute in water consumption. A leak that initially seems insignificant can result in substantial costs over time.
“A single toilet that leaks slowly can generate significant additional costs for a building. If water is leaking almost unnoticed at a rate of three litres per minute, that amounts to approximately 120 cubic metres of water per month and around €600 in additional monthly costs.”
However, the financial impact is not always the greatest risk. If leaking water enters the building’s structures rather than flowing into the drainage system, early detection becomes even more critical.
“A leaking toilet is, in a sense, a ‘fortunate leak’ because the water goes down the drain. A pipe leaking into the building’s structures can have far more serious consequences. The earlier such a leak is detected, the better the chances of minimising damage and costs.”
Interested in making consumption data part of your building’s resident communication?
Consumption data helps residents better understand their energy and water use and the impact of their everyday choices. At One4all, we’re happy to help you find the most suitable way to incorporate consumption data into your resident communication.
This article is an ai-generated translation of the original article in Finnish.