Burkhard Dallosch, managing director of global real estate portfolio operator Deka Immobilien, explains why an intelligent building partnership with MeteoViva is delivering above expected carbon reductions.
In 2019, Deka Immobilien announced a three-year programme to install MeteoViva Climate technology in at least 100 properties forming part of its global portfolio. FM Magazine asked Deka Immobilien managing director, Burkhard Dallosch, for an early assessment of the technology which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise HVAC and airflow delivery by processing control data from different building zones.
Q: How effective has MeteoViva Climate been in conservation energy for Deka?
BD: For us as a property portfolio holder, the ecological aspects of sustainability are particularly relevant. Our ambition is to be climate neutral by 2050 at the latest, an ambition that we have also clearly formulated in our sustainability strategy.
To achieve this, it is crucial to take appropriate action today. In this context, the MeteoViva Climate technology is proving to be a very efficient measure that has enabled us to reduce CO2 emissions for heating, cooling and ventilating in buildings by more than 20 per cent on average. To achieve CO2 savings of this magnitude, other measures, such as the replacement of technical equipment or energy-related renovations, would require significantly higher investments, which is why MeteoViva pays for itself.
At the same time, MeteoViva provides users, our tenants, with great added value. From day one, their solution provides a tenant with a more stable indoor climate and greater sense of wellbeing, whilst simultaneously reducing utility costs. Technical upgrades to buildings can also be performed without restricting tenant access.
Q: In future, predictive energy control will be a standard feature in smart building management systems used in new build and modernisation programmes. What has your experience of predictive technologies been?
BD: In the Friedrich Carré office complex, MeteoViva Climate reduced CO2 emissions by 256 tons in the first year of operation.
The solution works with a so-called “digital twin” and creates a digital representation of a building and its equipment. This allows various analysis to be carried out and the performance of technical systems to be predicted and optimized. And it is precisely these predictions that help us in the planning phase of refurbished or new buildings.
Consequently, more sustainable decisions can be made regarding the dimensioning of technical systems and they can also be optimally coordinated with each other. Time-consuming readjustments or malfunctions after commissioning are almost completely eliminated.
Buildings are ready for occupancy more quickly and the tenants have an optimised indoor climate starting from day one.
Additionally, we ourselves will become beneficiaries of the their technology as it will be used in Deka’s new office building which is currently under construction at Niederrad in Frankfurt.
Q: Global demand for office space is expected to fall in response to Covid-19 and the digital transformation of business processes. To what extent will energy conservation measures of this kind still pay off?
BD: We expect stable and even increasing demand for high-quality office space. ‘Green’ buildings in particular are continuing to gain ground.
The expected long-term effects on the real estate market from the coronavirus are actually only an acceleration of trends which were already discernible beforehand.
However, new modern work concepts require new flexibility of space, and we believe we have selected a promising digital technology in MeteoViva Climate. The system can be expanded flexibly and new parameters such as variable working hours or flexible use of space can also be incorporated easily.
With our high-quality office space, we want to reach tenants with strong credit ratings and enter into long-term contracts. In the competition for such tenants, sustainability, digitalisation and comfort are all important considerations.
