How Rohan Chandavarkar is using his AP status to clear up the confusion surrounding smart buildings.

Posted:

3 / 2 / 2023

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Rohan Chandavarkar, an Associate at AESG, has over 9 years’ in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. He leads the digital delivery at AESG, with responsibility for leading the design and implementation of AESG’s digital information management platform, DATA+. Rohan became a SmartScore AP in 2022 covering the Middle East region.

There is a lot of confusion and apprehension that exists when deciding how to adopt and implement smart technology into a development or an existing building…

Rohan Chandavarkar

Associate at AESG

What led you to join WiredScore’s Accredited Professional Program?

The Smart Building sector needs structure and aspirational targets. I wanted to play a positive role in defining these, which led me to become a SmartScore Accredited Professional.

There is a lot of confusion and apprehension that exists when deciding how to adopt and implement smart technology into a development or an existing building. SmartScore’s emphasis on an outcome-driven approach to smart building planning provides a solution to this problem. By separating the outcomes from the technologies that underpin them, the scorecard efficiently communicates the requirements to successfully assess and deliver a Smart building.

How do you use your SmartScore accreditation in your day-to-day work to embed best practice around technology in building design and management?

I specialize in digital handovers for the built environment. My SmartScore accreditation has reinforced the value and importance of gathering accurate, structured data during design and construction to enable interoperability and support the onboarding of various software and applications into a building.

It has also reinforced the importance of assimilating an asset information model at handover to set the asset up to deliver the highest quality technological features to tenants.

What key learnings did you take away as part of your SmartScore training?

Prior to becoming a SmartScore AP, it was not very apparent on how smart buildings are different from sustainable buildings…

The key takeaway from my SmartScore training is that smart buildings are sustainable, while also possessing outcomes such as providing a great user experience, being cost-effective and the ability to remain future proof, all of which are supported by technology.

Prior to becoming a SmartScore AP, it was not very apparent on how smart buildings are different from sustainable buildings…

The key takeaway from my SmartScore training is that smart buildings are sustainable, while also possessing outcomes such as providing a great user experience, being cost-effective and the ability to remain future proof, all of which are supported by technology.

Prior to becoming a SmartScore AP, it was not very apparent on how smart buildings are different from sustainable buildings…

What innovations most excite you about the future of technology in Middle East real estate?

The innovations that excite me the most around technology in the built environment are around Fault, Detection & Diagnostics (FDD) and Predictive Maintenance.

During the operational phase of a building, equipment and systems will naturally degrade over time. This degradation reduces their efficiency and increases the number of faults associated with them, which in turn increases the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the building. FDD software not only allows for these faults to be detected, but also diagnosed in real-time. By providing diagnostic reports on the root-causes of faults, FDD software enables early action to achieve important energy savings.

FDD software is even able to predict faults before they occur, which brings a whole new level of efficiency to maintenance planning for operations teams. FDD provides an accurate audit of the ‘actual’ and ‘avoidable’ energy savings within a building, and as ESG and sustainability targets take center stage, the need to accurately report on ‘actual’ energy savings will grow in importance.

With COP 28 coming to Dubai this year, what role do you think building technology will - or should - have in the conversation?

Climate change is a significant global challenge and the fact that the built environment contributes to over 40% of global CO2 emissions, ¾ of which is accounted for by operating emissions, means that there is an urgent need to act now. In addition to COP 28 coming to Dubai, the UAE has also recently set out a strategic initiative to achieve net zero by 2050. Achieving this goal requires industries and businesses to begin accounting for their energy use and carbon emissions now.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure – smart building technology has the potential to make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by monitoring, measuring & reporting on energy use within buildings. With this insight, building managers can begin to control and optimize energy performance within buildings, and ultimately identify new ways to improve the carbon footprint and energy use within buildings.

Climate change is a significant global challenge and the fact that the built environment contributes to over 40% of global CO2 emissions, ¾ of which is accounted for by operating emissions, means that there is an urgent need to act now. In addition to COP 28 coming to Dubai, the UAE has also recently set out a strategic initiative to achieve net zero by 2050. Achieving this goal requires industries and businesses to begin accounting for their energy use and carbon emissions now.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure – smart building technology has the potential to make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by monitoring, measuring & reporting on energy use within buildings. With this insight, building managers can begin to control and optimize energy performance within buildings, and ultimately identify new ways to improve the carbon footprint and energy use within buildings.

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