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Strategic Analysis on Growth Opportunities for Smart Buildings Market in Europe

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Jan 11 2010

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/192501/strategic_assessme) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Strategic Assessment of Growth Opportunities for Smart Buildings Markets in Europe" to their offering.

The aim of this study is to present a strategic analysis of the emerging growth opportunities in the European smart buildings market. This involves examining the concepts and technologies that make up 'Smart Solutions' in the marketplace and analysing their impact on customers, competitors and incumbent solutions in the building technologies industry in Europe.

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Strategic Assessment of Growth Opportunities for Smart Buildings Markets in Europe aims at understanding the latest in smart building concepts, technologies and materials, the applications of which are crucial to cater to smart building requirements. This research service identifies various new technologies and concepts and their implications for technology companies and analyses the future of this market in view of the current demand to achieve Europe's 20-20-20 protocols. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following markets by smart buildings' solution type: self-sufficient homes, domotics (home automation), dynamic architecture (shape shifting), actuated tensegrity superstructures (responsive), recyclable homes, regenerative design (cradle-to-cradle) and biomimicry (lotus effect). The applications covered in this research service are structured cabling, smart meters, smart grids, active building envelope, smart windows, fibreglass fenestrations, integrated day lighting systems, composite materials and smart home fabrication - prefab.

Market Overview

Innovative Smart Building Technologies to Make Europe Energy Efficient

The European smart buildings concept is in its growing stage. Green building development has been initiated along with an increased awareness on energy efficiency options. The market is anticipated to evolve swiftly due to government initiatives and augmented investments in smart grids and electricity meters. Legislation and Europe's collective goal of achieving the Kyoto protocol are the prime drivers of growth at this stage of the market. Smart buildings will pave the way for a low-energy Europe, a big step in fulfilling Europe's 20-20-20 targets. "Real-time monitoring of energy consumption in buildings is necessary for energy audits, labelling buildings, and integrating them with future smart grid electricity systems," says the analyst of this research. "Legislations ensure adoption of the latest smart technologies, a significant driver of the European smart buildings market."

The huge retrofit market that constitutes nearly 50 per cent of the current growth in the market is another major driver. Retrofits require advanced and future-proof technologies. In most cases, retrofits are necessary to facilitate the most up-to-date technical infrastructure - a key feature of smart buildings. The need for interoperability and connectivity to smart grid and advanced Internet protocols requires large-scale, fool-proof retrofits to ensure assured returns-on-investment (ROIs) for building owners and occupants. Architects and risk management experts should collaborate to estimate the entire cost of construction and maintenance prior to construction in a detailed manner with end users and owners. If this can be endorsed through government laws that make it a mandatory procedure for approvals of new building plans, this issue may be mitigated in the long run.

Strengthening of Building Codes and Greater Awareness on Smart Buildings to Boost this Market

The challenge for this market is the lack of a dedicated law that imposes the use of smart building technologies in Europe. Smart buildings rely on advanced technologies that are mostly new and yet to be commercialised. Despite this drawback, quick adoption of smart grids and meters, along with the current smart technologies such as smart windows and integrated daylighting, is expected to increase the size of this market in the short and medium terms. Realisation of benefits in terms of ROI is an added attraction in terms of supporting greater energy, fuel and cost efficiencies. Slow adoption, paralleled by the wary attitude of consumers towards smart building technologies, which are perceived as expensive, is also hampering the market prospects. Consumers fail to realise that investing in a smart building will reap long-term returns in the form of higher rental premiums for a fully smart building. Such awareness needs to be enforced in the form of dedicated legislation or initiatives by European countries.

Promisingly, awareness and understanding of the benefits of advanced and future-proof smart buildings is steadily growing. Strengthening of building codes and labelling with greater transparency, along with efforts by governments and the private sector to incentivise the adoption of smart and green alternatives, will ensure success in this market. "Furthermore, the onset of innovative smart technologies will provide a wider spectrum of solutions for smarter and economically viable buildings in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors," concludes the analyst. "The realisation that recycling and cradle-to-cradle design can enhance the benefits of smart buildings by making them zero waste and zero energy bodes well for a safer and healthier environment devoid of carbon pollution and will help maintain robust market growth."

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:

By Solution Type: