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Digital innovation opportunity for energy productivity in non-residential buildings

The Scoping the Digital Innovation Opportunity for Energy Productivity in Non-Residential Buildings (PDF 4.21 MB) report, developed by CSIRO and DeltaQ, highlights the significant potential of digitalisation to create energy performance improvements while reducing emissions, improving affordability and delivering up to 2.7 times more benefit than initial costs.

The report was developed in consultation with industry stakeholders and references international best practice examples. It provides an analysis of energy performance improvement opportunities using digitalisation technologies in commercial (non-residential) buildings in Australia.

The report explores how digitalisation technologies can be used in Australia to reduce energy consumption, reduce emissions, and create opportunities through energy efficiency applications to provide dispatchable capacity to stabilise the electricity grid. It highlights the barriers and drivers for uptake of digitalisation technology in the Australian non-residential buildings sector.

Key findings from the report include:

  • Digitalisation in buildings has the potential to underpin new energy efficiency opportunities that could save 6.6 megatonnes/year of CO2 emissions over 10 years at negative abatement cost.
  • Initial estimates identify a national energy cost savings potential of $13.7 billion over 10 years, creating 70,000 job-years of local employment in the digital economy.