International. Johnson Controls' 2017 Energy Efficiency Indicators (EEI) survey of more than 1,500 facilities and management executives in the United States, Canada and 10 other countries indicates that 70 percent of organizations are paying more attention to energy efficiency than they were a year ago and 58 percent hoping to increase investments next year.
Cost reduction remained the most important driver for investments globally, with 77 percent rating it as a very or extremely important factor in driving investments. In the U.S. and Canada, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy security were the most important factors at 92 percent and 91 percent, respectively. These factors ranked second and third in the global results and represent the highest ranking for greenhouse gas emission reductions since the survey began.
According to the previous year's studies, investments in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment were the most popular improvements made last year, reported by 75 percent of respondents. However, when asked about planned investments over the next year, on-site renewable energy sources lead 57% of organizations planning to invest. Energy storage is also gaining momentum, with 48 percent of organizations planning to make investments in the coming year.
Increased investment in on-site renewable and electrical storage can be driven by increased interest in net zero-energy buildings and facility resilience. 54 percent of organizations plan to reach zero, net zero or positive energy status for at least one building in the next 10 years. 71 percent of respondents state that maintaining critical operations during severe weather events or prolonged blackouts is very or extremely important when considering future infrastructure investments. In addition, 52 percent of respondents say they are very or very likely to have one or more facilities capable of operating off-grid in the next 10 years.
"While the survey was completed before the recent hurricane wave, it shows the growing attention being paid to resilience," said Rod Rushing, president of Building Solutions, North America at Building Technologies & Solutions, Johnson Controls. "Smart, sustainable buildings served by distributed energy resources and energy storage can provide the greater security that building owners are looking for around the world."
Government policy remains important, with 52 percent of organizations rating it as a very or very important driver for investment.
Smart buildings continue to gain momentum, with 46 percent of global respondents investing in building system integration last year. The top four building systems that have already been integrated with other building systems include energy management (43 percent), lighting (43 percent), safety (40 percent) and life safety (38 percent). More than 80 percent of organizations plan to integrate their building systems in the future.
