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Digitalization of buildings for energy Efficiency: Life cycle assessment of two building monitoring systems
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Sustainability Assessment and Management. KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Centres, Digital futures. KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Centres, KTH Climate Action Centre, CAC.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7480-0858
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Sustainability Assessment and Management. KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Centres, KTH Climate Action Centre, CAC. KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Centres, Digital futures.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9873-0949
KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Energy Technology, Applied Thermodynamics and Refrigeration.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2300-2581
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Sustainability Assessment and Management. KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Centres, Digital futures. KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Centres, KTH Climate Action Centre, CAC.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5600-0726
2026 (English)In: Energy and Buildings, ISSN 0378-7788, Vol. 363, article id 117528Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The digitalization trend in buildings is accelerated with advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT). These technologies enable many opportunities in buildings to achieve resource and energy efficiency based on either monitoring or advanced control of buildings. The ICT solutions’ overall impacts on the environment are often presumed positive without an assessment based on life cycle thinking. The research on ICT solutions in buildings is mainly related to occupancy, energy, and indoor environmental monitoring with the focus on technical performance and potential benefits while the environmental impacts are often overlooked. This paper analyses two case study buildings in Sweden with building monitoring systems (BMS) based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The two cases were chosen to represent a range between simple and more sophisticated. The results show that sensors and wires contribute significantly to several impact categories and the impacts of electronics used for data acquisition are also important. The climate impact of the production phase is significantly higher than the use and waste management. Depending on the energy mix, the minimum required energy saving to offset the climate impacts of the BMSs are 5% (standard BMS) and 24% (extensive BMS). This is comparable to the energy savings that often are assumed when building monitoring systems are introduced. Thus, the direct impacts of the enabling technologies for digitalization might be significant and it is crucial to employ a life cycle perspective when assessing the environmental benefits of digital solutions in buildings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2026. Vol. 363, article id 117528
Keywords [en]
LCA, Digital solutions, Climate impacts, Environmental assessment, Sustainability
National Category
Energy Systems Control Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-380719DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117528ISI: 001765983700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105038759699OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-380719DiVA, id: diva2:2057651
Projects
DOCENT - DOCENT – Development of Occupant-centric Control for ENergy efficienT buildings
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, P2023-01513Swedish Research Council Formas, 300606Swedish Energy Agency, P2023-01513
Note

QC 20260529

Available from: 2026-05-05 Created: 2026-05-05 Last updated: 2026-05-29Bibliographically approved

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Azizi, ShoaibFurberg, AnnaMolinari, MarcoFinnveden, Göran

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Sustainability Assessment and ManagementDigital futuresKTH Climate Action Centre, CACApplied Thermodynamics and Refrigeration
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