The following was developed while working with the National Business Officers Association, which is the national nonprofit association focused exclusively on supporting independent school business officers and operations staff while fostering excellence among schools.
Meeting that demand requires a clear understanding of the technologies reshaping the industry and how to apply them in the real world. We’ve identified several emerging technologies that should be on every Facility Manager’s radar. We’ve categorized them by their primary impact: Energy and Operations.
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A new form of solar panels is officially entering the US market, offering a more aesthetically pleasing alternative to traditional rooftop solar. The European company Roofit.Solar focuses on a technology called building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), where the roofing material itself is the solar panel. These integrated systems minimize visual impact, which is often a consideration for historic buildings or aesthetically sensitive campuses.
Heat pump technology has undergone a significant transformation, overcoming past performance limitations, especially in colder climates. Recent studies, such as those conducted by organizations like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), confirm their viability and efficacy even in regions with harsh winters, making them a crucial technology for decarbonization efforts nationwide.
Geo-exchange (or ground source heat pump) systems remain one of the most effective ways to heat and cool facilities using the stable temperature of the earth, providing high-efficiency heating/cooling regardless of external weather conditions. The financial viability of these systems has been significantly boosted by the continued availability of federal and state tax credits, which can substantially lower the first-cost hurdle, making the long-term ROI even more attractive. Innovation in this area focuses on optimizing the drilling process and improving heat transfer efficiency to reduce installation costs and land usage. For instance, Minnesota-based Darcy Solutions has pioneered "turbo-charging" mechanisms that utilize the high thermal conductivity of moving groundwater. By drawing heat from an aquifer rather than static soil, these systems allow for significantly fewer wells to achieve the same energy output, maximizing efficiency while minimizing site disruption.
The next generation of Building Automation Systems (BAS) is moving toward smarter, more flexible control architectures. New, non-proprietary controllers, such as those utilizing the EnOcean standard, are entering the market, offering a cheaper and more adaptable alternative to complex, expensive proprietary BAS. While the EnOcean standard itself does not incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), this shift gives facility managers more freedom in system configuration, allowing them to leverage AI and machine learning capabilities to control systems through a smart server. This setup allows for the autonomous reconfiguration of system points and optimization of performance, constantly fine-tuning a building's operation for peak efficiency and minimal energy waste.
The next step beyond intelligent controls is using data analysis to constantly monitor and diagnose the operational health of your building portfolio. These platforms connect directly to your existing Building Automation System (BAS) to continuously ingest real-time operational data (e.g., temperatures, setpoints, valve positions, equipment runtimes, etc.). For example, a platform like ClockWorks utilizes proprietary FDD algorithms to automatically detect and diagnose operational faults and inefficiencies, turning raw data into opportunities for low-cost or no-cost corrections.
These modern systems replace traditional keyways with battery-powered mechanisms, providing detailed audit trails and simplifying access control for staff and visitors. Cutting-edge systems now explore "direct line of sight" non-connected power charging, eliminating the need for complex hardwiring at every door.
Capturing accurate "as-built" conditions for existing facilities has traditionally been a time-consuming and expensive process, often involving professional surveying or manual measurements. Tools like Polycam (a mobile and desktop application) are democratizing this process by leveraging LiDAR and photogrammetry capabilities found in modern smartphones and tablets. The SHG team can partner with your facilities staff to rapidly scan rooms, entire floors, or building exteriors to generate accurate, georeferenced 3D models and 2D floor plans. This allows for near-instantaneous documentation of spaces for renovation planning, capital project management, and simply maintaining a digital twin of the campus.
Most schools own the cost of their buildings’ construction, operations and renewal, and therefore efficient management of buildings can have a large financial impact on the school.
A high-performance building is one that “integrates and optimizes all major high-performance attributes, including energy efficiency, durability, lifecycle performance and occupant productivity,” as defined by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that high-performance buildings could more readily pivot from prioritizing energy efficiency to prioritizing health and wellness. Leading guidance, for example, was to turn off demand control ventilation and maximize outdoor air, and this was readily accomplished with high performance buildings. Consider too that fundraising for better, new buildings is easier than funding retrofits, and we can make the case that schools should be encouraged to pursue high-performance buildings.
First developed in the 1990s, green building certification programs continue to catalyze increasing sustainability and performance in building design and construction. The primary standards for ranking high-performing buildings used to be energy based. LEED ratings, for example, rewarded reduction in embodied carbon and modeled energy consumption reduction. The other two pillars of high-performance, health and wellness and lifecycle cost, were largely considered as secondary, but that is changing with newer evaluation standards.
Today’s certification programs are either prescriptive- or performance-based. Whereas prescriptive-based programs target the materials and equipment that comprise a building design, performance-based programs specify particular performance thresholds for the building. The certification process for prescriptive programs is relatively rapid, if the standards are met. Performance-based programs typically require a year of monitoring and verification following construction completion to demonstrate compliance.
Predominant certifications include:
Larry Eighmy is the managing principal at The Stone House Group, which facilitates building stewardship.
Source:
Wilson, E. J. H., Munankarmi, P., Less, B. D., Reyna, J. L., & Rothgeb, S. (2024). Heat pumps for all? Distributions of the costs and benefits of residential air-source heat pumps in the United States. Joule, 8(4), 1000–1035. Link: https://docs.nlr.gov/docs/fy24osti/84775.pdf
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