FAQs
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What is ‘SMART’?
‘Smart’ refers to a solution that uses digital components or communications, such as computer networked devices or components. In some cases these allow for users to make decisions based on new information, or they allow for automation and system optimsation. The term can also refer to an ubiquitous computing device – which exhibits some properties of ubiquitous computing, including artificial intelligence.
SMART 2020 found that these 'Smart' solutions could enable energy efficiency across the most energy intensive sectors – buildings, transport, power and industry – and therefore transform industrial processes and social behaviour. The ‘SMART’ approach here implies not only a technical but also a social transformation in the way we use and measure our energy consumption.
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How does the SMART approach actually work?
SMART stands for Standards, Monitoring, Accounting, Rethink, Transform.
The challenge of climate change presents an opportunity for ICT to first standardise (S) how energy consumption and emissions information can be traced across different processes beyond the ICT sector’s own products and services. It can monitor (M) energy consumption and emissions across the economy in real time, providing the data needed to optimise for energy efficiency. Network tools can be developed that allow accountability (A) for energy consumption and emissions alongside other key business priorities. This information can be used to rethink (R) how we should live, learn, play and work in a low carbon economy, initially by optimising efficiency, but also by providing viable low cost alternatives to high carbon activities. Although isolated efficiency gains do have an impact, ultimately, it will be a platform – or a set of technologies and architectures – working coherently together, that will have the greatest impact. It is through this enabling platform that transformation (T) of the economy will occur, when standardisation, monitoring, accounting, optimisation and the business models that drive low carbon alternatives can be developed and diffused at scale across all sectors of the economy.
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What emissions and cost savings can SMART applications achieve?
The SMART 2020 report presented the findings that ICT could drive efficiency across the economy and deliver emission savings of 15%-7.8GtCO2e – of global BAU emissions in 2020.
It also identified some of the biggest and most accessible opportunities for achieving such savings on global level:
- Smart motor systems: Applied globally, optimised motors and industrial automation would reduce 0.97 GtCO2e in 2020, worth €68 billion ($107.2 billion).
- Smart logistics: 1.52 GtCO2e in 2020, worth €280 billion ($441.7 billion).
- Smart buildings: 1.68 GtCO2e in 2020, worth €216 billion ($340.8 billion).
- Smart grids: 2.03 GtCO2e in 2020, worth €79 billion ($124.6 billion).
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What is a smart building?
A group of embodied ICT systems that maximise energy efficiency in buildings. A building automation system (BAS) is an example of a computerized, intelligent network of electronic devices, designed to monitor and control the mechanical and lighting systems in a building. -
What is a smart grid?
A smart grid integrates ICT applications throughout the grid, from generator to user, to enable efficiency and optimisation solutions. -
What are smart logistics?
A variety of ICT applications that enable reductions in fuel and energy use by enabling better journey and load planning. -
What is the impact of 'dematerialisation'
Dematerialisation is what we can the process by which an ICT product or service, such as videoconferencing, replaces a high carbon activity (travel) with a low carbon one (virtual meeting). This is difficult to calculate as the impacts rely on behaviour change.
In the SMART 2020 report, the assumptions behind the dematerialisation figures are below.
Lever GtCO2e Assumptions Online media 0.02 - Assumes seven billion DVDs and 10 billion CDs globally sold pa
- 1kg CO2e per CD/DVD
- Eliminate all CDs and DVDs
E-commerce 0.03 - 3% reduction in emissions from shopping transport, assumed to be 40% of non-work-related private transport, or 20% of all private transport
E-paper 0.07 - Assumes 270Mt of paper in 2020 globally
- tCO2e per tonne of paper
- Eliminate 25% of all paper
Videoconferencing 0.08 - 30% of passenger air and rail travel is business travel
- Globally 30% of business travel can be avoided through videoconferencing
Telecommuting 0.26 - Assumes that work-related car travel in urban and non-urban areas decreases by 80%, while non-work-related car travel increases by 20%
- In developed countries 10% of existing vehicles are affected, equivalent to 20% of people and 30-40% of working population, and 7% in developing countries
- Assumes a 15% increase in residential building emissions and a 60% reduction in office emissions, applied to 10% of residential buildings and 80% of office buildings