Buildings efficiency event bring together French and South African stakeholders and industry experts

1 December 2023

South Africa’s power provision challenge is providing the catalyst for the local buildings industry to prioritise and achieve energy efficiency, said Thabang Byl, Buildings Segment Lead at Schneider Electric at the recent To Drive Energy Efficiency in Buildings event.

Held at the Résidence de France in Pretoria, the event was hosted by the French Embassy in partnership with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBSA), Schneider Electric, Saint-Gobain, EDF (Électricité de France), the French South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FSACCI), Business France and Les Conseillers du commerce extérieur de La France.

The To Drive Energy Efficiency in Buildings commenced with an opening speech by His Excellency Mr David Martinon, Ambassador-Designate of the French Republic, and included attendees from local government, regulators, energy and efficiency experts, financial institutions, designers and developers.

Byl formed part of the panel The Impact of Energy Efficiency and How to be Energy Efficient which explored how to reduce buildings’ energy consumption, operating costs and environmental footprint, while simultaneously enhancing occupant comfort and wellbeing.

“The first step is to gain insight into a building by accurately measuring and monitoring its operations with this foundational understanding of your consumption and infrastructure, the next level involves managing systems,” notes Byl.

“Once you have a clear grasp of your infrastructure and the ability to control it effectively, you can move on to what we refer to as energy management.”