'With AI you close the whole hole in the climate agreement for the built environment in one go'

"Everyone is looking for excuses to avoid solving grid congestion." That is the surprising conclusion of Piet Jan Bloem, who uses his AI company to make buildings more economical. "We just don't have enough pain as a society."

According to Bloem, the solution to grid congestion lies in collaboration between buildings using AI. With his company AIMZ, Bloem specializes in shaping that cooperation within a building. Recently, for example, it was commissioned to make the Forum in Groningen more energy efficient and sustainable with AI. With his software, he is turning it into a smart building. But what does that actually mean, a smart building? "A smart building regulates itself and takes its environment into account," he explains.

Make the built environment intelligent

The fact that Bloem directly involves the building's environment says it all: to him, one building is really just small beer. He thinks bigger. "AI can make a building efficient, saving you about 20 percent energy. But what is a building other than a hundred spaces working together as one building? If that works, then you can also make a hundred buildings work together, the mechanism is the same. A space requires something: heat, coolness, fresh air. The building provides that with its systems. That is the same as a hundred homes demanding something from the energy grid. If the users learn to work together, supply becomes simpler."

But then you will have to make the built environment intelligent, Bloem emphasizes. "For one building it's still programmable, for two it's still possible. For five it becomes more complex and for more it is no longer doable. So we have to solve that with AI."

From platform to network

Bloem points to the energy hubs that are springing up here and there, in which a limited number of companies are working together. "The problem with those hubs is not in the cables in the ground; there are plenty of them. The challenge lies in how you manage the whole thing. Because you have to get a grip on supply and demand of energy and for that you have to cooperate. Now a hub often works like a walkie-talkie: it's the cheapest solution, one make of EMS, which allows us to talk to a small group of others who have the same EMS. But as humans, we don't buy a walkie talkie anymore either, so why do we start with that in energy hubs? We buy a smartphone, so we can add everyone in a whatsapp group, regardless of whether they have a Samsung or an iPhone. With that, we form a network. So why don't we do that for buildings? Let those buildings fine-tune energy flows in the city in groups. As long as the grid operator is also in all those groups."

According to Bloem, why this is not happening is mainly a matter of mindset. "How do we get from platform thinking to network thinking, that's the question. I notice that society is not yet pained enough by network congestion to really want to cooperate. Everyone stays in their own victim role: the grid operator says they are legally not allowed to issue power, the municipality can therefore not issue permits, companies can't become more sustainable because their connection is not big enough. Everyone just points at each other. But if we step out of that victim role and start working together, we can achieve an enormous amount and bring new directions for solutions to the surface. Financially, legally and organizationally."

Thinking in solar panels

"All that needs to happen is to roll out AI across society," says Bloem. Still, he notices resistance. "Many people focus on the obstacles, not the opportunities. When a solution is offered, they doubt it. There is always an excuse not to do it yet. With AI, you can easily save twenty percent energy. But even if it's only three percent, it's still better than solar panels. Yet people tend to keep thinking in solar panels, heat pumps and insulation. Only in tangible solutions. At the same time, the digital agenda remains underexposed. While with AI you can at once close the entire gap in the climate agreement for the built environment. There is no obstacle, except that we don't decide to do it."

Objections to AI

Of course, there are caveats to AI. For example, is it wise for one party to have so much control over such a system? It should actually belong to the community. Bloem agrees. "Let TNO think along. That is already happening and the technology exists: buildings can be connected to a network. There will be a box in the building that reads data, and the building owner decides who gets access. So if companies come along that can do the same thing as AIMZ, then you can switch as easily as between Netflix and Prime Video. Because we certainly won't remain the only ones doing this, and I don't want that at all."

There is also the black box argument against AI and the risk of software errors that can be exploited by hackers. "Of course, software is constantly being developed. Bugs get fixed, and updates become available. These are not reasons to stand still. If we want this as a society, we can save billions. As far as I'm concerned, this is a no-brainer."

Future thinkers

In the Future Thinkers section, we interview industry frontrunners about their dreams, deeds and images of the future. How do they anticipate the sometimes still unknown social issues of the future? What do they see and what solutions do they propose? Do you know a visionary architect, builder, installer, supplier, student developer or scientist who deserves this podium? Mail to Thomas.van.belzen@jaarbeurs.nl quoting Toekomstdenkers.