M
Martin Ochieng
The Pain Bill: Malls and Business Parks
Need for audits in the rapidly emerging business premises
Rapid growth
Urbanization and growth in cities have taken centre stage in the current age. Research indicates that by 2050, 68% of the global population will be urban, with 90% of this population residing in Asia and Africa.
With this, each town is looking to grow into a city, and each city is seeking to be a Megacity.
This is aimed at attracting more investors and businesses to these cities. And the more investors, the more revenue and hence more growth.
Infrastructure lies at the core of these expansions. Construction of high-rise buildings, malls, and business parks has been the norm.
This has occupied the skyline within the cities, and with this, several questions on resource strain are left unanswered.
Energy demand.
With the desire to meet the recommended standards for the cities, several amenities have had to be introduced to these buildings.
A simple stroll into a mall would help to understand how many electrons are flowing in the premises to give them an elegant look.
A walk into a mall would be welcomed with adequate lighting that makes the space visible on a 24/7 basis. This is facilitated by state-of-the-art lighting systems that run continuously.
The cool and ambient air within the buildings is very evident. Behind the scenes are AC units that run continuously to ensure temperature regulation is achieved.
To access the next floor, you may have to use the escalator or lift that makes the movement effortless and quite efficient. Behind this are robust motors and drive units that are
needed to run nonstop. A sudden stop would mean an emergency.
With this equipment in place, the malls and business parks have been the go-to places for most of the city dwellers.
This has made them operate on a 24/7 basis, and they are among the top power consumption facilities.
The pain points
With the installations in place, the facilities have incurred very high-power bills. Research carried out indicated 35% of the total power consumption in malls was majorly on lighting,
which is the centre of their operations. It's also estimated that malls and commercial buildings consumed 1.522 billion kWh of electricity in 2025.
These have attracted needs for audits for the facilities in order to address energy efficiency. The manual energy audits within these spaces would also need quite a lot of time.
Reports and recommendations would also mean more time, and hence, the status quo would be as it is.
Kawibot
Adoption of AI into audits makes it even faster for such installations. The Kawibot platform would assist in shortening the period between the actual audit and getting insights into energy bills.
With the use of Kawilens, the auditors would quickly have AI go through historical bills for the malls and perform a quick desktop analysis. This would assist in drawing conclusions on the main areas that need to be addressed and provide recommendations. With faster audit processes, prompt actions can be undertaken, and hence, a quicker way to solve the energy efficiency question.
Urbanization and growth in cities have taken centre stage in the current age. Research indicates that by 2050, 68% of the global population will be urban, with 90% of this population residing in Asia and Africa.
With this, each town is looking to grow into a city, and each city is seeking to be a Megacity.
This is aimed at attracting more investors and businesses to these cities. And the more investors, the more revenue and hence more growth.
Infrastructure lies at the core of these expansions. Construction of high-rise buildings, malls, and business parks has been the norm.
This has occupied the skyline within the cities, and with this, several questions on resource strain are left unanswered.
Energy demand.
With the desire to meet the recommended standards for the cities, several amenities have had to be introduced to these buildings.
A simple stroll into a mall would help to understand how many electrons are flowing in the premises to give them an elegant look.
A walk into a mall would be welcomed with adequate lighting that makes the space visible on a 24/7 basis. This is facilitated by state-of-the-art lighting systems that run continuously.
The cool and ambient air within the buildings is very evident. Behind the scenes are AC units that run continuously to ensure temperature regulation is achieved.
To access the next floor, you may have to use the escalator or lift that makes the movement effortless and quite efficient. Behind this are robust motors and drive units that are
needed to run nonstop. A sudden stop would mean an emergency.
With this equipment in place, the malls and business parks have been the go-to places for most of the city dwellers.
This has made them operate on a 24/7 basis, and they are among the top power consumption facilities.
The pain points
With the installations in place, the facilities have incurred very high-power bills. Research carried out indicated 35% of the total power consumption in malls was majorly on lighting,
which is the centre of their operations. It's also estimated that malls and commercial buildings consumed 1.522 billion kWh of electricity in 2025.
These have attracted needs for audits for the facilities in order to address energy efficiency. The manual energy audits within these spaces would also need quite a lot of time.
Reports and recommendations would also mean more time, and hence, the status quo would be as it is.
Kawibot
Adoption of AI into audits makes it even faster for such installations. The Kawibot platform would assist in shortening the period between the actual audit and getting insights into energy bills.
With the use of Kawilens, the auditors would quickly have AI go through historical bills for the malls and perform a quick desktop analysis. This would assist in drawing conclusions on the main areas that need to be addressed and provide recommendations. With faster audit processes, prompt actions can be undertaken, and hence, a quicker way to solve the energy efficiency question.
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