Page 178 - UNAM-GCUB2022

in changing people’s behaviour habits and led to important
savings in energy, without any perceived sacrifice on comfort.
Priorities were re-weighted and awareness created on many
factors leading to energy use.
If one considers that both in the US and the EU, buil-
dings represent almost 40% of final energy consumption, see
US DoE (2015), US DoE (2021) or EU/JRC (2020), we realize
that any savings achieved in buildings will provide an impor-
tant contribution to the global energy challenge of the miti-
gation of energy use (without harming human activity), with
relevant impact in the reduction of emissions.

Conclusions

Industry 4.0 is a condensed and convenient buzzword repre-
senting the materialization of adding intelligence to the indus-
trial planning and operation processes, with the objectives of
increased efficiency and business gains. By intelligence, we
specifically mean learning from data – therefore, massive sen-
sing is paramount. Sensing collects signals that convey data,
which must be stored and processed by intelligent agents,
able to extract knowledge.
With data and detailed representation of systems, mas-
sive time domain twin-digital simulations may be carried out,
providing yet another source for knowledge extraction. And fi-
nally, decision processes must be represented, supported and
mimicked, which remits us to including human factors in the
modelling of the processes.
This paradigm is in an on-going adoption in the Power
and Energy area, in a convenient spill-over from the manu-
facturing industry. While there is certainly a business-driven
interest, the good thing is that the 4.0 concept may be used
advantageously to benefit human activity and to meet the gar-
gantuan climate change problem, mostly originated by human
activity translated in energy transformation and use, causing
deleterious emissions of greenhouse gases.

178