Abstract:
Low operational efficiency and sustainability characterise South African government buildings, which partly emanates from lack of innovation in the South African public sector. As a result, inefficiency and lack of sustainability in the use of energy and water are major challenges, consequently affecting sustainability in buildings and causing detrimental effects to the environment. It is therefore imminent that the South African government adopts innovative technologies that ameliorate the public built environment. The goal of this paper is therefore to understand, from a critical review of literature, how harnessing technological innovation can improve operational efficiency and sustainability in energy use and water consumption in government buildings in South Africa. Careful selection of the most appropriate scholarly sources was done, which were then appraised to understand how the different latest technologies can be utilised and how they can be helpful in improving efficiency and sustainability in energy use and water consumption in buildings. The internet of things, digital twin, big data analytics and smart meters, were identified to be useful in improving efficiency and sustainability in energy and water consumption in buildings, whilst also improving indoor environmental quality. The result would be reducing the cost of energy and water management in South African Government buildings, and elimination of the energy and water crisis in South Africa, as well as minimisation of harm to the environment. Β© 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
