We can learn a lot from Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by pausing to reflect on the past, present, and future of building services management, and how changing our approach can deliver real benefits for all.
Gone are the days of cold, gloomy rooms with manual controls and rampant energy waste. Today, smarter, responsive monitoring systems enhance efficiency while creating more comfortable living spaces. Tomorrow, data-driven platforms like Prefect IRUS will take this further: Building services can be monitored, reported, and automatically optimised in real time. Empty spaces will no longer be wasted opportunities, they’ll deliver energy savings, operational efficiencies, and proactive management.
In short: the past was about control, the present is about visibility, and the future will be about intelligence. All three are essential if we are serious about cutting carbon and reducing waste. Prefect’s market-leading Irus system combines control, visibility, and intelligence seamlessly.
Vacation-Vacant Rooms Can Be Costly
As universities wind down for the festive break, thousands of student rooms fall temporarily silent. While this seasonal lull brings welcome calm, it also presents a significant, often overlooked opportunity. Empty rooms left unmanaged consume unnecessary energy, mask emerging maintenance issues, and increase operational overheads. With intelligent oversight, however, these same spaces can deliver substantial savings.
Across PBSA schemes, whole blocks may be largely unoccupied. This is where the Prefect IRUS ecosystem excels, providing real-time insights that enable operators to make informed, cost-saving decisions during the holiday period. Automated building services procedures improve operational efficiency while reducing waste.
Smarter Energy Management
Heating or cooling empty rooms for days or weeks can be surprisingly costly. By automatically identifying unoccupied spaces, energy usage can be scaled back without compromising building safety. Heating can be reduced while still protecting against frost, and the system flags energy waste that might otherwise go unnoticed. Reducing consumption across unused areas has a measurable financial impact and contributes to lowering carbon emissions.
Maintenance Made Easy
Holiday downtime provides an invaluable window for maintenance. With most rooms vacant, disruptive work can be scheduled without affecting residents. Even more importantly, IRUS continuously monitors spaces for anomalies, unexpected humidity spikes, cold or hot spots, or excessive energy use in empty rooms. These can indicate leaks, supplementary heaters left on, malfunctioning equipment, or conditions that encourage damp and mould. By catching problems early, operators protect building fabric and avoid costly repairs.
Streamlined Operations
Accurate occupancy data allows facilities teams to deploy resources efficiently. Cleaning, inspections, and planned maintenance can be prioritised in unoccupied areas, ensuring buildings are ready for reoccupation. Operators can also plan which blocks can be powered down, schedule maintenance strategically, and forecast energy budgets with precision. All remotely.
The festive period, then, is not just a break for students; it’s an operational advantage for PBSA managers. With tools like IRUS providing granular visibility, operators can dramatically reduce energy waste, carry out timely maintenance, and streamline building management, turning vacant rooms from a cost burden into a source of efficiency.
Happy Holidays!
