#373 Nilesh Jadhav on Smart Technologies Revolutionizing Building Decarbonization

The Green Impact Report Quick take: Singapore-based sustainability expert Nilesh Jadhav shares how AI, autonomous systems, and smart technologies are transforming buildings into intelligent, grid-interactive assets that can dramatically reduce carbon emissions while improving performance.

Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion

With over 20 years of experience in the field of clean energy and decarbonization, Nilesh Jadhav (NJ) is a passionate champion of accelerating the net-zero transition for organizations and communities. In his professional role at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, he leads the delivery of end-to-end decarbonization solutions and digital services for sustainability. He is also a certified adult educator and conducts courses in the field of energy and sustainability as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nanyang Business School.

Nilesh is also an entrepreneur, thought leader, professional trainer, and coach, with expertise in smart and sustainable built environment technologies and digital and innovation ecosystem platforms. He co-founded and served as the first CEO of BtrLyf, a spin-off company of Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore), that offers a digital built environment ecosystem platform. He also worked as a Senior Scientist and Program Director at NTU, leading the Ecocampus Sustainability testbeding initiative and the research group on Sustainable Built Environment Technologies.

A chemical engineer by training, Nilesh earned his masters at Delft University before transitioning from petrochemicals to sustainability. He holds an MBA in Operations and Process Management and is a Singapore Certified Energy Manager. He published the book “Green and Smart Buildings Advanced Technology Options” in 2017 and is driven by the mission of creating innovative pathways and partnerships for achieving complete decarbonization and net-zero goals.

Breaking Ground on Better Building

In this episode, Nilesh revolutionizes traditional construction approaches:

Key Insight #1: Virtual Energy Audits Transform Building Analysis

The Challenge: Traditional building energy assessments require time-consuming physical audits and often miss optimization opportunities.
The Solution: Data-driven virtual audits that model building performance based solely on available data, enabling rapid identification of energy conservation measures.
ROI: Faster, more comprehensive energy analysis that scales across entire building portfolios while providing actionable energy-saving measures.

Key Insight #2: Autonomous Building Management Systems

The Challenge: Buildings struggle with data management and optimization across multiple systems, making consistent sustainability performance difficult.
The Solution: AI-powered autonomous systems that manage building performance without human intervention, continuously optimizing for sustainability goals including Net Zero.
ROI: Buildings that self-regulate to maintain optimal energy performance, reducing consumption by 20-30% while improving occupant comfort and grid interaction.

Key Insight #3: Grid-Interactive Buildings as Energy Assets

The Challenge: Buildings consume 20-30% of electricity but traditionally function as passive consumers rather than active grid participants.
The Solution: Smart technologies enabling buildings to participate in the renewable energy ecosystem through bi-directional electricity flow, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage.
ROI: Buildings that function as distributed energy resources, supporting grid stability while reducing operational costs and carbon emissions.

Sustainable Soundbite

Your Green Building Action Plan

Transform your next project with these steps:
This Week: Evaluate your building’s cooling systems – the largest energy consumer in tropical climates – for optimization opportunities.
This Quarter: Explore how smart building technologies could enhance your existing sustainability certification efforts (like LEED or Green Mark).
This Year: Develop a strategy for incorporating grid-interactive capabilities into your building portfolio, including renewable energy and energy storage.

Connect & Learn More

Connect with Nilesh Y.J.: LinkedIn Profile
Read the transcript: Full Episode Transcript
Explore Nilesh’s book: “Green and Smart Buildings Advanced Technology Options”