Temporary by design, waste by default: Fixing construction site energy with automation

Construction sites may be temporary, but their energy waste is often anything but. From heaters and drying equipment to welfare cabins and site IT, power is routinely left running far beyond working hours – driven by tight programmes and a zero-tolerance approach to downtime.

In this session, we’ll explore how energy waste on construction sites has become normalised, and why traditional approaches like posters, policies and toolbox talks rarely deliver lasting change. Instead, we’ll look at how socket-level automation can eliminate waste without relying on behaviour change, training or constant supervision.

Using live site examples, the talk will demonstrate how plug-level data and automated control can cut energy, cost and carbon by over 60%, with minimal installation effort and rapid payback. We’ll also discuss why temporary sites are the perfect testing ground for digital energy strategies before scaling them into permanent assets.