Following the unusual phenomenon of a late spring heatwave and forecasters predicting a hot summer in the UK, the conversation around overheating in buildings is becoming harder to ignore. The Climate Change Committee’s latest report, paints a stark picture of a country that remains underprepared for rising temperatures and the wider impacts of climate change.

Recent media coverage has focused on worker safety, productivity and suggestions that schools may eventually need to rethink exam schedules to avoid peak summer heat. For those of us working in building performance and controls, these warnings should not come as a surprise. Throughout my time in the industry, I have seen how quickly building performance moves up the agenda once organisations recognise the direct link between occupant wellbeing, operational efficiency and business outcomes.

For many years, the industry has rightly focused on improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. Those priorities remain essential. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that buildings must also be capable of adapting to a hotter future.

Overheating is no longer just a comfort issue

Overheating has direct implications for worker productivity, occupant wellbeing, learning outcomes and operational resilience.

Poor indoor environmental quality can affect concentration, fatigue, cognitive performance and sickness absence. In schools, excessive heat and poor ventilation can influence learning outcomes. In healthcare environments, overheating creates additional risks for vulnerable patients and clinical operations.

The Climate Change Committee has highlighted the need for greater heat resilience across the UK, placing increasing pressure on building owners and operators to maintain healthy indoor environments while continuing to meet decarbonisation objectives. This is where building performance and climate adaptation become inseparable.

Why building energy management systems matter

Building energy management systems (BEMS) and smart building controls provide a practical and scalable way to address overheating risk while supporting operational efficiency.

Modern BEMS can continuously monitor and optimise heating, cooling and ventilation systems in response to occupancy levels, internal conditions and external weather patterns. Rather than operating building services according to fixed schedules, intelligent building operation allows buildings to respond dynamically throughout the day.

This approach helps maintain thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality while avoiding unnecessary energy consumption. That balance is becoming increasingly important as organisations seek to improve both climate resilience and operational building performance.

Adaptation and decarbonisation must work together

Climate adaptation and building decarbonisation are often treated as separate challenges. In reality, they are closely connected. Buildings that struggle with overheating frequently rely on reactive cooling strategies that increase energy demand and operating costs. Smart HVAC controls enable a more intelligent approach, helping buildings maintain comfortable conditions while using energy more efficiently.

The goal should not simply be cooler buildings. It should be future-ready buildings that deliver comfort, efficiency and resilience simultaneously.

This is not a theoretical challenge. It is one we have already explored in detail through our white paper, Comfort, Efficiency and Health: The Untapped Potential of Building Energy Management Systems.

The findings demonstrate that advanced Class A BEMS can deliver substantial benefits beyond energy savings alone. Research suggests improved comfort in office environments could contribute an additional £12.75 billion in annual GVA by 2050, while advanced BEMS could help reduce workforce sick days by 2 million per year. In education, the analysis estimates that 552,000 more pupils could have passed national exams in 2024 if Class A BEMS had been installed in every classroom.

These findings reinforce an important point. Occupant wellbeing, worker productivity and learning outcomes are increasingly becoming building performance issues.

A more connected strategy is needed

The growing focus on overheating in buildings also raises important policy questions. The UK needs a more joined-up strategy that connects climate adaptation, building performance and decarbonisation. We have previously called for consultation on a statutory maximum indoor air temperature for non-domestic buildings, recognising that thermal comfort is becoming a health, economic and societal issue rather than simply a facilities management concern.

It also reinforces a broader point we continue to make: building controls must be recognised as essential infrastructure within discussions around building performance, energy policy and climate resilience.

As temperatures are predicted to continue to rise as a result of global warming, operational performance must sit alongside energy efficiency in future building policy discussions. The industry has spent years discussing how to reduce emissions from buildings. That conversation remains vital. The next challenge is ensuring those buildings remain safe, comfortable and productive in a changing climate.

Smart building controls are no longer simply an energy efficiency measure. They are essential infrastructure for climate-resilient buildings, healthier indoor environments and better building performance.

If the UK is serious about preparing for a potentially hotter future, intelligent building operation must become part of the national adaptation strategy. The technology exists today. The challenge now is ensuring it is recognised, valued and deployed at the scale needed to support the buildings of tomorrow.