Tackling Climate Change with Drones用無人機(jī)應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化

It was a cold January night in 2021 when Amir Ashrafizadeh heard the shouts. The drone operator was conducting an audit1 of a 15-storey residential building on Queen Street in Toronto， capturing more than 1，500 thermal and visual images. The process was going smoothly—until a confused tenant called the police.

2021年1月一個(gè)寒冷的夜晚，阿米爾·阿什拉菲扎德聽到叫喊聲。在多倫多的女王大街上，這位無人機(jī)操作員正在對(duì)一幢15層的住宅樓進(jìn)行能源審計(jì)，其間拍攝了1500多張熱成像圖和可見光圖像。審計(jì)過程很順利，直到一位不明狀況的住戶報(bào)了警。

“I didn’t blame him，” says Ashrafizadeh. “It was two in the morning， and he saw these flashing lights outside his window and some guy on the ground with a remote control.” Happily， Ashrafizadeh’s paperwork was in order， so when the police arrived， he says， “they realized I wasn’t some creep.”

“我沒有責(zé)怪他。”阿什拉菲扎德說，“當(dāng)時(shí)已經(jīng)凌晨兩點(diǎn)，他看見自家窗外燈光閃爍，樓下還有個(gè)手拿遙控器的人。”所幸，阿什拉菲扎德手續(xù)齊全。他說，警察到了之后，“他們意識(shí)到我不是什么壞人”。

Far from it. Ashrafizadeh is the senior operations manager for QEA Tech， a Markham2， Ont.-based startup that uses drones to conduct energy audits of building envelopes—the spaces from the interior walls outward to the cladding， roof and glazing that make up the structure’s exterior. Window leaks， cracks and poor insulation can result in the overuse of heating and air-conditioning systems.

阿什拉菲扎德當(dāng)然不是壞人，他是基亞科技公司的高級(jí)運(yùn)營經(jīng)理。這家位于安大略省萬錦市的初創(chuàng)公司，主要業(yè)務(wù)是利用無人機(jī)對(duì)建筑圍護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行能源審計(jì)。圍護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)是自建筑內(nèi)墻向外延伸到建筑外部結(jié)構(gòu)的部分，而建筑的外部結(jié)構(gòu)又由外墻覆層、屋頂和玻璃構(gòu)成。窗戶漏風(fēng)、有裂縫、隔熱效果差會(huì)導(dǎo)致供暖和空調(diào)系統(tǒng)的過度使用。

By identifying those issues and quantifying the resulting energy loss， the aim is to help building managers improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. That night at the Queen Street apartment building， Ashrafizadeh found nearly 150 areas of concern.

發(fā)現(xiàn)以上問題并量化由此造成的能源損失，旨在幫助建筑管理人員提升能源效能，減少碳排放。在女王大街為住宅樓進(jìn)行能源審計(jì)的那個(gè)晚上，阿什拉菲扎德發(fā)現(xiàn)有將近150個(gè)點(diǎn)位需要關(guān)注。

Toronto’s buildings are responsible for 58 per cent of the city’s greenhouse gas （GHG） emissions， slightly above the global average. A significant portion of that comes from energy loss through the building envelope， making audits and retrofits essential for a city that plans to be net zero by 2040.

多倫多市內(nèi)建筑的溫室氣體排放量占整個(gè)城市的58%，略高于全球平均水平。其中很大一部分排放量源于建筑圍護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)的能源損失。因此，這個(gè)城市要想在2040年前實(shí)現(xiàn)凈零排放，能源審計(jì)和建筑改造必不可少。

“We’re going to have trouble meeting our climate targets if we don’t fix our buildings，” says Peyvand Melati， the CEO of QEA Tech. “An energy-efficient heating and cooling system is great， but if the building envelope is leaky， then all that efficiency literally goes out of the window3.”

“如果不修復(fù)建筑物，我們就難以實(shí)現(xiàn)氣候目標(biāo)。”基亞科技公司的首席執(zhí)行官佩萬德·梅拉蒂說，“高效節(jié)能的供暖和制冷系統(tǒng)固然好，但是如果建筑圍護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)出現(xiàn)裂縫，那所謂的效能也就真的從窗口溜走了。”

Traditional audits rely on blower door tests， which pressurize each floor to measure air leakage. But these audits can be intrusive and costly and require weeks to complete. By contrast， QEA Tech drones are sent on pre-programmed flights in the morning and at night to measure a building’s perform-ance at different times of day.

傳統(tǒng)的能源審計(jì)依靠風(fēng)機(jī)門測試，通過增加每個(gè)樓層的氣壓來檢測空氣泄露情況，但是這種方法既擾民，成本又高，而且往往需要數(shù)周時(shí)間才能完成。相比之下，基亞科技公司的無人機(jī)會(huì)按照預(yù)設(shè)程序早晚飛行，檢測建筑物一天當(dāng)中不同時(shí)段的性能。

Equipped with high-resolution thermal and visual cameras that capture thousands of images， a single drone needs less than three hours to collect data from a one-million-square-foot4 building. The images are then uploaded to the company’s proprietary AI software， which creates a 3D model of the building that is accurate up to a few centimetres. This precision not only allows Melati’s team to pinpoint cracks and moisture penetration， but also to quantify the amount of energy lost.

一架配備高分辨率熱成像相機(jī)和可見光相機(jī)的無人機(jī)可以拍攝數(shù)千張圖像，面積為100萬平方英尺的建筑物，只需不到3個(gè)小時(shí)便可收集完數(shù)據(jù)。拍攝的圖像上傳到公司專有的AI軟件中，隨即生成該建筑的三維模型，能夠精確到幾厘米。這種精確度不僅可以讓梅拉蒂的團(tuán)隊(duì)精準(zhǔn)定位裂縫和滲水點(diǎn)，還能將能源損失量化。

“What makes us unique is how we’re able to translate these issues into actual dollar figures，” says Melati， an electrical engineer by training who established himself in the cleantech sector through the success of his previous IoT and solar ventures. “There’s always been a perception in the industry that there’s a very long payback time for retro-fits. Now， we can run through all the different scenarios for retrofit options and accurately identify savings.”

“我們的獨(dú)特之處在于能夠?qū)⒛茉磽p失問題轉(zhuǎn)化為實(shí)實(shí)在在的金錢數(shù)額。”梅拉蒂說。他是一名受過專業(yè)培訓(xùn)的電氣工程師，通過之前在物聯(lián)網(wǎng)和太陽能領(lǐng)域的成功，奠定了自己在清潔技術(shù)產(chǎn)業(yè)內(nèi)的地位。“業(yè)內(nèi)一直有一種看法，認(rèn)為改造的投資回收期限很長。現(xiàn)在，我們可以模擬所有改造方案，精準(zhǔn)地算出節(jié)省的能源成本。”

Since launching， QEA Tech has completed energy audits of more than 500 buildings around the world， including 42 public libraries in Brooklyn. Their findings have shown that fully upgrading the building envelope not only lowers greenhouse gas emissions， but can also reduce energy costs by as much as 80 per cent. However， even just replacing all the windows on a highrise can cost millions， so building managers often use the findings to target the upgrades with the highest return on investment.

自成立以來，基亞科技公司已完成全球500多座建筑的能源審計(jì)，其中包括布魯克林的42座公共圖書館。他們的研究結(jié)果表明，全面升級(jí)建筑圍護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)不僅可以減少溫室氣體排放，還能降低高達(dá)80%的能源成本。然而，即使只是更換高層建筑的所有窗戶也要花費(fèi)數(shù)百萬美元，因此建筑管理人員經(jīng)常參考研究成果來鎖定投資回報(bào)率最高的升級(jí)方案。

Data-driven decisions will become all the more necessary considering much of Canada’s building stock comes from the 1980s and ’90s—before the establishment of LEED5 standards—and will still be in use in 2050， the country’s net-zero deadline. “If we want to meet those objectives， we need to not only build new buildings better，” says Peter McArthur， a lender and expert on cleantech ventures at the Royal Bank of Canada. “But in a greater order of magnitude， we need to retrofit the huge inventory of existing buildings to make them more efficient.”

加拿大現(xiàn)存的許多建筑都建于20世紀(jì)80年代和90年代（早于美國能源與環(huán)境設(shè)計(jì)先鋒認(rèn)證體系的建立），并且到2050年（該國實(shí)現(xiàn)凈零排放的最后期限）仍在使用。鑒于此，以數(shù)據(jù)為依據(jù)進(jìn)行決策將變得更加必要。“如果我們想要實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)，那就不僅需要把新建筑建得更好。”加拿大皇家銀行專門服務(wù)清潔技術(shù)企業(yè)的貸款人彼得·麥克阿瑟說，“更重要的是，我們還需要對(duì)大量現(xiàn)有建筑進(jìn)行改造，以提高它們的能效。”

In March 2023， QEA Tech completed its biggest project： two commercial districts in Ottawa， consisting of more than 200 privately owned buildings. Janice Ashworth， a section manager in the city’s climate change and resiliency office， says the plan is to create a public record of energy consumption. “There’s no road map for what we have to do. QEA Tech was uniquely qualified for this project—their ability to quantify massive amounts of data will help us develop a policy around the findings.”

2023年3月，基亞科技公司完成了成立以來最大的項(xiàng)目，對(duì)象是渥太華的兩個(gè)商業(yè)區(qū)，包括200多座私人建筑。渥太華氣候變化與適應(yīng)辦公室的部門主任賈尼絲·阿什沃思表示，該項(xiàng)目旨在創(chuàng)建一個(gè)能源消耗的公共記錄。“我們必須要做的事情沒有過往的指導(dǎo)方針可參考。對(duì)于這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，基亞科技公司的資質(zhì)獨(dú)一無二——他們量化大量數(shù)據(jù)的能力將幫助我們圍繞研究結(jié)果制定政策。”

Because people， buildings and infrastructure are so densely concentrated in cities， it makes urban centres particularly vulnerable to the increasing dangers of climate change. Flash floods， major storms and heat waves can affect millions of lives and cost billions of dollars. This is where innovative approaches are needed. But， startups like Melati’s are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to selling their services. While 80 per cent of procurement in Canada is done by municipalities， many lack the financial resources to make competitive bids and city staff are often wary of new technology.

由于人口、建筑和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施在城市分布得十分密集，城市中心特別容易受到氣候變化帶來的日益嚴(yán)重的威脅。山洪暴發(fā)、大風(fēng)暴和熱浪會(huì)影響數(shù)百萬人的生命，造成數(shù)十億美元的損失。這就是需要技術(shù)革新的地方。但是，就像梅拉蒂的“基亞科技”，初創(chuàng)公司在銷售服務(wù)時(shí)處于巨大的劣勢(shì)。加拿大80%的采購由市政當(dāng)局完成，但多地市政當(dāng)局缺乏進(jìn)行競爭性招標(biāo)的財(cái)政資源，而且市政工作人員往往對(duì)新技術(shù)持謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度。

“Aversion to risk is a huge barrier to the adoption of innovation. Despite the incredible benefits we’ve seen from new technologies， people still tend to go for the tried and true，” says McArthur. “Every day， we hear another declaration of a climate emergency， but how on Earth will that do anything unless we overcome our reluctance to try something new？”

“害怕風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是應(yīng)用新技術(shù)的巨大障礙。盡管我們從新技術(shù)中看到了驚人的好處，但人們?nèi)匀粌A向于墨守成規(guī)。”麥克阿瑟說，“我們每天都會(huì)聽到氣候緊急狀態(tài)的通告。如果我們克服不了不愿嘗試新事物的心理，那通告有什么用呢？”

Whatever the regulatory framework， Melati sees plenty of opportunities to scale up. “There are about 16 million buildings in Canada alone，” he says. “There’s a lot more for us to do.”

無論監(jiān)管規(guī)則如何，梅拉蒂都看到了大量擴(kuò)大應(yīng)用范圍的機(jī)會(huì)。“僅在加拿大就有大約1600萬座建筑。”他說，“我們還有很多事情要做。”

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>

1此處指能源審計(jì)（energy audit），即用能單位自己或委托從事能源審計(jì)的機(jī)構(gòu)根據(jù)相關(guān)節(jié)能法規(guī)和標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，對(duì)能源使用的物理過程和財(cái)務(wù)過程進(jìn)行檢測、核查、分析和評(píng)價(jià)的活動(dòng)。 2萬錦市，也譯作馬克姆市，有“加拿大高科技之都”的美譽(yù)。

3 go out of the window〈習(xí)語〉化為烏有；消失殆盡。文中取字面意思“從窗戶溜走”。

4約9.29萬平方米。

5 = Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 美國能源與環(huán)境設(shè)計(jì)先鋒，由美國綠色建筑委員會(huì)（U.S. Green Building Council）于1998年建立并推行的國際綠色建筑認(rèn)證體系。