Measured energy and comfort outcomes from smart substations in district-heated apartment blocks: Real Estate Business Insights

¹ Tashkent State Technical University. Tashkent, Uzbekistan
² Economics department, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers. National Research University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
³ Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
⁴ Department of Management, University of Business and Science, Namangan, Republic of Uzbekistan
⁵ Tashkent State Transport University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
⁶ Department of International Public Law, Tashkent state transport university, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

^* Corresponding author’s: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 13 May 2026

Abstract

Aside from being one of the building types with the largest number of dwelling units in urban areas, district-heated apartment blocks offer a practical research setting for understanding the operational outcomes of smart substations in a real estate business context. The purpose of this study is to examine the measured energy and comfort performance of smart substations and then develop a decision framework for investment prioritization of the sensor-based monitoring systems for the property management sector in district-heated buildings. The purpose of this study is to give a structured basis for establishing performance benchmarks for the smart substation systems at apartment block level based on measured operational data. All of those performance indicators are tested first on their validity and reliability with district-heated apartment blocks as a sample of empirical analysis. These four latent constructs are then analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling method based on energy consumption and indoor comfort indicators to get the relative influence value. The final result of the research is: The stages of smart substation integration in the building lifecycle, dominant factors of the energy and comfort outcomes at different operating conditions based on the AHP weighting results, and the future investment priorities for smart upgrades in residential portfolios. The results of Analytical Hierarchy Process in the form of priority weights for the improvement of the smart substation system included energy savings and thermal comfort, and creating balanced value propositions. It is expected that through this framework, various stakeholders such as property owners, the facility management teams as well as the energy service providers will be able to collaborate in monitoring and performance evaluation to address the building operation issues in order to enhance long-term asset value.