Why Are Smart Buildings Important?

With innovations in all areas of life , it is important to develop new paradigms to maintain growth and increase consumer satisfaction in a fast-paced business setting. Smart Building Solutions is an intelligent automated system designed to create a comfortable atmosphere that leads to efficient building activity and improved energy efficiency.

Building owners and operators around the world are searching for innovative ways to streamline operations and produce highly integrated and useful smart building systems. While owners and operators will have to spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to add smart building technology, such systems would definitely help to increase energy savings, minimize maintenance costs and boost overall building performance. Smart building technology investments usually pay for themselves within one to two years by generating energy savings and maintenance efficiencies. It is possible to make the right use of Internet of Things ( IoT), sensors, on-site gateways, distributed control and cloud analytics.

Mart buildings are built to function more effectively and – more importantly – to connect with and through their different structures. With the unparalleled proliferation of smart sensors, many traditional buildings are capable of detecting, tracking and calculating the exact state of virtually everything inside them. Smart buildings promote interaction between facilities and systems at new levels.

Why do we need Smart Buildings?

As the saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

The first step in creating a smarter building is to create a common organized wired and wireless infrastructure. The system should collect information on space, energy data and others through sensors or devices. Millions of devices will become part of the Internet of Things by 2020. Buildings with linked devices would be able to maximize space and minimize energy consumption.

The effect of smart buildings on our everyday lives is immense. Imagine a home or office that knows you as a person – whether you’re a homeowner, a resident, an employee or a supplier. Imagine an office that knows who is entering the building, what physical access they need, and what knowledge they may need. The house or office is familiar with your preferences for light , temperature and room form. Smart buildings make life simpler and more relaxed.

The benefits of an energy-smart building

Greater insights and visualization with big data

Smart buildings constantly gather vast volumes of data from across the building, break down statistics, and dramatically simplify key pieces of information, such as how much energy the building consumes at any point in time and what it costs. With this knowledge, smart technologies identify trends and open up opportunities for optimization — allowing stakeholders across the company to make educated, data-driven decisions and investments.

Responsive and dynamic spaces

The working conditions in the building vary from day to day, and sometimes from hour to hour. Smart buildings adapt rapidly to changes in temperature, occupancy and space usage. Imagine a building that switches on generators automatically during a major storm or that pre-cools hot days to reduce peak utility costs. Smart building systems can also be remotely operated, enabling facility managers to change equipment and building conditions from one plant to another, no matter where they are located.

Measurable impact

Organizations often have a hard time assessing the effect of energy saving improvements, which can cause challenges in getting decision-makers to support potential investments. Access to real-time energy data at the granular level (floor level, device level, equipment level) will expose the effect of these changes with greater precision. With a stronger sense of return on investment, companies can start small with enhancements and quickly build up a business case for similar changes that could be made to other facilities or enterprise-wide.

Predictive maintenance

Systems in your building can routinely have invisible defects, such as reduced airflow due to clogged air filters. If these faults are not found, the systems will waste a large amount of energy and have a shorter life span. Smart buildings automatically identify these faults, explain why they happened, and help you prioritize the problems that need to be resolved first — in the end, motivating workers to spend less time putting out fires by preventing them from beginning.

Opportunities for employee engagement

As energy data are visualized and shared, more people within an enterprise become aware of its effect on the bottom line. Informed workers are more likely to be aware of their own effect on energy efficiency and costs. Garlock Sealing Technologies, a high-performance manufacturer of fluid sealing and pipeline systems, has recently installed smart building technology. “Many people have been blown away by modeling and forecasting methods,” said Andy Geoghan, an electrical engineer. “The main thing is that we look at energy differently and find new ways to communicate with more people. Now people finally realize the value of resources and feel motivated to help control costs.

Comfortable, productive spaces

Smart buildings are creating a safe, more efficient and more enjoyable space for employees. With advanced climate and lighting controls, smart buildings can enhance indoor air quality and aesthetics. According to a report by the World Green Building Council, improving ventilation and indoor air quality can increase workers ‘ efficiency by 11 per cent, and improving lighting conditions can improve productivity by 23 per cent.