How can you transform your building into a smart building?

October 24, 2019

We are entering a new era regarding building construction. It is no longer enough for our homes and offices to provide shelter and keep us warm. With the evolution of technology today, it is possible to not only provide all the services that occupants need, but also to do so while making the building as efficient as possible. This minimizes costs and reduces the building's environmental impact over its lifetime.

This is a balance that will be essential for the future of companies. The age of smart buildings has arrived.

What is a smart building?

A smart building uses technology to share information about what's happening in the building between different systems to optimize its performance. This information is then used to automate various processes; including heating, ventilation or air conditioning, and security.

Under normal circumstances, lights may stay on in unused rooms or empty spaces continue to be heated while no one is in the area to take advantage of it. The main motivation behind the smart building is to avoid this type of energy and resource waste, both to reduce costs and to improve energy efficiency.

When talking about smart buildings, the general public first think of a building that intelligently monitors its energy consumption and is able to control it. But the concept is much broader than that. An intelligent building also has advantages in the areas of comfort, health and safety, among others.

How can you make your building intelligent?

To make a smart building, you need smart technology that focuses on user experience. If not, chances are no one will use your solution. A smart building relies first and foremost on connectivity. The smart side of the building consists of connected and secure applications which the user interacts with in real time.

Applications to optimize energy consumption are often a stepping stone. Buildings are responsible for one third of total energy consumption. This is an area of application where clear results can be obtained immediately.

The main characteristics of smart buildings

The systems are connected

The most fundamental characteristic of a smart building is that its central systems are interconnected. Therefore, water meters, pumps, fire alarms, power supply, lighting, etc. are all connected. This is what makes a building "intelligent" - the ability of its component systems to communicate with each other.

The use of sensors

Sensors are an integral part of smart buildings and play an important role in collecting data to inform resource allocation decisions. For example, attendance counters can be integrated into the building to provide information on where people are at certain times of the day and in high-traffic areas.

Automation

Information is collected and analyzed by the systems that have been implemented in a smart building - what is important is that it is done constantly and in real time. This continuous monitoring allows automated adjustments that can control conditions throughout a building.

Data

Intelligent buildings generate a large amount of valuable data on their own use, which ordinary buildings simply cannot or do not do.

data collected for analyze smart building

The benefits of smart buildings

They make occupants more productive

Air quality, physical comfort, safety, hygiene, lighting and even the availability of space can all be provided at an optimal level to offer occupants a better user experience.

Reduce energy consumption

Smart buildings are greener, more energy efficient and more profitable.

The end of approximation

The use of sensors and cameras provides accurate and clear data on building use, which can be converted into informed decision making. The use of the space can be improved on the basis of real data, as the building automatically generates active and living intelligence.

Significant operational savings

This includes the savings that can be achieved in terms of daily expenses and equipment maintenance. It also extends to the potential savings offered by the identification of underutilized resources, and the growth potential in unused areas.

Data protection and privacy

Equipment, such as thermal sensors, measures data without needing identifiable images of staff or the public.

The implementation of intelligent systems in a building has many advantages, such as profitability and improving the ecological aspect of the building. Intelligent buildings are relatively new today, but given the wide range of benefits they offer, they will soon become the norm.

The building of the future

With intelligent applications, you can monitor meeting room usage, availability of operating rooms, machines, etc. Inland navigation, in which an interactive application guides the visitor to a reserved parking space or meeting room, is also part of the offer.

The IoT (Internet of Things) is the main characteristic. These are primarily mobile applications that allow the user to communicate with the building. Most solutions are based on location data. Often, it is a question of knowing where a person is when they arrive, for example in the parking lot or in the building, and then providing them with the right information.

User experience vs Technology

The difficulty is to keep an eye on user experience. No one wants a technology that would only create more complexity. This is an important priority today.

Parking assistance

Parking is a major concern in this fast-paced world. Road users spend a lot of time searching for a vacant parking space.

Artificial Intelligence can play an important role in these cases through ground pressure sensors and cameras all around that can collect information about parking lots. A parking management tool, when powered by this type of data, will analyze parking space usage and provide complete information about empty parking spaces. By simply tapping on their smartphone, visitors will obtain this information about available parking spaces.

The app will help visitors find the right place to park. Such assistance will not only improve the visitor experience, but also contribute to energy savings. This is the power of artificial intelligence and smart buildings.

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