As awareness about environmental issues like climate change, energy crises and depletion of non-renewable resources, more people are opting for options that would be beneficial for the environment. According to the UNEP, globally, 40% of energy consumption and up to 30% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions are caused by commercial buildings.
The latest smart building solutions use new technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, big data, data analytics, deep learning and artificial intelligence for the benefits of saving energy, reducing operational expenditures, increasing occupancy comfort, and meeting increasingly stringent global regulations and sustainability standards.
Smart building also adds to the brand’s image for the organisation. The largest companies and corporations in the world started paying more attention to their environmental protection policies and have begun to invest in energy-efficient alternatives.
A smart building offers more than energy efficiency. Here are three more reasons why smart buildings are the future of commercial buildings around the globe.
1) Smart Buildings are occupant focused
The Future smart buildings are essentially buildings that enrich the occupants’ experience by offering convenience, better health, security and comfort all while consuming lesser energy. Buildings can save up to 30% on their energy and HVAC bills, by using the latest Smart Building Technologies which are powered by IoT, Cloud Computing and applied Artificial Intelligence.
Occupant comfort would mean managing temperatures, lighting and humidity levels optimally according to individual occupants. Intelligent solutions like ours can balance and optimize the environment for the comfort of every occupant in
each zone. Optimal comfort translates into productivity and well-being, which means earnings not only from energy efficiency.
Indoor air quality is another important aspect of occupant experience. A study conducted by Harvard and Syracuse Universities showed that employees in “green condition” environments, with better ventilation, lower CO2 and emission levels, performed 61% better on cognitive tasks than in the standard office conditions. Smart Buildings, therefore, focus on the occupant’s experience and ensure that energy efficiency does not compromise comfort.
2) Smart Buildings offer operation Expense Reduction
A facility manager is always on the lookout for solutions that can bring down the operating costs for the building. And facility manager Smart Buildings go one step further. Not only do they offer savings on energy bills, but also reduce operating expenses. For example, the need for manual management and control of HVAC and lighting systems which can be a very time-consuming process for large buildings and allow the facilities team to concentrate on other work. Automation also reduces the possibility of human error. Smart buildings are easier to monitor and manage. Some smart building also technologies offer web/mobile apps that offer live dash-board and energy reports. Smart buildings with proactive systems would mean predictive maintenance as well. For instance, the service staff would be notified in advance to check and resolve issues pertaining to cooling before they even occur. Analytics available from sensors help reduce energy consumption and lower costs.
3) Operational Excellence and Ease
Smart Buildings are easier to monitor and manage as most smart solutions offer wireless systems. This means you can access and control your building from anywhere with your phone/tablet or PC. for examples a suite of web & mobile apps that uses machine learning to predictively and proactively manage your facilities indoor environment in addition to dash-boarding and energy reports. This enables facility managers to deliver smarter service and maintenance based on the insights derived from these detailed reports.Since most smart building solutions use wireless systems, they also offer faster installations. Lower installation costs combined with the savings from having no downtime means smart buildings offer a faster ROI as well.
A 2018 Harvard Business Review survey says 66 per cent of the organisations, it had reviewed, had efficient energy management as their key business driver, to invest in smart buildings. In conclusion, smart buildings make good business sense too.