Most buildings have inefficient and often overly expensive internal systems, which add to significant inefficiencies.
This means that it’s essential for organizations to use processes and technology such as IoT to minimize this, as it could lead to a lack of productivity and internal inefficiencies.
What is a smart building?
A smart building collects data about itself and how it’s used.
IoT sensors connect to the network and allow facilities managers to access real-time information that was once difficult to obtain.
For example, a building could make adjustments to the central heating or air conditioning based on how many people are in an area. This would mean that energy efficiency is increased.
Using this service is a great way to generate data for real-time insights into your content and to know how it’s being consumed, for how long, and whether the ROI makes sense.
Here’s a look at the 11 top benefits of smart buildings and why they’re so important:
1. Automation opportunities.
We’ve seen how systems and appliances are connected. With more and more devices being connected, we’re going to see a new level of automation.
Smart buildings are beneficial. They offer better energy efficiency and improved safety in a building fire or other emergency.
Suppose a break-in is detected on the security system out of hours. In that case, you could have lighting automatically turn on in that area, access control lock the intruder out, and the emergency services called – all completely automated and without individual intervention.
2. Quantifiable building insights.
Data-driven buildings are continuously collecting data from internal systems, such as energy usage and many other systems, including occupancy.
A smart building can monitor the energy used in different areas to see if it is being used efficiently. It can use this information to make more efficient and productive decisions that can improve the overall operation of the building and help improve the company’s overall performance.
3. Predictive maintenance.
Maintenance is vital to keep your equipment running efficiently and continues to be efficient, thus limiting the need for expensive replacements.
Smart buildings use the data collected from each connected system and its sensors to predict when each piece of equipment will need a maintenance check so nothing gets overlooked.
4. Better resource utilization.
Consider the resources of the workplace. Space. Workforce. Technology. Smart buildings make these resources and quantify them within broader facilities. The result is a better understanding of how people use those resources and information about how to make them more accessible or available.
5. Reduced energy consumption.
Smart buildings will change how we build buildings and can have enormous benefits for our businesses. They can reduce our company’s energy consumption, which will lower our carbon footprint and benefit the environment.
Smart buildings allow for efficient energy use by controlling how much of each building is heated, cooled, and lit. No part of a building is heating, cooling, or lighting when it isn’t being used.
6. Real-time building insights.
Having a smart building has many benefits. It gives you the ability to gain real-time data that can influence immediate and practical actions.
A building with a reactive form allows it to experience peak efficiency.
7. Reduced operational costs.
The result is a more efficient building with reduced costs due to better, more informed, and often automated decisions.
You can save energy by making your buildings more efficient. Smart buildings reduce energy usage by only using the required energy in the needed areas.
8. New workplace opportunities.
When your customers’ comfort and wellbeing are put at the forefront of your business, the benefits in productivity and customer satisfaction are clear.
Smart buildings help us manage critical environmental factors such as room temperature and lighting, improving indoor air quality and lighting levels for your occupants.
Many factors are measured to provide the best conditions possible for the patient, including carbon dioxide detection and ventilation flow.
9. Smart buildings result in increasing the asset value.
As smart devices become a part of the building, the asset value increases.
A smart energy efficiency measure ensures that the building is well maintained and thus, doesn’t depreciate over some time.
While there are several other options available, these smart applications add to the asset value of the structure by improving its quality and making it a preferred choice to go.
10. Smart buildings give birth to smart equipment.
The equipment used in the smart building is taken care of. One can keep a tab on their expiry and make timely renovations and adjustments if they know if they have to undergo an upgrade.
11. Smart buildings follow green norms.
It does not require rocket science to know that a smart infrastructure causes no harm to the environment by efficiently utilizing the available energy.
To show that it acts as per ecological consumption guidelines, there is no wasting of energy on its premises.
How to Start Your Smart Building Project
In other words, smart buildings provide a whole host of benefits that can positively impact the efficiency and productivity of the building, occupants, workforces, and businesses.
To collect all the relevant data about the smart buildings and do some form of machine learning to derive better insights, you need an IoT platform that can easily aggregate these data and manage the devices. This can be easily done with the FAVORIOT IoT platform. It has an open API that you (as an IoT developer) can use to send or receive the data and create new applications and analytics.
[Source: Siemens Smart Buildings]
