Smart Buildings: How Can They Benefit Businesses

There is a growing pressure for business owners to make their buildings more tech intuitive, productive, comfortable and secured. Aside from the usual four corners that we normally see inside, they now also have to consider how these structures can significantly affect the environment, their organization and the electrical grid. Future buildings should be able to connect the different factors in a functional, dynamic and integrated manner. Let’s take a quick look at smart buildings and how their use can be advantageous to businesses of all sizes.

How smart buildings work

Smart buildings are structures which have processes that are fully automated to control operations like security, lighting, air conditioning, ventilation and heating. They can gather data using microchips, actuators and sensors. The information to be collected will then be managed based on the services and functions of the business. The automated building systems will help facility managers, operators and owners boost the performance as well as reliability of their assets. In the end, the impact of the building on the environment is minimised and the space used is optimised.

How they are made

In order to make a building smart, the control systems and sensors are to be linked with the main systems like the chiller plants, fire alarms, heating, pumps, water meters, power meters and lighting. Furthermore, it is also possible to add the shading, access systems and elevators to the system.

Despite the absence of any set standard, we can surely say that integration is common in all smart buildings. The smart power grid and the smart technologies are to be linked and both should be responsive to each other.

When creating a smart building, there is no need to construct a new building or move to a new office location. Property owners can use the existing power in older structures for their building control solutions.

Key benefits to businesses

Making a building smart is advantageous for the owner as well as for the businesses and occupants inside. The main benefits include sustainability, productivity and energy savings. In the long run, building operations will improve, the employees will be more productive and the energy costs will be lower. Also, the decision making will be better and the push for sustainability will be stronger.

Conclusion

Essentially, the goal of every smart building is to boost the productivity of its occupations through sanitation, physical security, quality of air, thermal comfort and lighting. Its impact on the environment should be minimal and it should make the overall costs lower for the building owner. Today, smart buildings can be found worldwide including stadiums, educational facilities, hospitals, healthcare facilities and office buildings. The market for smart buildings is expected to grow with a 15.9% compound annual growth rate.

The author is a blogger and helps to create intelligent environments. He specialises in designing and creating innovative building lighting control system. Visit https://mysmart.com.au/ for more details.

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