Intelligent Buildings
Why the IoT is turning smart buildings from concept to reality
computers. The new opportunity is to connect everyday objects in buildings to provide the intelligence needed to improve services and reduce costs without the budgets and complexity of integration with existing Building Management Systems. Many of the buildings in which we live, work and play are showing signs of this shift toward connectivity. So-called ‘smart buildings’ are no longer a distant concept – they are already starting to appear on our high streets, industrial estates, residential roads and in our business districts – but what technology do we need to make this transition complete?
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Information from connected “things” is the key
Connecting “things” to provide information that translates into better decisions and services is a key part of turning smart buildings from concept to reality. Views vary from expert to expert, but most agree that there will be a massive increase in the number of connected “things” or devices by 2020. Cisco predicts there will be around 50 billion connected devices in existence by 2020, while Gartner think the figure will be closer to 25 billion. Either way, all of these ”things” – whether they’re smoke alarms, toasters or doors – will be constantly generating and sending data about how they’re used, where they are and the state of the nearby environment. Providing it can be collected and processed correctly, this data will create all manner of new opportunities for homeowners, tenants, facilities managers and building owners to make life easier, safer and cheaper, via what’s known as the Internet of Things (IoT). For the uninitiated, the IoT makes it possible for everyday objects to communicate with each other so that data can be shared quickly and easily without any need for human interaction. In contrast, the Internet today is almost exclusively used to connect people to people (or businesses) via web-sites and social channels. It may seem like a simple idea, but the IoT is an ambitious concept. It’s an idea that’s been around for a few years; however its development has
Building & Facilities Management – March 2015
he dream of a fully connected world is moving into an exciting new phase; one that goes way beyond smart phones and
Sean Weir, Business Development Director for Smart and M2M at Arqiva
undoubtedly been hindered by a lack of understanding, accessibility and infrastructure. While its potential has long been clear, real-life applications have been small in number up until now – largely because of the high costs associated with relevant technologies. This is now changing, thanks to recent advancements in communications and data-sharing technologies.
Smarter buildings improve services Imagine a building that knows who is in each office, can advise secretaries of available meeting space, understands who needs special access or permissions while they’re there, what devices they have with them and what information they will need for that day’s work. Imagine if a building could pro-actively monitor its energy use and control its environment based on how it is actually being used hour- by-hour. By providing connectivity that improves office and worker efficiency, it will increase the overall performance of that business, improving services for those customers and ultimately benefit the entire economy. Many office workers know that it is not only an improved layout of the building and their desks that could improve efficiency and staff productivity, but the little things, done seamlessly, can also improve our day-to-day office lives; from soap dispensers being re-filled when they’re low, to the coffee supply in the kitchen being replenished. For the facilities manager in charge of that office, simple sensors attached to everyday devices can monitor the levels of consumables – like the soap in the dispenser – to monitor when these are running out, saving the time and cost involved in manually checking stock levels. A similar principle applies to
maintenance. A key challenge is to know if things (such as lights or photocopiers) are working properly and when they might need to be repaired or replaced. Again, sensor devices can communicate if, say, the temperature of water in a tap is too high or if part of a heating system is about to fail. This means maintenance teams can focus on the priority tasks and reduce the time spent on manually checking that equipment is
still working. Even better, if faults can be detected before equipment fails, this will result in an improved service – and
more pleasant day-to-day life – for the occupants of each building. It is not only the private sector that can reap the rewards. Public sector buildings, such as hospitals and schools, will become more intelligent over time, increasing both productivity and efficiency. The increased use of connected equipment in healthcare facilities, for instance, helps to locate essential medical devices and promises to not only bring equipment maintenance costs down but also to free up the invaluable time and attention of nursing staff and GPs. This, in turn, will go some way to ensuring patients receive the care they need and pay for with their taxes. Whilst talk of the IoT in a residential context usually focuses on intelligent fridges and smart TVs, there is much more to it than this. We’re starting to see the safety and security of homeowners increase as certain service providers and equipment manufacturers begin to embrace connectivity. Insurance companies in some parts of Europe, for example, have started relying on sensors to monitor policyholders’ smoke alarms to check if batteries may need to be replaced soon (a real issue given that many fires happen in homes with smoke alarms that aren’t working). Not only does this make it easier to minimise the risk of damage, it also gives the consumer added peace of mind and potentially lowers their insurance costs.
Looking ahead
The transition to a smarter way of living and working is in no way complete. Harnessing the IoT is by no means without its challenges, ranging from establishing an effective and cost efficient communications network to collecting, managing and making sense of the vast amounts of new data it delivers. However, the biggest of these is going to be changing people’s mind-sets towards the technology, so that it’s not seen as a quirky innovation, but rather as a robust and proven infrastructure, essential to making our building environment more efficient.
www.arqiva.com
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