• • • SMART BUILDINGS & IOT • • •
Smart buildings, IoT, and the efficiency evolution
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has hugely increased demand for smart building technologies, says Billal Vindhani, digital solutions expert at Johnson Controls UK & Ireland
F
or building managers and owners who had to keep buildings open, or who are now reopening, smart technologies were suddenly
a must-have. Our research found that 87% of building managers in the UK said smart technologies helped keep their buildings safe, while a third said it was critical or essential. Now, as buildings reopen or readjust to post-
pandemic needs, buildings are looking to be smarter not only to keep occupants safe, but also to increase their sustainability credentials. This is more urgent than many might think – just 35% of building leaders we surveyed said they considered their buildings to be sustainable. Right now, the energy-saving solutions most
buildings have are simply not enough. The need for a more sophisticated, tech-enabled solution is only growing: our research found that while health and safety is building managers’ biggest priority this year, in just five years energy efficiency will overtake it, and in ten years’ time, sustainability and net-zero targets will be number one.
Adopting the right tech Achieving health and safety goals and sustainability targets can go hand in hand. One example of a smart technology that focuses on both outcomes, is technologies measuring and controlling occupancy. To focus on issues like air quality and infection control, we need to be constantly monitoring spaces and now be able to predict occupancy levels. This happens through a network of IoT-enabled smart sensors throughout a building, in every meeting room, corridor, kitchen – wherever occupants spend time, sensors can monitor the space performance.
To make the most of these sensors, building and
facilities managers need the necessary data and technologies to understand the rooms and layouts within their buildings, so they can make the most of the building. From a health and safety perspective, they can allocate spaces according to the air change rate – deciding who works where based on where it will be healthiest for them. This ensures indoor air quality is optimal, helping limit the spread of infection. When it comes to energy efficiency, the benefits
are huge. Think about how a smart building operates now: a room clears of people and the lights click off – with no one present, there’s no need for illumination, saving a little power. Clever. But more often than not, the projector is still running, projecting an image nobody is seeing, and the HVAC remains on, seeping unnecessary air into an empty room. Not so clever, and certainly not economical – or good for the planet. In an IoT-enabled smart building, sensors are
constantly checking the room for activity. Detecting none, they send word to a central, autonomous operating system, and in a blink of an eye, it has computed all possible sources of energy waste. It then shuts off any unnecessary systems or keeps them in a low-burden eco mode, saving energy and costs. That’s just one example – the possibilities are to fully optimise a buildings performance are real.
Long-term strategy While smart technologies can certainly provide instant efficiency gains, they can also help to inform longer-term sustainability strategies. A building platform that gathers data from the
building management system and other IoT- enabled smart technologies across a building or estate is the key to helping building decision- makers understand where improvements need to be made. But to make the most of the solutions you implement, and not simply have a selection of point solutions working in siloes across an estate, you need the tech that sits across it all. A platform that is a flexible, scalable, and cloud- based – that gathers data from disparate sources across silos, stores it securely, and standardises the data – is essential. Applications that use a platform like this
have another important benefit for energy efficiency, and longer-term sustainability goals. They help building professionals optimise their resources through predictive maintenance, extending the life of their equipment – especially HVAC equipment. IoT sensors on chillers, for example, can flag to
facilities or engineering teams when upgrades or fixes are needed through a predictive layer of analytics. Furthermore, with the advancement of AI and ML you can fully automate the entire plantroom operation without human intervention. This means organisations can not only maintain a comfortable and safe environment, but they can do so efficiently, reducing a building’s environmental impact. This technology exists today, with the ability to deliver base line energy savings as well as operational efficiencies, delivering a tangible return on investment on both new and existing buildings. What’s more, it has a positive impact on employee experience, by improving the uptime and availability of critical assets.
The long-term impact Technologies like IoT, AI and ML in buildings has the potential to transform the value delivered throughout its entire lifecycle – from the early- stage design, through to the procurement and construction phase. Understanding that the total cost of ownership
is mostly in operations and asset management, AI can transform business models in operating buildings. It can align them more to the tenant organisation’s business, mission and culture, ensure they deliver an elevated occupant experience, and crucially, help organisations meet both short and long-term energy efficiency and sustainability goals. In turn, this has major benefits for the wider
business, keeping shareholders, employees, customers, and regulators happy – and ensuring each building is having a positive impact on the planet.
14 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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