Smart Building Solutions

Benefits of Better Building Performance Due to Smart Building Solutions

There are a plethora of ways building performance can be enhanced by implementing smart building technology solutions. And it can lead to some key benefits.

Integrated Building Management Systems Offer Better Resource Management and Control

An integrated building management system takes an ecosystem of individual sub-systems and integrates them into one single comprehensive building management system under one unified platform. This enables these systems to interact. And it allows building managers to have greater control over building systems such as HVAC, Fire/Emergency Alarms, Security, Utility, and other systems. It can also help improve energy efficiency and boost building sustainability efforts.

Improve Energy Efficiency with Smart Building Solutions

By enabling systems to interact, a Smart Building integrated system allows systems that could have previously been working against each other to now operate in unison toward a specific goal. For example, a building security system could have alerted security to a row of open windows in a second floor conference room. And they may not have viewed it as an urgent threat, so no one reacted, leaving the windows open all afternoon on a hot summer day. But the open windows resulted in the building HVAC system working overtime, attempting to cool the room to a lower pre-set temperature. Thus, resulting in significant amounts of unnecessary energy consumption.

But with an integrated building management system, the two systems – Security and HVAC – would be able to interact, potentially adjusting the room temperature to shut off the air conditioning to the room, or by sending an alert to building personnel to close the windows. This is just one example of one way, on one single day that an integrated building management system can improve energy efficiency. Now think of all the other ways, on other days – those savings can really start adding up fast!

Smart Buildings Offer Enhanced Use Experiences

Better building performance can also lead to better use experiences for building tenants or occupants. Two smart building solutions that tend to be the most popular with building tenants or occupants are converged network solutions and location-based service offerings.

Converged Networks

Converged networks leverage fiber optic connectivity technologies to handle more bandwidth and a larger volume of traffic faster than traditional networks. Using a single unified fiber optic backbone, converged networks:

• Support multiple systems safely and securely.
• Allow voice, video, and data to travel over the same network, eliminating the need for separate networks for each technology.
• Deliver ethernet, wi-fi and cellular access at reasonable rates.
• Make it easy to incorporate new technology, providing faster availability and implementation.

Location-Based Services

Smart buildings capabilities can also incorporate location-based services to optimize energy consumption. By tying building utility systems to location-based sensors, the building can determine when spaces, such as conference rooms are not in use. It can use this information to perform energy-saving functions, like turning off utilities, such as lights, to reduce energy waste.

More advanced location-based service offerings can also:

• Enhance an individual’s comfort level by integrating location-based services with a smartphone app to allow a person to adjust utilities in their immediate vicinity, such as temperature and lighting controls.
• Help individuals to perform tasks more quickly and easily such as finding an open conference room nearby for a meeting.
• Help individuals locate something, such as a mobile piece of equipment.
• Quickly access important information, such as the location of the nearest exit in an emergency or something simpler, such as the location of the nearest restroom.

Plus, smart buildings not only reduce overall energy consumption, but efficient buildings can also reduce consumption and utility expenses for individual units. Cost-saving benefits such as these combined with advanced technology capabilities translate into a better overall experience!

And enhanced use experiences can also potentially result in financial benefits, such as building owners being able to keep vacancy rates low or being able to charge a premium rate for space.