Going Beyond The Thermostat \u2014 Why Smart Buildings Make Sense<\/h1><\/div>![\"The](\"https:\/\/iesmartsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/smart-building-min.png\" "\\"smart-building\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div>What Is A Smart Building<\/h2><\/div>A smart building expands on a concept we covered in an earlier blog know as integrated workplace management systems. In short, a smart building using senors and computer automation to analyze a building in real time and can adjust the power, temperature, and lighting based on real-time inputs or a predetermined schedule. While many buildings and organizations can be retrofitted to use an integrated workplace management system, a smart building has been designed from the ground up to feed data into a computer system and optimize for a variety of objectives, including saving a significant amount of money.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Benefits Of Smart Buildings<\/h3><\/div>A smart buildings takes the principle of a programmable thermostat and takes it to an advanced state of sophistication, including optimizing through data-driven algorithms (aka machine learning). With a network of integrated sensors and building automation systems, you can save money, reduce environmental impact, and even increase the comfort of building occupants.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Predictive Maintenance<\/h4><\/div>Especially when tied to an integrated workplace management system<\/a>, a smart building is able to monitor the service life of components within the HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. Because a smart building is designed to \u201csee\u201d these systems 24\/7 and moderate their usage, it\u2019s very straightforward to anticipate when a piece of equipment needs service. A smart building can also make it easier to identify when a piece of equipment is breaking or has broken outside of scheduled maintenance. The central computer flags system anomalies and can notify the responsible parties in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>Productivity<\/h4><\/div>The goal of any facilities manager is to ensure a comfortable working environment for building occupants (balancing that with energy efficiency and sustainability, but we\u2019ll get to that next). A smart building is capable of monitoring a variety of inputs, including weather forecasts to adjust interior temperature for optimum comfort. Similarly with lighting: as ambient lighting changes, due to weather or time of day, the building can increase or decrease lighting when and where it makes sense. And while you\u2019ll never find a temperature that is guaranteed to please everyone (that\u2019s just how humans are made), you can control for the best case scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Energy Saving<\/h4><\/div>Especially for buildings that hold LEED certifications (or if that\u2019s your goal for a new building), the ability to optimize resource usage such as electricity and water is critical. A smart building makes this easier. A smart building can also permit you to work with the local or regional power grid to optimize usage and even sell back excess capacity. This reduces the operational overhead of the building and can greatly affect your bottom line.<\/p>\n
Although smart buildings probably wouldn\u2019t have solved the power crisis resulting from the rare winter storm that hit central Texas in February of 2021, it illustrates how weather can severely affect usage and even lead to painful utility bills as a result. A smart building could help you mitigate these risks in addition to helping you run a more efficient operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Key Smart Building Technologies<\/h2><\/div>Smart building tech doesn\u2019t mean Amazon Alexa devices that occupants can use to turn off lights and turn the heat up. In order for a smart building to work achieve maximum benefit, you need to design the right systems before the first shovel breaks ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Intelligent lighting<\/h3><\/div>Motion sensors, LEDs, and even bulbs that can modulate wavelength based ambient light are all things you want to consider. You won\u2019t eliminate light switches all together, you can create a network of lights that can be turned on and off from a central control point and even sense when it\u2019s time to shut off due to disuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Security<\/h3><\/div>![\"Security](\"https:\/\/iesmartsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/southwestern-energy-campus-interior-security-check-1.jpg\" "\\"southwestern-energy-campus-interior-security-check-1\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div>If a critical system in the building fails, that can be a major security issue. A smart building allows your security network<\/a> to speak to the rest of the building and alert the right people if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>HVAC<\/h3><\/div>Although largely unnoticed, unless something is broken, HVAC is one of the areas where smart buildings shine the brightest. The ability to spin up or idle a chiller and still keep the building at an optimal temperature translates into major savings. There are many factors that contribute to the internal temperature of a building, be it sunlight, electrical lights, human bodies, or computers \u2014 all of which can be monitored through different sensors that feed into the algorithm that tweaks the settings of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Digital Displays<\/h3><\/div>![\"Employees](\"https:\/\/iesmartsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Small-Conference-Room-e1616965657630.png\" "\\"Small")
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<\/span><\/div>What Is A Smart Building<\/h2><\/div>A smart building expands on a concept we covered in an earlier blog know as integrated workplace management systems. In short, a smart building using senors and computer automation to analyze a building in real time and can adjust the power, temperature, and lighting based on real-time inputs or a predetermined schedule. While many buildings and organizations can be retrofitted to use an integrated workplace management system, a smart building has been designed from the ground up to feed data into a computer system and optimize for a variety of objectives, including saving a significant amount of money.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Benefits Of Smart Buildings<\/h3><\/div>A smart buildings takes the principle of a programmable thermostat and takes it to an advanced state of sophistication, including optimizing through data-driven algorithms (aka machine learning). With a network of integrated sensors and building automation systems, you can save money, reduce environmental impact, and even increase the comfort of building occupants.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Predictive Maintenance<\/h4><\/div>Especially when tied to an integrated workplace management system<\/a>, a smart building is able to monitor the service life of components within the HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. Because a smart building is designed to \u201csee\u201d these systems 24\/7 and moderate their usage, it\u2019s very straightforward to anticipate when a piece of equipment needs service. A smart building can also make it easier to identify when a piece of equipment is breaking or has broken outside of scheduled maintenance. The central computer flags system anomalies and can notify the responsible parties in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>Productivity<\/h4><\/div>The goal of any facilities manager is to ensure a comfortable working environment for building occupants (balancing that with energy efficiency and sustainability, but we\u2019ll get to that next). A smart building is capable of monitoring a variety of inputs, including weather forecasts to adjust interior temperature for optimum comfort. Similarly with lighting: as ambient lighting changes, due to weather or time of day, the building can increase or decrease lighting when and where it makes sense. And while you\u2019ll never find a temperature that is guaranteed to please everyone (that\u2019s just how humans are made), you can control for the best case scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Energy Saving<\/h4><\/div>Especially for buildings that hold LEED certifications (or if that\u2019s your goal for a new building), the ability to optimize resource usage such as electricity and water is critical. A smart building makes this easier. A smart building can also permit you to work with the local or regional power grid to optimize usage and even sell back excess capacity. This reduces the operational overhead of the building and can greatly affect your bottom line.<\/p>\n
Although smart buildings probably wouldn\u2019t have solved the power crisis resulting from the rare winter storm that hit central Texas in February of 2021, it illustrates how weather can severely affect usage and even lead to painful utility bills as a result. A smart building could help you mitigate these risks in addition to helping you run a more efficient operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Key Smart Building Technologies<\/h2><\/div>Smart building tech doesn\u2019t mean Amazon Alexa devices that occupants can use to turn off lights and turn the heat up. In order for a smart building to work achieve maximum benefit, you need to design the right systems before the first shovel breaks ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Intelligent lighting<\/h3><\/div>Motion sensors, LEDs, and even bulbs that can modulate wavelength based ambient light are all things you want to consider. You won\u2019t eliminate light switches all together, you can create a network of lights that can be turned on and off from a central control point and even sense when it\u2019s time to shut off due to disuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Security<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>If a critical system in the building fails, that can be a major security issue. A smart building allows your security network<\/a> to speak to the rest of the building and alert the right people if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>HVAC<\/h3><\/div>Although largely unnoticed, unless something is broken, HVAC is one of the areas where smart buildings shine the brightest. The ability to spin up or idle a chiller and still keep the building at an optimal temperature translates into major savings. There are many factors that contribute to the internal temperature of a building, be it sunlight, electrical lights, human bodies, or computers \u2014 all of which can be monitored through different sensors that feed into the algorithm that tweaks the settings of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Digital Displays<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div>
A smart building expands on a concept we covered in an earlier blog know as integrated workplace management systems. In short, a smart building using senors and computer automation to analyze a building in real time and can adjust the power, temperature, and lighting based on real-time inputs or a predetermined schedule. While many buildings and organizations can be retrofitted to use an integrated workplace management system, a smart building has been designed from the ground up to feed data into a computer system and optimize for a variety of objectives, including saving a significant amount of money.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Benefits Of Smart Buildings<\/h3><\/div>A smart buildings takes the principle of a programmable thermostat and takes it to an advanced state of sophistication, including optimizing through data-driven algorithms (aka machine learning). With a network of integrated sensors and building automation systems, you can save money, reduce environmental impact, and even increase the comfort of building occupants.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Predictive Maintenance<\/h4><\/div>Especially when tied to an integrated workplace management system<\/a>, a smart building is able to monitor the service life of components within the HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. Because a smart building is designed to \u201csee\u201d these systems 24\/7 and moderate their usage, it\u2019s very straightforward to anticipate when a piece of equipment needs service. A smart building can also make it easier to identify when a piece of equipment is breaking or has broken outside of scheduled maintenance. The central computer flags system anomalies and can notify the responsible parties in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>Productivity<\/h4><\/div>The goal of any facilities manager is to ensure a comfortable working environment for building occupants (balancing that with energy efficiency and sustainability, but we\u2019ll get to that next). A smart building is capable of monitoring a variety of inputs, including weather forecasts to adjust interior temperature for optimum comfort. Similarly with lighting: as ambient lighting changes, due to weather or time of day, the building can increase or decrease lighting when and where it makes sense. And while you\u2019ll never find a temperature that is guaranteed to please everyone (that\u2019s just how humans are made), you can control for the best case scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Energy Saving<\/h4><\/div>Especially for buildings that hold LEED certifications (or if that\u2019s your goal for a new building), the ability to optimize resource usage such as electricity and water is critical. A smart building makes this easier. A smart building can also permit you to work with the local or regional power grid to optimize usage and even sell back excess capacity. This reduces the operational overhead of the building and can greatly affect your bottom line.<\/p>\n
Although smart buildings probably wouldn\u2019t have solved the power crisis resulting from the rare winter storm that hit central Texas in February of 2021, it illustrates how weather can severely affect usage and even lead to painful utility bills as a result. A smart building could help you mitigate these risks in addition to helping you run a more efficient operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Key Smart Building Technologies<\/h2><\/div>Smart building tech doesn\u2019t mean Amazon Alexa devices that occupants can use to turn off lights and turn the heat up. In order for a smart building to work achieve maximum benefit, you need to design the right systems before the first shovel breaks ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Intelligent lighting<\/h3><\/div>Motion sensors, LEDs, and even bulbs that can modulate wavelength based ambient light are all things you want to consider. You won\u2019t eliminate light switches all together, you can create a network of lights that can be turned on and off from a central control point and even sense when it\u2019s time to shut off due to disuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Security<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>If a critical system in the building fails, that can be a major security issue. A smart building allows your security network<\/a> to speak to the rest of the building and alert the right people if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>HVAC<\/h3><\/div>Although largely unnoticed, unless something is broken, HVAC is one of the areas where smart buildings shine the brightest. The ability to spin up or idle a chiller and still keep the building at an optimal temperature translates into major savings. There are many factors that contribute to the internal temperature of a building, be it sunlight, electrical lights, human bodies, or computers \u2014 all of which can be monitored through different sensors that feed into the algorithm that tweaks the settings of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Digital Displays<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div>
A smart buildings takes the principle of a programmable thermostat and takes it to an advanced state of sophistication, including optimizing through data-driven algorithms (aka machine learning). With a network of integrated sensors and building automation systems, you can save money, reduce environmental impact, and even increase the comfort of building occupants.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Predictive Maintenance<\/h4><\/div>Especially when tied to an integrated workplace management system<\/a>, a smart building is able to monitor the service life of components within the HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. Because a smart building is designed to \u201csee\u201d these systems 24\/7 and moderate their usage, it\u2019s very straightforward to anticipate when a piece of equipment needs service. A smart building can also make it easier to identify when a piece of equipment is breaking or has broken outside of scheduled maintenance. The central computer flags system anomalies and can notify the responsible parties in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>Productivity<\/h4><\/div>The goal of any facilities manager is to ensure a comfortable working environment for building occupants (balancing that with energy efficiency and sustainability, but we\u2019ll get to that next). A smart building is capable of monitoring a variety of inputs, including weather forecasts to adjust interior temperature for optimum comfort. Similarly with lighting: as ambient lighting changes, due to weather or time of day, the building can increase or decrease lighting when and where it makes sense. And while you\u2019ll never find a temperature that is guaranteed to please everyone (that\u2019s just how humans are made), you can control for the best case scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Energy Saving<\/h4><\/div>Especially for buildings that hold LEED certifications (or if that\u2019s your goal for a new building), the ability to optimize resource usage such as electricity and water is critical. A smart building makes this easier. A smart building can also permit you to work with the local or regional power grid to optimize usage and even sell back excess capacity. This reduces the operational overhead of the building and can greatly affect your bottom line.<\/p>\n
Although smart buildings probably wouldn\u2019t have solved the power crisis resulting from the rare winter storm that hit central Texas in February of 2021, it illustrates how weather can severely affect usage and even lead to painful utility bills as a result. A smart building could help you mitigate these risks in addition to helping you run a more efficient operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Key Smart Building Technologies<\/h2><\/div>Smart building tech doesn\u2019t mean Amazon Alexa devices that occupants can use to turn off lights and turn the heat up. In order for a smart building to work achieve maximum benefit, you need to design the right systems before the first shovel breaks ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Intelligent lighting<\/h3><\/div>Motion sensors, LEDs, and even bulbs that can modulate wavelength based ambient light are all things you want to consider. You won\u2019t eliminate light switches all together, you can create a network of lights that can be turned on and off from a central control point and even sense when it\u2019s time to shut off due to disuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Security<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>If a critical system in the building fails, that can be a major security issue. A smart building allows your security network<\/a> to speak to the rest of the building and alert the right people if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>HVAC<\/h3><\/div>Although largely unnoticed, unless something is broken, HVAC is one of the areas where smart buildings shine the brightest. The ability to spin up or idle a chiller and still keep the building at an optimal temperature translates into major savings. There are many factors that contribute to the internal temperature of a building, be it sunlight, electrical lights, human bodies, or computers \u2014 all of which can be monitored through different sensors that feed into the algorithm that tweaks the settings of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Digital Displays<\/h3><\/div><\/span><\/div>
Especially when tied to an integrated workplace management system<\/a>, a smart building is able to monitor the service life of components within the HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. Because a smart building is designed to \u201csee\u201d these systems 24\/7 and moderate their usage, it\u2019s very straightforward to anticipate when a piece of equipment needs service. A smart building can also make it easier to identify when a piece of equipment is breaking or has broken outside of scheduled maintenance. The central computer flags system anomalies and can notify the responsible parties in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div> The goal of any facilities manager is to ensure a comfortable working environment for building occupants (balancing that with energy efficiency and sustainability, but we\u2019ll get to that next). A smart building is capable of monitoring a variety of inputs, including weather forecasts to adjust interior temperature for optimum comfort. Similarly with lighting: as ambient lighting changes, due to weather or time of day, the building can increase or decrease lighting when and where it makes sense. And while you\u2019ll never find a temperature that is guaranteed to please everyone (that\u2019s just how humans are made), you can control for the best case scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div> Especially for buildings that hold LEED certifications (or if that\u2019s your goal for a new building), the ability to optimize resource usage such as electricity and water is critical. A smart building makes this easier. A smart building can also permit you to work with the local or regional power grid to optimize usage and even sell back excess capacity. This reduces the operational overhead of the building and can greatly affect your bottom line.<\/p>\n Although smart buildings probably wouldn\u2019t have solved the power crisis resulting from the rare winter storm that hit central Texas in February of 2021, it illustrates how weather can severely affect usage and even lead to painful utility bills as a result. A smart building could help you mitigate these risks in addition to helping you run a more efficient operation.<\/p>\n<\/div> Smart building tech doesn\u2019t mean Amazon Alexa devices that occupants can use to turn off lights and turn the heat up. In order for a smart building to work achieve maximum benefit, you need to design the right systems before the first shovel breaks ground.<\/p>\n<\/div> Motion sensors, LEDs, and even bulbs that can modulate wavelength based ambient light are all things you want to consider. You won\u2019t eliminate light switches all together, you can create a network of lights that can be turned on and off from a central control point and even sense when it\u2019s time to shut off due to disuse.<\/p>\n<\/div> If a critical system in the building fails, that can be a major security issue. A smart building allows your security network<\/a> to speak to the rest of the building and alert the right people if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div> Although largely unnoticed, unless something is broken, HVAC is one of the areas where smart buildings shine the brightest. The ability to spin up or idle a chiller and still keep the building at an optimal temperature translates into major savings. There are many factors that contribute to the internal temperature of a building, be it sunlight, electrical lights, human bodies, or computers \u2014 all of which can be monitored through different sensors that feed into the algorithm that tweaks the settings of the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>Productivity<\/h4><\/div>
Energy Saving<\/h4><\/div>
Key Smart Building Technologies<\/h2><\/div>
Intelligent lighting<\/h3><\/div>
Security<\/h3><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>HVAC<\/h3><\/div>
Digital Displays<\/h3><\/div>
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