A building was once a sunken cost, whereas today’s property owners look to energy efficient solutions and smart technology to realise a return on their property investment.
There is continued demand for intelligent HVAC systems, and integrated safety and security systems, which is expected to maintain global growth of the IoT (Internet of Things) intelligent buildings market in 2018.
We delve further into the three latest smart building technology trends so that you can be on the front foot when it comes to investment.
Operational Technology / Information Technology Convergence
Many of you will be familiar with wireless networking and standard communication protocols in the world of IT, but not within smart building solutions. IT/OT convergence is where IT systems are used for data-centric control of operational technology. Showing building owners how and when the property is used and how improvements can be made.
There is a huge transition toward convergence of IT and OT particularly within the utilities and manufacturing industries where time and motion statistics are particularly valuable.
Sophisticated Energy Control
Many businesses will already be transitioning from incandescent and fluorescent bulbs to LED lighting and upgrading their HVAC (Heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems, but the next energy revolution is already emerging.
Some organisations are implementing systems that allow for dynamic temperature control and room-by-room lighting for a much more sophisticated energy management solution. Not only will this tailor the working environment to each group of employees, it will also mean that building managers can get a better grasp of energy use and energy efficiencies from one centralised system.
This is an interesting trend which continues to develop momentum due to the introduction of the Government’s mandatory Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme.
Predictive Maintenance
Keeping check of maintenance schedules can be a challenge, especially if you have multiple schedules on for security, fire, safety, lighting, electrical technologies.
Facilities managers might therefore be interested to discover the increasing use of IoT sensors and other hardware devices ideal for reporting on the state of your building and the equipment housed within it.
These tools will make unexpected maintenance issues and associated downtime a thing of the past and help to increase planning and efficiencies.
