Technology Tuesdays: Smart Buildings
Hello Partners!
First off, Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and your 2022 is off to a great start!
To start off 2022, I would like to look back for just a brief moment. Smart technology is something we have discussed in the past in Technology Tuesdays. For example, we have covered smart sockets, smart power strips, smart thermostats, smart glass, and even smart neighborhoods. However, a smart building is a concept that incorporates many of those technologies into one application.
So, what exactly is a smart building? Well, it is not a new concept. It has been around since the widespread ability to connect objects to the internet and gain benefit from the resulting interactions. A smart building begins with the concept of a building as a single cohesive system. Within that system, the individual parts work together to maximize energy efficiency and comfort of the occupants of the building.
To accomplish this, the individual parts are all connected to each other via the internet which allows them to receive and react to data and also allows the building operator to receive and react to data. Technologies such as sensors, building management systems, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality are some of the most common technologies used to create the smart building system.
There are a number of benefits to this system. For example, a smart building can give the building operator the ability to perform preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is much more efficient than reactionary maintenance and is much less disruptive. How can it do this? One way is artificial intelligence can detect that a piece of equipment is functioning abnormally by detecting changes in its usage patterns. This can be an early sign the machinery needs to be serviced or even replaced based on its age and useful life.
Another benefit, and a significant one, is automation. Automation is not a “set it and forget it” concept. However, automation can do wonders to increase energy efficiency by taking the guesswork and variability out of building operation. How does it achieve this? By ensuring that energy savings activities continue to function even when the building occupants are not thinking about it. A great example of this is the utilization of technologies such as occupancy sensors. When occupancy sensors are integrated with building management systems, they can do a lot more than just turn off the lights! They can also regulate heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and security systems.
Some of these concepts may sound like they come from a science fiction novel. However, they have been in use for some time and are being improved every day. Keep an eye out for them because they are coming to a building near you!
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