The world of connected gadgetry continues expanding at a blinding pace, and there's now an entire industry dedicated to creating and promoting smart building technology. However, many business and building owners hesitate to adopt these so-called "IoT solutions," viewing them as mere gimmicks for wallet unfolding.
Considering that investing in IoT smart building technology requires some financial resources, it's no wonder that decision-makers have their doubts. Before buying anything, they first want to understand the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating this specific variety of applications into their buildings.
For those reading, be warned that office buildings equipped with smart applications have side effects that may include the following: a more comfortable environment for occupants, higher productivity, and dramatic savings on utility costs.
How Building Managers Can Benefit From Smart Building Technologies
Building managers live a challenging life. Not only is it their task to ensure everything's functioning, but they must also constantly look to cut costs and keep operations affordable.
While affordability may seem at odds with incorporating smart building components, the monetary savings can be massive over time. In addition, the amount of control and analytics provided to building managers by smart applications is immense.
Overall, a smart system provides accurate building intelligence, advising those in charge on how to do their job more efficiently. However, the advantages don't merely fall on those managing the building. The whole IoT ecosystem benefits from control systems forming more comfortable, safe, and more productive office spaces for occupants.
Here's how incorporating systemized automation technologies into buildings benefits an organization at all levels.
What Are Smart Building Technologies?
Before doling out your cash, it's essential to understand the purpose and function of smart building technologies. Essentially, smart building technology connects a range of appliances, from air conditioning and lighting sources over security monitors to windows, through a single software interface. That way, an internet-connected platform allows building managers to track and control each component separately and systemically.
Building management systems incorporate smart sensors into every building asset, maximizing traceable information and allowing for continuous improvement and immediate diagnosis of any issues. All the data from the IoT sensors funnels into the software, meaning there's always an updated information bank.
Additionally, smart building technology comes with intuitive software platforms, giving managers a control panel to analyze the health and efficiency of their entire building rather than keeping track of individual records for every part of the whole. Users can also take advantage of the software notifications and updates that alert them to emergencies or maintenance issues.
How Smart Building Systems Can Improve Commercial Buildings
A network of automated sensors and applications extends to any scenario and building type, residential and commercial. However, a smart tech system can bring a few specific benefits to commercial building owners:
Reduces Energy Consumption
In developed countries, commercial buildings use around 35% of a nation's electricity, which has an unquestionable negative effect on the environment and the business owners' budgets. Fortunately, smart building tech transforms the entire orientation of a building's electrical consumption, reducing the environmental impact and operational costs.
For example, smart tech tracks the number of people within a building and controls applications, like heating and cooling systems, to match power consumption with occupancy rates. On top of this, IoT connectivity allows managers to track which lights and appliances are in use over the Internet platform, meaning that it's possible to monitor these devices and switch off anything left on by accident.
Improves Indoor Air Quality
Connecting an HVAC system and indoor air quality sensors to smart tech is crucial to monitoring and improving the indoor environment. For example, building owners can proactively prevent mold outbreaks with the help of software that tracks ventilation, humidity levels, air filter conditions, radon, and carbon dioxide levels.
By running exhaustive and frequent air quality tests, building managers can protect buildings and equipment, reducing potential repair costs. They can also ensure the occupants enjoy quality air and improve their health by measuring humidity and pollutant levels and adjusting HVAC system settings accordingly.
Lowers Energy Costs
The U.S. Department of Energy concluded that smart building technology reduces, on average, 59% of energy costs for commercial buildings. That's possible because of the dynamic control over major electric devices and a more robust ability to switch between energy-saving modes. With an option to better optimize heating, cooling, and lighting by room or zone, building managers can ensure significant energy cost reductions.
The smart sensors also help show maintenance issues that lead to increased energy costs. A better and immediate insight into energy problems speeds up repairs and assists companies in lowering their monthly electric bills.
Improves Building Energy Efficiency
A building's heating and cooling alone uses about 40% of the total energy. Smart sensors attached to HVAC systems, lights, and cameras allow managers to access thermostats and light controls and adjust them according to every situation, reducing the total energy use.
These smart building applications are automated and built to run on eco-friendly and more efficient settings based on the data they collect from the environment. The more data gathered, the better the smart system can optimize and track assets to boost efficiency.
Automation technologies also work in favor of building occupants. As they track and optimize temperature across departments and floors, these technologies increase comfort levels for the people, which further positively affects employee productivity.
Protects Assets With Predictive Maintenance
Smart technology provides advanced analytics that use data to monitor equipment and assess its reliability. It helps create a consistent maintenance schedule, serving as an excellent method to increase the lifetime of essential assets while decreasing costly breakdowns. Not only does predictive maintenance improve reliability and save from the cost of downtime, but it also cuts maintenance bills.
Provides Actionable Insight for Building Owners
Perhaps smart tech's most valuable asset is the ability to collect a trove of digestible information for building owners to access at any point. Clear, actionable data helps owners address issues immediately and allows them to communicate with their building rather than go through costly and time-consuming investigations to determine what's wrong.
Better yet, many insights from smart tech appear as automated notifications and alerts, so those in control of the platform don't have to remember to check themselves.
Invest in Smart Building Solutions for Your IoT Smart Building Spaces
Investing in an innovative smart technology solution for your business or building could be the best way to cut costs and improve employee productivity. Why wait?
Each day, the costs of not implementing a smart tech system continue building on themselves. Conversely, the sooner you implement smart tech, the sooner the building starts working for you rather than the other way around.
Senseware offers best-in-class smart building technology products to improve office conditions, lower operation costs, and secure a healthy working environment. Check out our offering or contact us today for more information about how Senseware can help you use smart building technology to your advantage.