It’s fascinating how smart buildings in science fiction movies can figure out the needs of the protagonist easily. They start developing personalities and even turn against the occupants who become overprotective about the house. In reality, smart buildings are slightly different. Sure, they are smart but not as smart as the ones you see in the movies.
According to research, there will be more than 11.57 billion devices that will connect to the Internet of Things by the end of 2022. They also predict a steep rise in the number of smart buildings. Experts may measure the efficiency of these smart buildings by analyzing how they improve the experiences of users. Moreover, the Internet of Things is the talk of the town these days, especially the way it integrates into various devices and makes them secure for businesses.
Meaning of Smart
The integration of IoT is allowing smart homes and smart buildings to incorporate various features to make living easier for the occupants, such as computers, alarms, appliances, temperature, lighting, and tons of other things. You can control these devices with your voice, or they may have programming sensors that understand what you need before you provide the instructions.
The range of technologies implemented in smart buildings is getting wider every year. For example, smartwatches not only measure your heart rate and the kilometers you walk. They also allow you to operate the thermostat even when you are not around.
The Intelligent Enterprise
Smart enterprise buildings come with more facilities compared to smart homes, such as comprehensive safety features, detailed reporting of the usage and energy consumption of appliances in different rooms, and meeting room automation. New features may also come up with time.
If you are a facilities manager, you may not need to think about ventilation, air conditioning, heating, or lighting anymore as building automation will operate them. They will switch the systems on and off according to the needs of the people in the building.
Benefits all around
It’s not just you who will enjoy the benefits of smart technologies in your smart building. Here are a few more reasons why a smart building is beneficial for your business:
Your employees
The automated process will make it easier for your employees to work as it saves time. Moreover, your employees will feel much safer working in the building, thanks to automated sensors, alarms, and other advanced safety features.
Your customers
The controlled environment of a smart building may be much more comfortable and appealing to your customers. Smart buildings can allow personalized access to visitors. For example, they can generate smart badges that allow your guests entry into your office.
Your company
A smart building can prevent energy wastage, meaning you can save significantly on monthly energy bills. It can control the power consumption and temperature of various appliances based on their average usage and occupancy in different rooms. Additionally, the safety and security features that smart buildings offer reduce liability. Most importantly, a smart building can predict when to maintain different appliances, thus preventing them from breaking down.
The environment
As already mentioned, smart buildings are energy efficient. As a result, they can reduce as much as 30 to 40% carbon footprint, thus making the Earth a greener place. The sensors in smart buildings are not just efficient at saving energy; they also monitor the air quality of the building and try to improve it from time to time.
The smart technologies in these buildings can also help your company’s managers and executives to make better decisions. Smart buildings can record employee preferences and make adjustments to the environment so that the workplace suits the respective employees, thus allowing them to work freely.
