Smart sensors offer a thorough view of building operations and provide vital insights into how energy is being used. Businesses can learn what devices are using energy, how much, and for how long. But IoT technology can provide more than just information, it can also help business owners manage the devices, like automating lights, adjusting thermostats based on time of day, or reducing energy provided to rooms not in use.
Smart buildings use IoT devices that monitor building performance to bring benefits from staff productivity to sustainability through sensors and automated applications, as well as improving the experience of staff and visitors. This is particularly poignant at a time when hygiene and well-being comes under scrutiny in public buildings. IoT solutions are capable of helping businesses adhere to regulations, while also protecting the business from damage. Proximity sensors used for non-contact detection of objects are being used in car parks to indicate parking availability and can be used to manage people numbers in confined areas – especially relevant in social distancing measures. While pressure sensors are capable of detecting fluctuations or drops in pressure in water systems, used in conjunction with water quality sensors they can provide an important role in monitoring water quality.
Smart Building networks have a number of extremely specific requirements, including the need for flexibility, the ability to scale up (or down) easily, PoE (Power over Ethernet) or PODL (Power over Data Lines) capacity and support for Internet of Things and Cloud applications. Picking the right cabling can make or break a smart building. The introduction of wireless access points combined with fixed access as well as PoE has made designing, configuring, and reconfiguring networks much easier and more suitable to Smart Buildings.
UC Berkeley and NTT announced a connected campus pilot project that will leverage technology to “smartly” transform the UC Berkeley Parking and Transportation Department by analyzing use patterns, easing traffic congestion, and increasing pedestrian safety in the Bancroft Way area of campus. The pilot will incorporate NTT’s Accelerate Smart data platform and Dell Technologies’ modular data center infrastructure for edge deployments of high-definition optical sensors and IoT devices that monitor traffic-related issues.
Securing smart homes and smart buildings from cybersecurity risks becomes more relevant than ever in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. ENISA presents some fundamental measures for securing smart devices.
Increase in the demand for reliable structural health information led to the development of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). With the maturity of the IoT, one of the recent challenges in the structural engineering community is development of the IoT SHM systems that can provide a promising solution for rapid, accurate, and low-cost SHM systems.
A glossary of terms that define the Smart Building.
In order to capitalize on new tenant office demands, developers require an IoT infrastructure that is purpose-built, scalable, and fully customizable. Tenants and employees are looking for office spaces that foster collaboration and can adapt to their changing workflows. Connectivity also is a driving factor; a survey conducted by WiredScore discovered that 75% of tenants consider poor internet connectivity to impact company profitability, and 84% of tenants would pay more per square foot for their space if an owner could prove a building has reliable connectivity.
Fujitsu RunMyProcess is demonstrating a version of its smart building integration platform that in future could be integrated into the wider smart city digital environment
A smart building aspires to be agile, responsive and adaptive to its users. Data generated by the building should continuously inform system operation, enabling the building to take proactive steps, anticipating user needs and optimizing target outcomes. Smart buildings use converged networks during operation to connect a variety of subsystems, which traditionally operate independently, so that these systems can share information to enhance total building performance.
