How IoT is changing smart building automation

As the world emerges from COVID-19 restrictions, questions are increasingly rife about how buildings will be used in the future. When and how do people work in offices? What are their expectations for apartments, leisure facilities, workplaces? One thing seems certain – efficient, smart and adaptable building management will be crucial – and this is where the Internet of Things (IoT) comes in, which is transforming smart building automation in many different areas.

energy efficiency

This is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of smart building automation. Acquisition sensors are placed throughout the building and connected to various systems – lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, among others. They can be combined with other tracking systems, such as motion detection, to determine when specific areas are being used.

Since then, the automation possibilities have been diverse. The system can be set to automatically turn on or off based on environmental conditions such as light levels or temperature. On-demand micro-zoning system control becomes possible, enabling a highly granular approach to energy use in different parts of a building.

Facilities Management Visibility

Facility managers can benefit from the centralized visibility IoT provides in other ways, too. Wireless sensors can be used to track a range of critical facility management functions, including security, waste management, critical equipment condition and fire safety. In turn, they can transmit this information to a centralized platform that provides a single view of the status and condition of the building.

Once again, the opportunity for active management is huge. For example, facilities managers can spot minor issues before they escalate, perhaps because of a water leak or a bottleneck in the waste management process.

Improve resident relations

During the COVID-19 quarantine, the health and well-being of residents have received special attention. As more people work from home at least part of the week, it will become increasingly important for managers of residential buildings to provide real comfort, safety and even productivity.

Here again, connected IoT sensors can play an important role. The various environmental management processes outlined above can be applied to residential buildings to ensure that common areas remain environmentally clean for all. IoT sensors can also play a role in enabling value-added services such as smart security systems and parking systems.

generate income

IoT building automation is often thought of as a money-saving tool rather than a direct money-maker, but the intelligent insights generated by building automation systems can actually be sold to certain tenants.

For example, raw data or analytical data from IoT sensors can be provided to enterprise tenants who want to better understand energy consumption or usage patterns around their spaces, allowing them to make more informed decisions regarding human and machine resources.

Ключевые слова: wireless measurement and control terminal