A key aspect of making buildings “smart” is the use of IoT devices. Smart buildings benefit greatly from this technology, as it makes it possible to collect data at low cost throughout the building environment. This not only allows facility managers to access data in real time, helping to identify inefficiencies in building systems, but also reduces overall operating costs.
Smart building systems utilize a variety of different and complementary technologies; however, all of these technologies must work together. By combining IoT devices with advanced analytics software, you can gain the insights needed to make buildings more efficient and comfortable.
Creating smart building systems integrated with the Internet of Things
Smart building systems integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT) can reduce energy consumption by up to 70% and significantly improve the resident experience. Therefore, it's no surprise that these systems are becoming essential in new buildings and key to improving existing ones. However, if you're new to IoT and unsure how to integrate it into buildings, the following information may be helpful.
The first step is to carefully study the technologies required to create a state-of-the-art system.
1. Internet of Things (IoT) devices
Intelligent building systems require the management of numerous subsystems that control indoor conditions, which necessitates starting with IoT devices that continuously collect data on building conditions and equipment performance.
Internet of Things (IoT) devices can monitor and regulate various systems that can be controlled:
▲Elevator
▲Energy Use
▲Lighting
▲Parking
▲Room occupancy
▲Temperature
▲Ventilation
In the built environment, there is virtually an endless amount of things that smart devices can measure.
2. Cloud storage
Intelligent building systems generate massive amounts of data. Cloud servers offer the best storage solution.
The advantages of using cloud servers to process data include:
▲Accessibility and availability: The cloud server can be accessed from anywhere via a network connection and provides a user-friendly interface.
▲Economics: Online cloud storage of data eliminates the upfront costs of on-site storage equipment.
▲Cybersecurity: Modern data centers typically have stronger data security measures than local servers, and security updates can be performed automatically.
▲Convenience: Using cloud servers can minimize the need for flash drives or other hardware devices.
▲Recovery: Cloud data storage offers the best opportunity to recover lost or corrupted data.
▲Redundancy: For cloud servers, data is usually stored across multiple data centers. If one data center has a problem, other data centers are allowed to back up and restore the data.
▲Scalability: Users can easily increase or decrease data storage according to their needs.
▲Sharing: Cloud storage facilities have the ability to share files with others, and some even allow sharing across different cloud platforms.
▲Synchronization: Users can synchronize their devices with the cloud platform and access information online.
Today, cloud solutions offer not only a comprehensive approach to storing data, but also a comprehensive approach to managing and analyzing data, as many smart building system platforms use cloud-based software applications that can generate insights from data analytics.
3. Analyze data to gain insights
Smart building systems can help you better manage energy. For this, you need an analytics platform to make your data meaningful. Good analytics software uses machine learning (ML) algorithms that, over time, can improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.
Analysis software:
▲Analyzing all the data collected by connected devices can provide in-depth insights into building conditions and physical infrastructure.
▲ It has advanced fault detection and diagnosis functions.
▲Trigger automatic operations to manage the building system based on custom rules.
▲Effectively mine data to create custom reports.
Analytics platforms help improve efficiency and environmental conditions while reducing operating costs. Furthermore, cloud-based analytics platforms offer many of the same advantages as cloud-based data storage.
4. Integrates multiple technologies
A well-thought-out integration plan enables smart building systems to communicate with each other by breaking down silos, meaning the integration platform is invaluable. Best integration solutions, such as Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), are cloud-based and offer similar advantages to data storage and analytics. Smart building systems integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) can use iPaaS to read data and manage the interrelationships between different building systems. The best iPaaS solutions are those that utilize open-source licenses. These systems leverage read capabilities to achieve true intelligent integration through bidirectional communication between systems, regardless of the device manufacturer.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing how buildings are managed and operated, and smart building solution providers will help you use this technology correctly.
