Smart Buildings What is it? And how do you make a new or existing building smart?

Reports about Smart Buildings are increasingly appearing in the media. A picture is often sketched from different angles.
On the one hand, this could be the perspective of construction companies, which focus mainly on building-related automation systems (such as indoor climate, lighting, access, etc.).
On the other hand, there is the perspective of suppliers of functional solutions (think of location determination in a building, measuring utilization and occupancy, etc.), they focus mainly on ICT.

The challenge in creating a Smart Building is to combine these two perspectives and bring the techniques together. The basis for a Smart Building is based on safe, stable, reliable, building-related installations and a stable and secure ICT infrastructure that offers different groups of users freedom of movement in a building and where all systems work together smoothly.

A smart building has one general IP network infrastructure, which is used by both the building-related systems and the ICT systems for users.

What is a Smart Building?

In a Smart Building, the available technology is tailored to the employee or visitor and the activities that take place in the building. From the parking lot to the reception area and from the workplace to a meeting room, the building thinks along with the person.
The building learns, stimulates and collects data, which is used to optimize processes, reduce errors and improve the user experience.
A Smart Building understands the needs of its users and ensures that employees can collaborate efficiently and be as productive as possible.
A Smart Building is a building where inspiration, ideas and innovation are stimulated, systems communicate with each other, become self-managing and human interaction and intervention are less and less necessary.

A common infrastructure, based on the IP protocol, makes it possible to reduce the complexity of siled systems

Smart Building, key elements

The problem with many existing buildings is that current construction technology and building-related systems often work on their own platform. This makes it difficult for those systems to communicate with each other and exchange data.
If you want multiple systems for lighting, heating, access control, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), security and audio-video equipment to work together smoothly, it is essential to switch to a single IP system as a standard for connecting ICT and building-related systems.

Sun common infrastructure, based on the IP protocol, makes it possible to reduce the complexity of siled systems. Other benefits: less chance of safety risks and more opportunities to save energy.

It is therefore important not to base the strategy (only) on technology, but to link it to concepts such as sustainability, collaboration, challenging and inspiring, building use and occupancy or safety. For example, anyone who wants to work on a sustainability ambition can achieve this with Smart Building technology for the climate system, the lighting system or with the use of energy-efficient appliances. Creating the strategy in this way creates a clear picture for everyone involved on how to realize a Smart Building.

Thought, not a product

It is good to realize that a Smart Building is a train of thought and not a product that can be used after purchase and implementation.

The premise of the Smart Building concept is that elements and systems:

• integrateswhere this is possible, where this supports sustainability ambitions, where this promotes ease of use and;
• separates where necessaryto guarantee the availability of facilities, reliability or to comply with, among other things, regulations in the field of information security.

In short, a smart building is based on one general IP network infrastructure, which is used by both the building-related systems and the ICT systems for users.

A smart building is based on one general IP network infrastructure

The presence of one common IP network infrastructure has other advantages.
This way, the physical cabling can be simplified. This is useful because it can limit the impact of the cabling on the building and because it must support various and possibly changing changes during the operating period.

One network also offers opportunities to gain more and more effective insight into the actual functioning of the systems. It also becomes possible to achieve more intelligence by allowing systems to work together in a smart way.

A Smart Building has numerous applications in the areas of Sustainability, Utilization & occupancy, Safety, Collaboration, etc

And if more devices and sensors are connected to one IP network, there is more access to new data. This data provides deeper insight into the daily affairs of, for example, the environment and the building.
By the way, data storage may involve: raw data (an exact copy of source or system data) but also to transformed data which is used for reporting, visualization, analysis and machine learning, for example.

What can FM do with a smart building?

With a clear IP platform as a basis, it becomes possible to combine functions in a Smart Building and integration of devices (tablets, smartphones), physical security and building-related (facility), management and technical installation systems is possible.

Several benefits can be achieved by switching from the current situation (which exists in most buildings) to a situation in which numerous building-related systems communicate with each other via a clear IP platform.
Some examples:

• Insight into the use of spaces;
• Insight into cleaning activities and areas to be cleaned;
• Insight into catering needs, air quality, waste flows and parking situations;
• Requesting a facility service or product;
• Lower operating and maintenance costs (through better/clear installations);
• Supporting the sustainability and energy neutral policy;
• A reliable platform for the delivery of tenant services;
• Future facilities and faster adoption of technological innovations;
• Lower integration costs through the combination of one IP infrastructure;
• An improved employee and visitor experience;
• Increased ability to respond to employee/visitor needs and critical events;
• Better prediction of required maintenance based on new technology(read: less failure and also lower costs).

Starting with a smart building

Creating a Smart Building is easiest in a new construction situation, but existing buildings (or renovations) can also benefit from smart and intelligent applications. Consider expanding WiFi access points to introduce location-based services or... use of sensors to measure the temperature or CO2 content of a room.