How Can Smart Buildings Benefit You?
By Steve Wallbanks, Managing Director – Hard Services, Atalian Servest.
When it comes to HVAC and smart buildings, it is easy to fall into the trap of being short-sighted.
When organisations often measure success in relation to key metrics such as profit, returns and other key KPIs and results, short-term aims often take precedence over longer term outlooks, with individuals continually evaluated against specific targets.
However, this is a dangerous mindset to stray into – one that can leave us blind to the bigger picture. For companies to be able to operate in a more sustainable and effective manner for years to come, prioritising the bigger picture is often the key to success.
Smart Buildings Versus Short Termism
Take smart buildings and HVAC in the UK, for instance.
It’s an industry often defined by trends in the media, with the likes of automation, artificial intelligence, building information modelling (BIM) and the internet of things (IoT) all regularly hailed and praised as ‘cutting-edge’ and ‘next generation’. Yet despite this, the uptake of such technologies remains relatively lacklustre.
I remember seeing the UK smart buildings and HVAC sector romanticised in this way when I lived in South Africa. However, when I moved back to the UK two years ago now, I was surprised to see that none of this had materialised. While everyone could talk the talk, not many had actually walked the walk.
The question I asked myself in response was simple: why was there such a stark contrast between perception and reality? The answer I have come to is defined by misunderstanding, impatience and – as we have already discussed – short termism.
Companies are too hurried. In spending significant sums on technologies, they expect instant results, but this approach is simply ineffective.
Seven Benefits Of Smart Building Technologies
Let’s understand the benefits that smart buildings and intelligent HVAC technologies can deliver. Here are seven that should be considered.
First, they can drastically improve productivity, a study from the World Green Building Council showing that improving ventilation and indoor air quality can bolster individual productivity by 8-11% on average. Equally, improving lighting can enhance productivity by as much as 23%.
Second, Albany Business Review states that buildings with smart technologies can lower costs by an average of 15%. Further, they can also reduce energy consumption through a multitude of automation opportunities. Motion-sensitive lighting or better HVAC management through a sensor-controlled system, for example, are both ways in which energy consumption can be driven downward – beneficial for both environmental and cost reasons.
Fourthly, smart building technologies can be used to provide quantifiable and tangible insights thanks to IoT generating a variety of data points. This includes everything from monitoring who is using a building to how they are using it to when they are using it, providing the grounds for informed, actionable improvements.
Enhancing employee engagement is a fifth benefit. These insights can be shared for purposes such as sustainability, encouraging mindfulness of employees and demonstrating a sound, progressive culture of care that may serve to improve retention and recruitment drives.
Sixth, maintenance can be optimised through the use of smart sensors capable of tracking building performance and triggering real-time maintenance alerts. Perhaps an air filter becomes clogged, hampering overall airflow and preventing HVAC systems from operating at optimal capacity. With such sensors, it becomes faster, easier and cheaper to identify and fix problems.
And finally, better hygiene is a seventh benefit that smart building technologies can help to achieve, helping to automatically manage the flow of people and enhance air quality depending on environmental factors, so that germs and viruses have minimal opportunity to spread.
The Importance Of Policy And Mindset In The UK
Despite the extensive benefits, adoption remains relatively low.
The question, therefore, is how can the UK ensure that smart buildings become a widespread approach to improving construction and HVAC processes, as opposed to just a buzzword?
Primarily, policy needs to be reimagined. Where the UK government does have some initiatives that aim to encourage the uptake of smart building technologies, these are largely undermined by a lack of incentives, such as grants, that would truly lift adoption levels.
Here, private finance initiatives (PFIs) could help, offering a way for public sector projects to be financed by private sector funding and in turn reduce the burden on the government and UK taxpayer.
Additionally, companies themselves need to change their mindset in relation to smart building and HVAC technologies.
All too often, the mention of smart buildings or smart HVAC is dismissed under the guise that such innovations are tied to unviable, unreasonable pricing – but this isn’t necessarily the truth of the matter.
Investments don’t have to come all at once. Rather, organisations can proceed to invest in such technologies incrementally, targeted at those that are more cost-efficient or effective first.
Where To Begin With Your Smart Building Transition
However, starting the process of making such changes is easier said than done.
It can be hard to know where to begin, but by following the five key pieces of advice below, organisations can take significant steps towards their own unique smart building transition:
First, as we discussed, it’s important to look at the big picture. Many technologies are released in the smart building, intelligent HVAC and eco-friendly arena on a regular basis, but not all of these will be right for you. Consider your specific needs – what do you need to address? Energy? Water? Air quality? By taking a step back, you can better focus your efforts and avoid becoming side-tracked by a sea of exciting innovations.
Better understanding your building’s unique requirements will also allow you to focus on the quick wins. Making the most cost-effective and efficient improvements first is a logical approach – and by making some straightforward changes, building efficiency can be drastically enhanced without hurting the bank balance.
Thirdly, it is important to get all stakeholders reading from the same hymn sheet and with occupant buy-in. From the board to the interns, everyone should understand why such technologies are being invested in. By providing such insight, all employees will gain awareness and be able to align their own actions accordingly.
Implementation is merely a step in the right direction, however. To truly maximise the potential of smart building technologies, it is important to continually monitor and adapt. With smart buildings, there is always room for improvement, and any transition should never be a complete process. Technologies will always continue to evolve, and further investments, tweaks or changes will ensure your building continues to operate at peak performance as opposed to stagnating.
Finally, take a more active approach to education. Some smart building technologies that were expensive just a couple of years ago are today much cheaper, reducing barriers to entry. Yet a lack of knowledge about these changes is a key reason behind lacklustre adoption. To ensure you’re always at the cutting edge of smart building innovation, continual learning is crucial.
