This post is sponsored by J.M. Electrical, the premier professionals in advanced automated building control systems and energy management. Buildings are getting smarter, are you? Learn more about JME and their work in and around the Boston area.
There’s been plenty of buzz about smart buildings, structures which, thanks to recent tech evolutions, operate above and beyond your conventional brick-and-mortar designs. This is the future of construction, and Boston is leading the way. Our city has long been renowned for its brainy population, but now the city itself – the buildings where we live, work, and play – is starting to gain recognition for its smarts. As multiple corners of Boston develop and new buildings pop up, more and more are adopting smart technology. But new construction projects aren’t the only examples of intelligent building. Many local landmarkshave been retrofitted with smart technology to improve their efficiency.
Check out Living Green: 10 Smart Buildings in Boston to see intelligent building projects old and new.
But what exactly makes a smart building, well, smart? Essentially, smart buildings are buildings with a brain, and that “brain” is a building automation system. A building automation system, or BAS, monitors and controls a building’s entire functionality from one management hub. Building automation systems control heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, and often water, fire and life safety. Advanced BAS technology equips buildings to operate at much higher capacity than previously possible. Check out the four key features of today’s BAS technology that transforms brick and concrete into smart buildings.
1. Sophisticated monitoring. Previous technology would use a single sensor to monitor an entire floor’s environment. But recent innovations like “‘smart dust, micro-sensors, and wireless mesh communications” now allow every single piece of equipment in a building to be monitored, according to Cisco. With thousands of sensors constantly collecting data, building automation systems have a much more precise picture of building performance.
2. Cloud-based management. Unlike building automation systems of years past, today’s systems store building information and manage operations in the cloud. With the “high-capacity computing power of the cloud” controlling operations, BAS can collect a significantly greater amount of data, and with it, manage building performance much more efficiently, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle said. Centralizing operations in the cloud also means a building’s performance can be managed anytime, anywhere.
3. Machine-to-machine communication. Modern BAS technology integrates building’s multiple systems. Rather than having heating, ventilation, lighting etc. operate independently, new technology links these functions, making them interoperable. With this interoperability comes intercommunication. All these systems can essentially “talk” to one another empowering optimum efficiency. Wasteful system conflicts, such as simultaneously blasting cool and hot air, can be avoided. Today’s smart technology even enables communication between separate buildings.
4. Continual commissioning. Conventional buildings must undergo periodic recalibration of their systems like lighting, heating, air conditioning etc. New building automation systems practice “continual commission” making these periodic check-ins obsolete. The precise monitoring and sophisticated management enabled by BAS means buildings can adjust equipment in real-time. They are constantly collecting system data and adjusting energy usage accordingly. As a result, “a smart building system ensures optimal efficiency at all times, eliminating waste much more effectively than a periodic process can match,” JLL said.
Mass adoption of smart building technology is imminent. Ready to upgrade? Learn more about building automation systems from the experts at J.M. Electrical.
