Smart buildings are becoming the new norm for a whole host of reasons. Improved energy efficiency, better control of assets and services, better management of security and HVAC systems. The list goes on and on. In years to come, we can also expect to see several smart buildings connected, in what will essentially be a smart city. Above all else though, for these systems to work there needs to be effective smart building software.
Let’s take a look at some innovative ways smart building software is already used today.
What is Smart Building Software?
Firstly, let’s briefly discuss the Internet of Things (IoT). This is the technology that allows a building to be ‘smart’. Essentially, it means connecting a series of devices to a central hub. In your home, this might be a smart home assistant like Amazon Alexa controlling your lights, TV and also other appliances. In a smart building, it’s the same, but on a much larger scale.
Smart building software supports the management of systems in a smart building, being sort of a central hub. With this software you can control certain things like lights, energy distribution, building temperature, security and much more. But the software also gives you access to data, and this is how people are finding extraordinary uses for smart building software.
Re-allocation of space
Imagine a building full of offices and conference rooms not being used to capacity. Essentially, this means wasted space. With smart building software, managers can determine that a room fit for 10 people only ever has 4 in there. This allows them to make decisions about better deployment of space. Over time, it could even allow for building managers to have more tenants, by changing room dimensions to suit actual needs.
Customer tracking
Imagine a shopping centre with several retail stores inside. Now, imagine using sensors to track human movement through the store. This type of data clearly shows the path people take in each store, and even which products they stop to look at the most. For layout planning, this can revolutionise the way some stores look in years to come.
Better management of security events
Unless you have cameras in every corner of every room in a building, it would be nearly impossible to determine where everybody is at any given time. In the event of a security incident, evacuation or natural disaster, smart building software could allow managers to locate all human activity. This may help with getting people safely removed from a building, and also identifying the location of threats.
Air quality monitoring
Most people know that smart buildings can monitor and control air temperature. But what about the quality of the air? Having good, clean air is important for people’s health and also productivity. So, with smart building software linked to ventilation systems, you can now address air quality issues quickly and easily.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, and as technology progresses further we can expect to see buildings becoming smarter than ever.
