How Automated Buildings Will Level up What Smart Buildings Offer

Society has made impressive progress in the digital realm over the past few years. As technology advances, so do building capabilities. Automated buildings are one of the most remarkable developments shaping the future of technology, sustainability and efficiency today. 

Industry professionals have been working to develop smart buildings for years. Until recent advancements, structures were in the connected phase, meaning their internal systems could collect and send information to humans. Thanks to vast developments in data technology, buildings have leveled up to the smart phase.     

Updating your facility with a building automation system (BAS) lets you streamline operations, increase comfort levels for your employees and visitors and positively impact the environment’s health.

How Do Automated Buildings Work?

BAS uses existing assets included in the first phase of smart, automated building technology and brings it to the next step with the Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins, machine learning and AI. These technologies work together to take the information collected by smart systems and make alterations based on that data — without human intervention.

Professionals utilize improvements in Wi-Fi, battery and the cloud to integrate these new technologies with your building’s current system. These advancements aid designers in building information modeling (BIM), allowing them to retrofit your facility. 

Various problems can hinder successful automation, such as missing data and noncompatible existing technologies. This is where BIM comes in. First, your building designer will outline a set of project requirements, including comfort criteria, budget limitations and energy savings. Once they create a customized plan, the BIM file is provided to a design tool, offering information to develop your personal building automation system. 

What Individual Systems Can Be Optimized? 

The potential of BAS continues to expand, transforming new operations and taking smart buildings to new heights. You can automate your system to achieve the following functions:  

1. Smart Lighting

Before automation, smart lighting systems could collect data and detect patterns to alert human operators, aiding lighting efficiency. BAS does this and more, as it can analyze the data to make predictive lighting adjustments in real time. 

Real-time data creates a human-centric lighting (HCL) system, adjusting inside light patterns to improve occupants’ health and fit personal preferences. Through individualized data adaptation, HCL can deliver various benefits that aid quality of life, including reduced eyestrain, increased cognitive function, decreased seasonal affective disorder and more.   

2. HVAC

A BAS enables maximizing heating, ventilation and air conditioning functions to save energy, money and human labor. AI and IoT-powered sensors automatically detect your building’s temperature, occupancy and humidity in real time, creating a human-centric HVAC system that can cater to all occupants. 

Automated HVAC systems enable demand-controlled ventilation, adjusting heating and cooling depending on the number of people in the room. The smart system can automatically detect if the room is vacant and minimize fresh air to save energy. 

This removes the need for human monitoring, which is more prone to error. Employees who miss routine checks or forget to change filters expose occupants to unnecessary germs, affecting their air quality. Automated HVAC takes care of preventive maintenance so your workers can focus on more important tasks. 

3. Security 

A BAS can offer your building and its occupants increased protection from various problems, such as cybersecurity breaches and physical threats. Automated technology can ensure you are updated and taken care of. 

BAS can constantly monitor your building’s entry and exit points with real-time surveillance and AI technology, limiting the risk of security breaches. Although smart structures can provide accurate monitoring and updates, automated ones can take action before a conflict occurs. BAS uses alarms that can automatically notify the fire department and initiate lockdowns without your assistance, providing safety from all levels. 

How Building Automation Systems Aid Sustainability

As climate and environmental concerns rise, sustainability in the building sector becomes increasingly important. Together, the building and construction industries account for 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a number that smart buildings aim to decrease. 

Through automated systems like smart lighting and HVAC, your building can cater to the needs of individual occupants instead of the facility as a whole. This eliminates excess emissions and waste, improving your building’s energy efficiency and reducing landfill use.

The National Resources Defence Council aims to reach net zero by 2050, a goal that will require buildings to transition from fossil fuels to carbon-free electricity. Smart homes and facilities equipped with BAS have already made significant progress toward clean energy. The continued help of automation technology can make it possible to cut 90% of emissions by 2050, contributing to a safer, healthier future for you and your environment.

The Future of Smart, Automated Buildings Is Bright

Building automation has come a long way since its general introduction and continues to grow as it interacts with new technologies. As AI, IoT, data analytics and various other systems expand their capabilities, the potential of smart homes will increase, simplifying day-to-day functions for businesses and driving the future of sustainability.