Data Analytics & Smart Building Science Articles | Buildings IOT Blog

It’s common knowledge that outdoor air pollution can have a significant impact on human health. Yet, contaminant levels indoors can often be two to five times higher than those outside. When you take into account that most people spend about 90% of their time indoors, it becomes clear that indoor air quality must be a top priority to protect the health and well-being of building occupants. And perhaps nowhere is this more true than in educational settings. 

In smart buildings, devices, software, and building equipment must work together seamlessly. This requires unifying several naming and tagging standards currently used for building automation. While a seemingly simple issue, many data modeling approaches create roadblocks to real-world application of building data. But there is a better way. The Ontology Alignment Project lets you harness the full potential of building data, allows smart solutions to evolve and grow, and supports better performance and efficiency.

According to the 2022 U.S. Cannabis Report, cannabis sale in the country is expected to generate revenue worth $57 billion by 2030. To stay ahead of the game and meet rising demand, forward-thinking cannabis growers are deploying smart technologies that optimize operations. Strengthening your plant monitoring system using IoT and an intelligent building management platform is an excellent way to support plant health and stake your claim in a rapidly evolving industry.    

Smart technologies make it possible to understand what is happening in office buildings like never before. But the best smart solutions don’t just give you more information; they offer a roadmap for improvement and the automation capabilities you need to achieve your goals. With these innovative technologies, you can reduce office building operating expenses and maximize ROI. 

The market for HVAC systems was $197 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach over $271 billion by 2026. The bulk of that growth will happen in the commercial sector, in part due to the growing demand for energy efficiency. This is compounded by a growing interest in using HVAC systems to make buildings healthier.

Technology has changed the way buildings function. From predictive heating and cooling to smart lighting, tech is making buildings more agile and responsive than ever before. But it’s also changing the way buildings are managed and maintained. Smart building technology and wireless connectivity mean you are no longer tethered to your properties. Building management system remote monitoring gives you more freedom and more control than ever before.

Smart building digital twins model the physical assets they represent, providing a link between simulated and real-world structures. Especially useful in data-driven smart buildings, digital twins are becoming an important tool for optimizing building operations and performance. But which type of smart building digital twin is best to unlock the potential of your assets? 

Commercial buildings account for nearly half of total energy consumption in the U.S. at a cost of more than $300 billion per year. Much of that energy is wasted through inefficiencies, resulting in significant and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. The energy waste also translates to higher electricity bills that can be avoided by adopting a strategic Building Energy Management approach. 

Smart buildings are all about communication. At the heart of that communication is a building automation and control system that consists of sensors, controllers, communication infrastructure, and computing resources. Sensors send signals through the communication infrastructure to the computing resources that determine control actions and relay the information back to controllers. Seamless two-way data flow is essential.

Efforts to decarbonize the economy have gained rapid adoption in recent years. While energy and transportation tend to get the most coverage, the U.S. building sector consumes 40% of primary energy usage and generates a corresponding percentage of greenhouse gas emissions. Owners who invest in smart, efficiency-focused solutions can significantly reduce their carbon footprints and energy-related costs.