As technology advances, so will our lives and the environments we live in. One place we can witness these technological advances is in property technology. Today, the rise of the intelligent building is thanks to the development of smart technologies that make it easier to live and work in buildings throughout our communities.
As real estate professionals try to make the most of physical space, intelligent buildings are gaining steam. Intelligent building designs are innovative and sustainable, with a large focus on property efficiency.
In this post, we go over what intelligent buildings are and their objectives. Then, we outline four of the most important features of intelligent building systems. Finally, we identify several intelligent building solutions.
This post covers:
- What is an intelligent building?
- 4 features of intelligent building systems
- Create your intelligent building with these proptech solutions
What is an intelligent building?
An intelligent building is a building that uses technology to efficiently manage building operations, including energy usage, building access, temperature, space usage, and more. As a result, your financial investment is maximized while operating costs decrease.
The goal of intelligent buildings is to elevate the tenant experience by simplifying maintenance and increasing productivity. Intelligent buildings can be residential apartments, gated communities, commercial offices, and even industrial complexes.
Intelligent building solutions blend IoT-connected technologies — from smart access control systems to delivery management systems and everything in between — to automate day-to-day operations.
4 features of intelligent building systems
Turning your building into an intelligent building during development or through retrofitting has vast benefits. While it attracts modern tenants, it also can lead to higher profitability and retention rates for apartments, offices, and more.
Four of the most prominent features of intelligent buildings include:
1. Optimized maintenance
Keeping up with the maintenance of any building is important. And in an intelligent building, those maintenance procedures are streamlined and automated, saving time for management and ownership.
Notably, intelligent buildings prioritize preventative maintenance by monitoring systems and recommending minor repairs or upkeep before major problems arise.
Most smart buildings have systems of sensors that can detect potential maintenance issues. For example, smart pipes and leak detection systems alert you before a pipe bursts so that you can prevent serious and expensive damage.
2. Energy efficiency
Experts approximate that 68% of all energy in the United States is wasted, mostly due to various inefficiencies.
Here are the most common everyday inefficiencies:
- Leaving lights on all day and night.
- Overactive air conditioning.
- Running water for too long.
- Old or dirty air filters.
- Leaving electronics plugged in when not in use.
- Powering an empty refrigerator or freezer.
Intelligent buildings address these problems and regulate energy usage to promote sustainability — and save you money on energy bills!
For example, an intelligent building fitted with smart thermostats can adjust temperatures depending on the number of occupants in a room. Additionally, motion detectors can automatically activate or deactivate lighting when a space is occupied.
These efficiencies add up over time and greatly reduce energy consumption and costs.
Discover five smart apartment gadgets that’ll increase resident satisfaction:
3. Dependable internet
Intelligent buildings rely on internet access to make use of the IoT devices in their networks.
In the past, having a few WiFi routers placed throughout your building to accommodate tenant internet use was sufficient. However, because intelligent building systems rely on the Internet of Things (IoT), you must maximize your property’s internet coverage. After all, without internet connectivity, an intelligent building loses many of its smart technology solutions.
So, builders must avoid using materials that block WiFi signals. Additionally, you should have a backup plan in place for internet outages. For example, ethernet cables that provide a direct internet connection are a reliable way to guarantee internet access.
In theory, a fully wireless building is a good idea, but in practice, having a steady, wired connection to the internet is the best choice for many devices in your intelligent building.
4. Automated and personalized services
Smart buildings offer IoT devices, energy efficiency, and online connectivity to achieve one major goal: automation.
Intelligent building solutions include interfaces that control the smart devices at a property. These intelligent interfaces automate various processes and deliver a personalized, tailored experience to tenants.
For example, intelligent buildings use motion sensors to detect tenant activity. With this information, intelligent buildings can predict tenant locations and optimize the buildings’ environment appropriately.
Create your intelligent building with these proptech solutions
Transforming your smart building into an intelligent building is easy.
Here are some of the simplest ways to make your building intelligent:
- Smart thermostats automatically adjust the building’s temperature depending on the time of day, season, and usage.
- A building management system is a central hub that monitors and controls important building environment factors, including temperature, humidity, electricity, and more.
- The Internet of Things connects multiple devices, allowing them to exchange information and improve building operations.
- The best front desk stations take busywork out of your staff’s workload with features like live video feeds and two-way visitor communication.
- Artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) building control is the process through which software mimics human behavior. Opportunities for AI applications within intelligent systems are extensive. In fact, you can integrate AI systems with IoT sensors so your technology can learn user preferences and make corresponding adjustments.
