Adrian Barber from Prefect Controls investigates the broader benefits of smart buildings on business performance.
The evolution of smart buildings sees the integration of IoT devices sensing, monitoring and controlling environmental conditions. The internet enables Information exchange with other devices. Intermediate interfaces present, interpret, and analyse data. This helps us to understand performance for many aspects including access, use, heating, and safety, to name a few.
Student accommodation is an unusual type of commercial residence, compared with other multi-occupancy property, such as residential flats or hotels. For example, occupancy patterns are different. Hotels rooms are frequently visited by house-keeping teams who monitor their condition, while occupiers of residential flats have a vested interest, in the case of heating, to manage their environment, balancing comfort with economy.
For managers of student rooms, their estate is dense, there is a lack of visibility. Without regular access to rooms, assessing conditions is impossible. It may appear that the building is performing effectively, but just because there are no complaints, doesn’t mean there aren’t any issues!
Student accommodation is a prime example of smart technology delivering many benefits. One advantage – managing and reducing energy consumption. Energy teams can see what is being used where and when and create efficiency strategies. But smart technology is not all about energy, carbon, and sustainability.
The promise of central collation and interpretation of quantitative and/or qualitative data helps to build strong business cases to install equipment that makes buildings perform more effectively. Broadening the scope of a smart system and providing multi-faceted data should encourage buy-in from other parties – Health and Safety, Maintenance, Welfare, Operations, etc. not to mention investors.
In practical quantitative terms, value is straightforward to identify. Indisputable, robust figures prove energy and water consumption. The measuring of which unveils space and water heating data. Adjustments made to temperatures and timings, will feed savings straight onto the bottom line.
Analysis that has the intention of making savings, doesn’t have to conclude that energy use should be restricted though. Better information will help to identify waste. If waste is targeted, the quest to make savings by restricting energy use is diminished, therefore, there should be no detrimental effect on the comfort of residents. Evidence from smart control has proven that heating load can be reduced by 50% per room simply by cutting waste.
More indeterminate, but equally of value, is smart technology’s qualitative data that through monitoring and control, delivers time and financial efficiencies, but also wellbeing benefits.
On a catastrophic scale, imagine a kitchen fire, caused by an unwatched pan or, undetected escape of water – each potentially causing millions of pounds of damage. Use of smart tech would limit/prevent such occurrences. Insurance companies are increasingly interested in proactively reducing risk with such applications.
Less dramatically, temperature data collected from water pipes saves on labour cost, eliminating the need to visit every tap to flush the system. Simultaneously, evidence is logged, proving Legionella water safety plan criteria is met.
Occupancy data helps with maintenance scheduling. Knowing when rooms are empty, means work can be carried out efficiently and conveniently.
Humidity data identifies room conditions that could promote damp and the growth of mould. Quick action will prevent the worsening of the situation.
Tighter water temperature control obviously has a financial benefit, but monitoring also can present alerts of overheating and the potential for scolding.
Smart building systems provide access to better information and encourage more efficient management practices. ESG strategies also benefit. Businesses that can prove their environmental impact, social awareness and ethical behaviour credentials are more attractive and improve their reputation with employees, customers, supply chain, and of course investors.
Smart organisations invest in smart buildings.
This article appeared in the October 2024 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.