Our Connected Future: The Smart Building Market and Forecasts
2022-05-17
What is a smart building?
Smart building solutions are part of the evolving Internet of Things (IoT) and connected-sensor ecosystem. By leveraging connectivity technologies, smart buildings reduce costs and enhance efficiency, sustainability, and safety. This is achieved through the automation of processes that manage building infrastructure, security systems, lighting, heating, air-conditioning, occupancy monitoring, ventilation, and more.
From smart hospitals to office buildings, entertainment facilities, educational institutions, and residential properties, smart buildings around the world are leveraging actionable data derived from on-site devices, sensors, services, and systems.
Why does the world need smart buildings?
One of the primary reasons smart buildings have come into the spotlight is their ability to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, conserve energy, and enhance energy efficiency. Consequently, smart buildings are poised to play a pivotal role in advancing climate-change mitigation goals.
Energy costs are rising rapidly around the world, and environmental concerns have now become a top priority. Governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and civil society are increasingly pressing for the adoption of energy-efficiency and carbon-reduction solutions. As the need to conserve energy grows ever more urgent, so too does the demand for smart buildings.
Smart Building Solutions
Intelligent building technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, big data, and blockchain are interconnecting buildings, transportation systems, and infrastructure. This is creating a new, interconnected ecosystem that can minimize energy waste, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce carbon emissions.
In addition to enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability, smart building systems can automate the management and control of buildings. This automation enables more efficient allocation of human resources and the collection of higher-quality, larger volumes of data. Investors, property owners, real estate managers, and developers can leverage this data to implement value-added improvements.
Intelligent systems also help enhance the productivity of building occupants by improving and monitoring air quality, lighting, thermal comfort, personal safety, and hygiene.
The result is minimized management costs, reduced environmental impact, and happier, more productive residents.
Key Smart Building Market Trends in 2022
Although smart applications in buildings have been around for decades, the future lies in establishing comprehensive, bidirectional connectivity across applications and data. This will transform buildings into efficient, dynamic, high-performance facilities.
Intelligence is worthwhile.
The adoption of smart building technologies is rapidly becoming a business imperative. An article by the MIT Center for Real Estate projects that buyers and tenants will be willing to pay an 8.2% rent premium, with a premium of 23.7% for smart buildings that deliver a personalized living experience. Commercial property owners are under pressure from investors to secure higher rents associated with net-zero properties.
Compliance
Governments around the world are implementing measures to strengthen sustainability and energy-efficiency regulations. These supportive industry standards and regulatory frameworks are creating greater opportunities for the smart-building market. Moreover, ESG pressures are prompting property owners to invest in obtaining certifications for their properties.
Smart City
As the number of standalone smart buildings grows and governments increasingly recognize the benefits of IoT integration, the demand for smart cities is also rising. The further development of smart buildings is a natural byproduct of integrating smart infrastructure into urban environments.
Interconnected Collaboration
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were forced to work from home, giving rise to a new office culture. Today, managers must focus on leveraging connected technologies to facilitate communication and enable employees to thrive in hybrid work environments.
Given these considerations, there is no doubt that the only viable future is a smart one. To facilitate the transition to smarter building solutions, it makes sense to partner with intelligent technology providers who can guide you in transforming your facilities into future-ready assets.
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