Advances in technology have made buildings more energy efficient than before. However, these advances have come with drawbacks. Early attempts at efficiency frequently sacrificed user comfort. Newer buildings offered powerful ways to customize their operations, but they were complicated to operate, falling outside of what most commercial real estate occupants would want to use. Today's new, smarter commercial real estate properties are letting every tenant enjoy a greener and more comfortable building.
The big data revolution that is changing marketing, medicine and many other fields of business is also coming to commercial real estate. Adding a network of low-cost wireless sensors to buildings lets that property's management team collect data on both how the building runs and on how it is used.
Imagine a conference room that lights up before you walk in, and that stays bright even as you sit there talking, as opposed to one dependent on motion controls that can switch the lights off at inopportune times. Smart buildings can constantly tweak their HVAC operating parameters to achieve both high levels of comfort and efficiency. The right sensors can create safer buildings with fewer locks and roadblocks and with better safety lighting -- when you actually need it.
Many of these opportunities come from the next wave of building control systems -- those using predictive analytics. Understanding how an area of a building is about to be used based on what has happened in the past allows it to self-configure to better meet your needs.
Smart building technology isn't only about increased comfort and convenience. It is also about helping you to take ownership of reducing your environmental impact. Some buildings go beyond offering a directory and add an additional screen to their lobbies -- one that reports on energy usage. Making the building's energy usage transparent both on a building-wide and per-tenant basis lets everyone see how the energy choices they make impact the building as a whole.
It also can create a sense of competition where each tenant gradually works to outdo its neighbors for who can save the most. These competitions are good for the environment and can also create a sense of community within the building. They have bottom line benefits as well, since they help tenants and managers control commercial real estate occupancy costs.
The smart building revolution is changing commercial real estate. Buildings that integrate intelligence with ecological sensitivity achieve higher levels of tenant satisfaction as well as cost benefits. As you consider your next office building lease, finding space in a smart building should be a major consideration.
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