With the climate catastrophe lingering over all of us, we all want to do what’s right for our planet. Unfortunately, what makes good environmental sense has not always been within the financial reach of many people and even companies.
Fortunately, with new technology becoming more accessible every day, this is changing. One of the most groundbreaking technologies to emerge in recent decades is the invention of smart buildings. Smart buildings, which may also be called “intelligent buildings” or “automated buildings”, is a broad term.
Basically, it refers to any building where internal systems are controlled by an automated centralized system. Building systems that can be automated include HVAC, security systems, electrical, lighting, plumbing, fire alarms, water, elevators, and more.
At BrainBox AI, we make a smart HVAC solution that can attach to the system of any building, so we’d like to think we know a thing or two about smart buildings. And while we’re passionate about the ways that smart buildings reduce energy consumption, we also know that they make really, really good business sense. Here’s why:
Let’s start with the obvious. While incorporating smart technology into your business requires an initial investment (even negligible if you choose the right solution), the cost is quickly overshadowed by the amount of money you’ll save.
The majority of these cost savings will be through energy efficiency. When you’re relying on smart technology to inform your energy use, you can avoid waste. This is big news considering that commercial buildings are responsible for enormous energy waste. It’s estimated that as much as 30% of the energy used by a conventional building is wasted.
Plus, the monitoring tools that come with smart technologies can help you identify the best places for your spending. Anyone involved in business operations knows the power of a data-based spending decision. Smart building controls allow you to see a birds-eye view of your entire building operations and make decisions on where to cut spending or where to invest.
In today’s market, it can be hard to attract and retain talent. While there are many changes that an organization can make in order to help with this, like paying employees well, offering options for remote work, and maintaining a generous vacation policy, employers can also do their part to ensure that their staff has a comfortable work environment.
Smart building tech plays a big role in this. In fact, if used wisely, smart tech can help you create the ideal indoor environment. Here are some ideas:
The above list is by no means exhaustive, and it’s not frivolous either. If you are doubting their importance, consider this: a recent study from Dell found that a staggering 82% of Millennials would be influenced by workplace tech when choosing an employer.
And it’s not just your future employees who will thank you for the tech-enabled touches, either. Maintaining this comfortable indoor atmosphere is an opportune way to provide clients and visitors with a positive impression of your business and keep them coming back.
In today’s age, it’s becoming less and less acceptable for companies to engage in environmentally unfriendly practices. The last thing that any business entity wants is to attract bad press for their polluting and wasteful business practices.
On the contrary, as public view changes, there is more potential today for buildings that are doing the right thing for the environment to receive positive press. Not only this, but you lead the way for other businesses in your industry to follow in your footsteps.
Of course, positive praise alone isn’t reason enough alone to make positive changes that help the environment. It’s also just an ethical thing to do. But it helps that there is definitely a public appetite for businesses doing the right thing.
Any building manager knows that maintenance costs can range from a mere annoyance to downright catastrophic. The problem is that the faults in building systems can often go unseen. And, considering that regular maintenance can be infrequent and costly, sometimes it can be a while before underlying issues are even caught.
Smart tech is changing our approach to building maintenance. When system monitoring is down in real-time, it makes it easier to spot possible problems before they become an enormous expensive issue. They can also help you with prioritization so that you aren’t spending money on unnecessary or non-urgent repairs or on travel costs for repair technicians.
This last reason is often overlooked, but with the price of real estate, it’s more important than ever.
Venue procurement and maintenance are a huge concern for most organizations. In fact, “location costs” are one of the biggest expenses for most businesses. Installing smart controls in your business can help you save on real estate costs in two main ways.
One is that having your building outfitted with smart tech makes it more desirable to future buyers. This becomes more true every year as the benefits of smart technology become more and more known in the mainstream.
The other one is that the data that you accumulate from your smart systems help you determine whether or not you’re leasing the right amount of square footage for your business operations. It can help you determine whether you should downscale or expand.
If you’re looking to transfer to a smart building setup, your HVAC system is a great place to start. Not only do HVAC systems account for over half of commercial building energy use. Smart HVAC technology is also incredibly simple to install. BrainBox AI’s system takes less than half a day to install and has your building’s entire HVAC system mapped out in only 6-8 weeks. Get in touch today to learn how we can support you on your transition relying on smart building technology.