An interactive article on the problems and realities of smart building technology.

This article is intended to start a conversation about smart building technology.  I am not an expert in this field, and would appreciate receiving opinions from established players.  After lots of research and some real world experience I began to wonder how smart we are being about smart building.  I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out the Smart Building group in the community section and voice your thoughts!

Smart building systems are justifiably becoming a key focus in the energy management field.  Although these systems have achieved different goals and have gone by many different names (building intelligence, energy management systems, automated building, etc.), I prefer the term “smart building” for the more comprehensive and integrated systems.   To be clear, I define smart building systems as those that collect device-level data, analyze that data in environmental and usage contexts, and provide useful control with minimal operator input.

Despite the clear value proposition in theory, in application, it can be difficult to find a system that meets your goals at an acceptable price.  For instance, on a recent lighting retrofit project, I received a quote of $40,000 for a lighting-only smart system.  The total cost of the project before being “smart” was only $25,000 including design, equipment, labor, and permitting.  At first I thought the vendor had mistakenly added an extra “0” to the quote, however, to my client’s dismay, this was not the case.  Finding more cost-effective options was not overly difficult, but this required the precious resource of time and the other systems did not meet all of our goals.  Thus, in this case, it was financially smarter to have a dumb building.

The range of solutions in smart building is pretty astounding.  At the “dream big” level is Cisco Systems’ Smart Connected Cities initiative.  With a slough of major international partners, Cisco is working to design pre-fab cities complete with fully integrated smart buildings.  On the other hand, companies like Green Switch offer the ability for property managers to flick one switch to shut off all non-crucial loads at the end of the workday.  This is certainly progress in a rapidly emerging industry, but there are still many problems that need to be addressed.

The umbrella problem is that there is a need for further integration of systems.  A few examples of this issue are interoperability considerations, communication protocols, and the differential granularity of building data that is collected.  Integrated systems also need to be combined with integrated design and installation.  After projects are completed there needs to be better financial tracking of the client’s energy saving investments.

The second key problem is client trust and information costs.  There are not many established case studies involving fully integrated smart buildings that specify how upfront cost relates to real energy and maintenance (E&M) savings.  In addition, the reliability of systems is still improving as the market grows.  Furthermore, the time, or consulting fees, it takes building owners and operators to discover the optimal system adds a significant amount to the initial capital outlay.

The third key problem is industry experience and new technology.  It would be almost impossible for contractors to gain experience with every system so this limits the selection of installed technology, adds cost, and can generate risk.  People can design incredible solutions, but unless they can be built at reasonable cost then they will not have a broad impact.

The fourth, and final, key problem is the need for simplified operation, better security, and improved information management.  This means simplified and transparent reporting, automatic backup and security practices, and streamlined and searchable data storage.   If Cisco wants to make entire cities smart and connected it will require inventing a cost-effective smart building system that small business operators can easily use.  After all, small business and homes make up the majority of the building stock.

I look forward to reading about your experience with smart building systems, to receiving recommendations for integrated technology that is cost-effective for small buildings, and to hearing thoughts about solutions for the above problems.