The advent of technologies like the IoT has resulted in a massive change to the way buildings are constructed. Over 80% of new construction involves at least one facet of IoT or smart building technology, but that still leaves older buildings without existing infrastructure to become smarter.
Over and above the conveniences offered by smart buildings, retrofitting old buildings is crucial to helping cities and countries reach their environmental goals. Even if buildings don’t have the infrastructure to go fully digital, new solutions to modernize buildings keep emerging. From boosting security to saving energy, these innovations help make the most of what is already in place. Tapping into mobile access technologies, for example, companies don’t have to replace an entire building’s locks, doors, and security systems to become smart. Instead, they can replace the cumbersome lanyards or key fobs with smartphones as the key.
Unfortunately, many businesses believe that it is costly and difficult to upgrade their old buildings. In reality, they just need a way to combine what they already have with smart technology to gain the benefits offered by intelligent structures.
There are a number of simple ways that buildings can be upgraded to become smart. The first step, however, is assessing what is needed to start upgrading the building. This includes things like computing power, technology infrastructure, facility age, compatibility with IoT and intelligent building technologies, location, and ability to integrate to another platform.
A common misconception is that using smart devices or IoT technologies within a facility is enough to position it as a smart building. In reality, an intelligent building is a set of dynamically connected smart systems made interoperable through a platform that accumulates, shares, detects, analyses, anticipates, and acts upon the collective smart building data.
A single smart device or piece of equipment can’t make a building intelligent. Instead, IoT devices are merely components that can be linked together to form a truly intelligent building. A building’s “intelligence” can be increased with each system that is integrated, allowing for a continuous improvement strategy.
FuseForward’s expertise in making buildings smarter has helped organizations reduce their energy consumption, utilize space more efficiently, and decrease their carbon footprint. From identifying the requirements for updating a building, to providing reference architecture, to designing and implementing a solution, FuseForward helps ensure all buildings are brought into the smart future.
Join us to find out how easy it can be to make your existing buildings smart.
Register Now