Imagine a facility that anticipates your needs before they even arise. A building that has both automatic adult lighting and temperature for optimal comfort and energy efficiency. There is nothing better than having that trust in your home, knowing that you don’t really have to worry about anything but it also comes with so many potential perks that every homeowner would appreciate.
Not only do they predict what you need but they also have the power to save you a pretty penny. why do they do it? This is pretty much every homeowner's dream, but you are also left with questions like, Is this available, is it possible and what does all of this smart facility technology look like?
Thanks to the magic of both predictive and smart technology, homeowners new and old can be protected from any angles and threats that come with outdated technology, whether it’s being that second line of defense in case disaster sticks or making you feel the most comfortable you’ve ever felt. These types of technologies are completely revolutionising the way that we live as a whole and could also result in so much pressure and demand on specific facility management, transforming the industry as a whole.
What is a Smart Building?
A smart home, building, or smart technology in your home, however, you wish to live, is essentially when an operating system and energy management are regulated and controlled automatically without manual changes. Creating a space that is healthy, efficient, and comfortable to either work, live or rest in.
Building management systems, security access platforms, energy systems, weather monitoring stations, air quality sensors, utility meters, and CCTV networks all operate independently, which in turn produce their unique data. The beauty of smart technology is that it merges these worlds giving a full view of everything on a single platform.
Not to mention all that data can be taken and suggestions can, in turn, be made with the adaptation of AI. It could completely transform the way we live in a more affluent and holistic way.
So you haven’t guessed at what gathers all of this information and predicts what you are going to want to have the temperate at during the night? It is, of course, the star of the show, artificial intelligence (AI). This technology has taken over many industries but has really good applications in the world of smartening our buildings and facilities. AI and machine learning are working hand in hand to make the change we want to see in our homes.
All work in conjunction to extract insightful information from the data as a whole, which allows detailed predictions and suggestions for specific systems, allowing them to not only run more efficiently but also last a lot longer. A thorough understanding of how each one works and how they work together makes it possible for facilities management companies in Yorkshire to accurately plan and implement effective building control systems. This also allows homeowners to teach it personalised details and send out suggestions that help maintain their facilities.
According to Acumen Research and Consulting (ACR), the worldwide smart building industry is predicted to go up by 2026, with commercial buildings seeing the highest growth due to the combined challenge of lowering carbon emissions and reducing overhead, especially in light of the hike in energy costs.
What Do Smart Facilities Look Like?
Smart buildings could have many features that help you with a smarter way of living and they could be anything from smart thermostats to automated lighting systems. Your wants and needs might be completely dependent on what building it would be for. For example, the automated lights might be suitable for student rentals; this way, they are saving on energy bills and it’s not a family home so it seems more acceptable.
What are The Benefits of Smart Facilities?
Enhance Efficiency
If you haven’t guessed by now, these smart technologies could contribute to a boatload of benefits and enhance efficiency, which is a huge one. As mentioned before, technology, after being fed data over time, can learn how you like to have things and do them themselves. For example, you might like the heating on before you get up for work and right when you get home in the winter. These little adjustments you are making in your building can learn and reflect those behaviors without your effort.
It can teach how to save money, which is a huge thing at the moment with energy being at an all-time high. we could all benefit from saving on costs here and there, which can be a life changer for some people. Knowing when to turn off the heat, air-con, or even the boiler if it's an old-school one can not only allow you to relax but also allow you to wonder if you turned the heating off. With smart technology installed, a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.
Predictive Maintenance
Something that I have found to be an outstanding element of smart building is the predictive measures that can be put in place. Like gathering data to understand when to heat and cool, it can also take that data from all elements to help understand if anything is showing warning signs or pointing out irregularities. These suggestions could tell you about a problem before you have any idea.
Imagine being told your boiler is acting weird and this way you can get someone to look at it, and fix it before it breaks. These factors not only ensure that the costs of replacing things are minimised but also harness more peace of mind about these things. We all know how expensive boilers are so knowing you will be told when they need to be fixed before they break completely is just amazing.
Improved Comfort
While it’s a given by now that this smart technology can make your place of work or your family home more comfortable in the sense that it’s doing things you wish without being asked, it also allows you to focus on more important things like your family or work itself.
Improved Servicing and Maintenance Efficiency
Facilities managers can guarantee the effective organisation of repair and maintenance programs by tracking data from the mechanical and electrical systems in their facility. For instance, an air conditioning system's air filters can be changed when the data suggests it should be done, as opposed to being changed every month regardless of whether it's necessary.
These kinds of insights help to maximise engineering and maintenance resources, ensuring that servicing decisions are fact-based and focused on the true state of the equipment rather than its age.
Vital assets can be intelligently tracked with the help of smart buildings. Examples of sensors that can be used to gather data indicating an item's operational efficiency are those that measure vibration and temperature. The system can trigger an alarm to send an engineer to investigate when measurements show patterns that deviate from the norm. By preventing problems before they happen, these maintenance actions can avoid dealing with mechanical failures reactively and letting them affect productivity.
The Future of Smart Facilities
In the field of smart facilities, we can expect bigger and better things. If you had told people 20 years ago that your home would be smart enough to adjust the temperature, I doubt anyone would have believed, but at the same time, I believe people would have thought it would have been years ahead of now. With the rise of AI and its ever-changing potential, the future is so bright and has great potential. Below are a few predictions for the future:
More AI
We can only expect to see more integrations and intelligence from AI, with AI playing a much greater role in automated tasks and providing real-time insights to optimise building performance. Its application to many industries is no surprise, as is the fact that its future is looking bright. For example, you would never think that AI could create and sing songs but it has so we can only expect much more in facilities management.
Enhanced User Experience
Homeowners or building owners will have greater control over their environment through mobile apps and personalised automation. While there are already features where you can adjust your heating from your phone, we can only expect the system itself to be more advanced and accessible to a wide range of people.
Sustainability
Smart systems will be instrumental in reducing a building's environmental footprint by optimising energy use and promoting sustainable practices. While they have already proven to reduce bills, there is great potential that smart facilities will be able to do so much more than save on home prices and see if they have any wider applications.
Embracing a Smart Future
The integration of technology in facility management holds immense potential. By embracing smart facilities, organisations can create more efficient, sustainable, and occupant-centric environments. As this technology continues to evolve, we can expect more innovative solutions that will revolutionise the way we manage and interact with our built environments.
