Intelligent Building - Overview

07/06/2009 by David Slade.

The field of Intelligent Buildings, Intelligent Homes, Building Management Systems (BMS) encompasses an enormous variety of technologies, across commercial, industrial, institutional and domestic buildings, including energy management systems and building controls. The function of Building Management Systems is central to ‘Intelligent Buildings’ concepts; its purpose is to control, monitor and optimise building services, eg., lighting; heating; security, CCTV and alarm systems; access control; audio-visual and entertainment systems; ventilation, filtration and climate control, etc.; even time & attendance control and reporting (notably staff movement and availability). The potential within these concepts and the surrounding technology is vast, and our lives are changing from the effects of Intelligent Buildings developments on our living and working environments. The impact on facilities planning and facilities management is also potentially immense. Any facilities managers considering premises development or site relocation should also consider the opportunities presented by Intelligent Buildings technologies and concepts.

The essence of Building Management Systems and Intelligent Buildings is in the control technologies, which allow integration, automation, and optimisation of all the services and equipment that provide services and manages the environment of the building concerned.

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s) formed the original basis of the control technologies. Later developments, in commercial and residential applications, were based on ‘distributed-intelligence microprocessors’. The use of these technologies allows the optimisation of various site and building services, often yielding significant cost reductions and large energy savings. There are numerous methods by which building services within buildings can be controlled, falling broadly into two method types:

Time based - providing heating or lighting services, etc., only when required, and Optimiser Parameter based - often utilising a representative aspect of the service, such as temperature for space heating or illuminance for lighting.

An Intelligent Building uses technology and process to create a building that is safer, more comfortable and productive for its occupants, and more operationally efficient for its owners. Advanced technology — combined with improved processes for design, construction and operations—provide a superior indoor environment that improves occupant comfort and productivity while reducing energy consumption and operations staffing.

While this may seem too good to be true, these benefits can be achieved and delivered today. Remarkably though, there are relatively few Intelligent Building projects.

Buyers are excited about the concept of an Intelligent Building and are looking to implement elements of this in upcoming projects. The trend toward sustainable buildings and the need to be more operationally efficient are both big drivers.

Buyers see many impediments to implementing these projects including challenges with proving value and finding qualified consultants, contractors and suppliers. The owner research section of the Intelligent Buildings Roadmap provides details and observations on trends in selected vertical markets.

Coupled with the research is an extensive analysis. One observation is that as an industry, we are on the edge of a chasm, with a series of barriers that must be removed if we are to proceed. Interestingly, these barriers are not technology or product related, but rather have to do with tools, process and industry education.

The barriers are described in detail, along with recommended tools and actions that we can take as individuals and an industry to remove them.

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