What is a Smart Building?

What is a Smart Building?

It refers to the building automation system (BAS) installed in the building and its base, which cooperates with the building space and building elements, integrates the ergonomics, the physical environment, the operation type, and the management type, and integrates the inside of the building. The operation, maintenance, and management of electrical, telecommunication, water supply and drainage, air conditioning, disaster prevention, anti-theft, and transportation equipment systems and space use are automated. To improve the function and quality of buildings, to achieve building safety, health, energy saving, convenience, and comfort.

It is one of the ideals that the architectural profession has long pursued to create a more humanized space so that the users of the building can obtain a sense of physical and psychological satisfaction. The priority of living environment equipment is safety, health, convenience, and comfort, and the system functions of smart buildings can be designed accordingly.

It needs to include building automation system devices, building use space, and building operation management systems.

Combining the achievements of the high-tech soft power of information and communication with green buildings of energy saving and carbon reduction, implement and promote the smart green building industry. To meet the living needs of safety, health, convenience and comfort, energy saving, and carbon reduction, and comprehensively improve the living environment quality, create a new niche for industrial development.

Building Smart Benefits:

Smart buildings will make buildings safer, more comfortable, and energy-efficient:

• The life of the building is extended.
• Reduce operating costs.
• Enhance the image of the building.
• Safety and health.
• Convenience and comfort.
• Energy-saving and sustainable.

Market Trends of Smart Buildings:

Intelligentization is an important trend in the construction field. The market is rapidly taking off at a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5%, and its output value will grow to US$108.9 billion in 2025. The huge output value has attracted many manufacturers to invest. Overall, the accelerated growth of smart buildings includes two aspects: market and technology.

In terms of the market, the exodus of manufacturers brought about by the China-US trade war in recent years is one of the keys. China has become a key market for major global companies. Most companies are going to set up operating locations and manufacturing bases. Many companies need to be stationed in Vietnam, India, and other countries to build factories. These new office buildings and factories will introduce the concept of intelligence, becoming an important driving force for smart buildings. Compared with other countries, China's pace of intelligence is moving faster. Most of the companies with local strongholds have been closely integrated with the intelligent system in the building in their operation mode and employee work style. Therefore, after leaving China, At least the same level of functionality will also be required. Another smart building demand comes from the location of new buildings. Most companies that intend to set up corporate headquarters will turn their attention to less developed areas. To make up for the shortcomings of remote locations, the construction industry will attract companies to settle in with intelligent design.

In addition to office buildings, the impact of the China-US trade war on smart buildings includes factories. In the face of the industry 4.0 wave, most manufacturers have already realized that if they do not transform, they may be marginalized. However, factories and production lines need to be stable. Once they are changed, it may affect production capacity. Import the smart manufacturing system. When the trade war starts and the manufacturing industry in China is forced to shift production lines, most manufacturers will choose to build smart factories. Which will use various new technologies to strengthen security monitoring, optimize environmental detection, and accurately control energy consumption.

In terms of technology, the introduction of various new technologies and new ideas has greatly increased the willingness of users. The structure of a smart building is a network that integrates the three technologies of sensing, control, and communication. Users can see the status of each sensing point from a single interface, and remotely control equipment through the network, such as home users. The switch of power and gas in the home can be controlled via the network. And intelligence is built based on automation, so now there are manufacturers to further optimize the import process and use experience, and improve the willingness to use.

Take a house in a smart building as an example. In the past, users' doubts about smart homes were that the system was too difficult to build and use. Even if the manufacturer has assisted in setting up the system, it will still be difficult to expand new home appliances in the future. To solve this problem, new entrepreneurs have launched solutions. The industry has established a complete industrial ecosystem, including home appliances from major mainstream manufacturers. This product can be added to the home Internet of Things, greatly reducing the threshold for the use of home appliances, and laying the foundation for future wisdom. While reducing the construction, the availability of the system is a key requirement. Whether it is a residence or a building, the service life of the system equipment is much higher than that of consumer products. Sustainability, reducing the risk of system incompatibility and elimination of products in the future.

Looking at the development of the market, intelligence has become the main marketing requirement of the construction industry. However, in the general building market, the intelligent function is only one of the additional conditions for housing marketing. The real focus of home buyers is still the location, price, and building quality. In this regard, the smart building industry should pay attention to reducing the difficulty of use and improving the usability of the equipment. As for corporate buildings and workshops, safety monitoring and energy saving are rigid demands. The industry must take the performance and quality of such equipment seriously to win in the fiercely competitive market.

The Main Projects of Building Intelligence:

The main items of building intelligence include general wiring, information communication, system integration, facility management, safety and disaster prevention, health and comfort, convenience, and energy-saving management.

1. Integrated wiring indicators:
   Integrated wiring is an infrastructure that provides communication transmission, network connection, and construction of intelligent services. The intelligentization of buildings requires the establishment of various information, communication, control, and perception systems to provide high-speed networking, services such as voice data, information capture, audio-visual entertainment, monitoring and management, home convenience, etc. And the connection and integration of the system must rely on the effective planning, construction, and management of integrated wiring.
2. Information and communication indicators:
   The information and communication system of smart buildings should be able to provide building owners and users with the fastest and most efficient information and communication services, to truly improve the competitiveness of buildings and their users. Related information and communication the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of system functions must ensure the reliability, security, ease of use, and future expansion of the system, and fully apply advanced technology to achieve.
3. System integration indicators:
   With the advancement of modern technology, various automated service systems built on buildings are constantly innovating and developing, with a wide variety of complex types, such as air conditioning monitoring systems, power monitoring systems, lighting monitoring systems, fire control systems, fire protection systems, security alarm system, parking management system, etc. This different system equipment will affect the sustainability of the building in the sharing of resources, future maintenance, change, expansion, coordination, and interaction, and the improvement of control and management methods. Therefore, it has become an inevitable trend to consider the system integration of buildings.
4. Facility management indicators:
   Only good facility management can ensure the normal operation of each system and exert its intelligent effect. In addition to meeting the requirements of existing relevant laws and regulations, the design of the facility management system should ensure the reliability, safety, ease of use, and full application of advanced technology to ensure the design of the system, and to keep the building in the well intelligent state.
5. Safety and disaster prevention indicators:
   In addition to meeting the functions of buildings, the most important thing is to ensure that buildings can prevent various disasters. However, in the life cycle of the building, it will inevitably suffer from various natural disasters or man-made intentional intrusion or damage. Therefore, how to prevent or prevent the occurrence and expansion of various disasters in advance with various automation systems to ensure the safety of users' lives and property has become an indispensable indicator for evaluating smart buildings.
6. Health and comfort indicators:
   The health and comfort index are divided into space environment, visual environment, warm environment, air environment, water environment, and health care management system. Evaluate the application of space design and related high-tech technologies in smart buildings to create a high-quality indoor environment to enhance the subjective health and comfort of users.
7. Intimacy and convenience indicators:
   With the development of science and technology, the service also breaks through the established mode of the past. The intelligent building space provides a convenient and universal barrier-free space environment, various information display services readily available, and convenient life and entertainment butler services, etc., which have gradually been introduced into high-quality intelligent living. In space, it becomes a mode of life.
8. Energy-saving management indicators:
   Taking energy-saving benefits and energy management as the evaluation content, it mainly evaluates the energy-saving benefits of intelligent building equipment systems, focusing on air-conditioning, lighting, power equipment, etc. High-efficiency equipment, whether it has energy-saving technology, whether it has renewable energy equipment, etc., and then evaluate whether it has energy monitoring and management functions.