Buildings deploying smart technologies will triple by 2026, as building operators and owners seek lower energy costs, healthier buildings, more control and automation, and an improved working environment for occupants.

Disruptive digital, automation, and sensor technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and data analytics will drive. By 2026, the number of sensors deployed in smart buildings will exceed 1 billion. As a result, IT and OT will move even closer to a single network as Big Data, AI and digital twin technology change the building network landscape.

Lower energy costs

Machine learning and AI will make more use of sensors and IoT for modern buildings, automating how and when energy is used inside buildings today, conditions that have only gotten more complicated.

Smart building automation can reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 30 to 40%. Automation is not enough: buildings need AI-powered smarts.

Self-learning systems enable the intensive involvement of building users, for example by controlling lighting, air conditioning and heating according to demand.

Healthier buildings

Until 2020, the emphasis of smart buildings systems, including building automation, was mainly managing the physical facility.

Even if it took a pandemic to highlight health concerns, the industry now understands the value of monitoring Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and other health-related conditions.

Smart buildings can use connected devices to measure everything from temperature, lighting, air quality, noise, vibration, and occupancy levels. AI-powered systems can recommend changes to facilities management and allow building management to be more predictive.

More control & automation

In the battle to make buildings smart, there are too many building systems providing various data in different formats to different stakeholders--- now both incumbents and challengers are providing new solutions to rectify inefficient and complicated building management systems.

Digital twins continue to gain traction and are being recognized increasingly for their ability to model and analyse interactions in and around buildings.

Improved work environment

Nomad and hybrid workers now add up to 48% of the workforce. While it’s important for organizations to plan and deliver technology to help these workers be productive from wherever they are, businesses must consider how to evolve their physical workspaces for this new era when employees are returning to the office part of the time.

Building owners and tenants will be looking to better augment those physical places with technology to make the experience better and different from what you can do at home. Nobody wants to commute for an hour to sit in an office and do the same thing they can do from home.

Meanwhile the pandemic has pushed personal safety and health to the forefront of the employee mindset. Many companies now look to satisfying employees’ new concerns as a means to attract and retain talent.