With commercial and industrial office buildings consuming nearly 30% of world?s energy, it?s hard to overlook the impact of smart building innovation in the built environment. Much of the adoption of commercial real estate technology in 2019 will be driven by a need to meet three critical areas sustainability, wellness, and resiliency.
1. Paving a path for smart building sustainability via net-zero buildings
In 2019 the number of net-zero certified projects designed to neutralize or positively redress carbon emissions, water consumption, solid waste to landfill and/or their impacts on ecology will continue to rise.
As more smart building owners adapt to technological changes a part of ?Advancing Net Zero? a global initiative launched by The World Green Building Council which has a goal of accelerating the development of net-zero carbon buildings to 100% by 2050, building owners will need to evaluate building operation to see where negative environmental impact can be mitigated.
2. Making smart buildings resilient against climate change
Extreme climate conditions have become a reality around the world from wildfires and droughts in the U.S. to flooding and tsunamis across the world and will become a critical driver for smart building innovation in 2019. Protecting commercial and industrial buildings will become a significant area for growth as more building owners take calculated measures in design and construction of their buildings to mitigate against environmental damage.
3. Confluence between smart buildings and distributed energy systems
With the dramatic increase in the world?s energy use, both existing and new buildings will be built with renewable energy sources and with smart energy systems at their core by integrating Distributed Energy Systems (DES).
Distributed Energy Systems (DES) is a term coined to encompass an array of energy generation, storage, monitoring, and control solutions. DES covers energy in the forms of electricity, heating, and cooling, thus offering building owners and energy consumers various opportunities to reduce cost as well as improve the reliability and security of additional revenue.
A smart energy building is, therefore, able to integrate DES into its design and operations according to users? requirements to lower energy costs, increase energy efficiency and secure energy supply while reducing carbon emissions.
4. Indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring in smart buildings
An increased focus on health and wellness, indoor air quality will become a prominent area for growth in smart buildings in 2019.
Studies have demonstrated that a strong correlation exists between high concentrations of CO2 and diminished cognitive performance in the?workplace.
As enterprises tenants and business focus on workplace productivity IAQ will become a popular area for innovation. More companies will look for IoT-based solutions which provide an economical means of enhancing and monitoring IAQ in real-time.
5. Health and wellness in planned developments
To attract a workforce of tech-savvy, health-conscious millennials more developers are finding ways to integrate health into their smart buildings and developments.
Frisco Station, the first US 5G enabled community located outside of Dallas Texas is building a community and infrastructure designed to improve the health of constituents Deploying technology aimed at enabling occupants to monitor health and well being is going will become an important aspect of the first 5G enabled community.
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