A Guide to Smart Building Challenges

The Internet of Things (IoT) is booming, growing rapidly thanks to the rise of smart buildings. We use the IoT to make our buildings smarter, and the smarter we make them, the more efficient they become. In addition, smart buildings help us assess the workplace quantitatively, discovering new ways to work better.

What is a smart building?

Smart Building Definition: Any structure that uses automated processes to automatically control the building’s operations, including HVAC, lighting, security, and others, maximizing user comfort while minimizing energy consumption.

Smart buildings are connected to the cloud, allowing facilities managers to set up automation and interact with them digitally. The purpose of smart building technology is to enhance the function of the physical space itself and better serve those using it.

Smart building examples might include something as simple as having automated lights or as complex as floor sensors to determine real-time room occupancy. Today’s intelligent building technologies span almost every element of facilities, from lighting and HVAC to air quality and occupancy. Sensors, beacons, and software ecosystems come together in the IoT to form the smart building.

Why opt for smart building?

Smart building technology makes life and work easier in the following ways:

• Comfort for occupants with controlled lighting, temperature, and humidity
• Automated control of a building’s HVAC, lighting, electrical, shading, access, and security systems
• Cost optimization with analyzing building usage patterns and adjusting
• Reduced environmental impact by analyzing indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, occupants’ behavior, and other data that can optimize energy and water consumption
• Integration capabilities with the ability to be embedded into older structures
• Preventative maintenance by analyzing real-time and historical equipment data
• Enhanced health and well-being with access to control systems and improving indoor air quality through efficient HVAC operation

The investment in a smart building eventually pays for itself by enabling higher productivity, lower workplace costs, and better planning opportunities. But these benefits don’t appear by magic. It takes time, money, and knowledge to implement the IoT and understand how to leverage a smart building. The challenges are diverse, and many companies are still figuring them out.

Cost of acquisition

Cost is always an obstacle when new technologies come into the field. For smart building, it’s not only the cost of the devices needed to establish the IoT but also SaaS, installation, and training costs. Finding room in the budget for one-time and ongoing fees isn’t easy, and it becomes more difficult for larger facilities or robust integrations.

To adopt the IoT and create smart buildings, companies need to master budgeting and make a meaningful allocation to innovation.

Cybersecurity concerns

Smart buildings are the epitome of Big Data. Their entire premise hinges on detecting and collecting data that’s used to improve the workplace. But where there’s data, there are cybersecurity concerns. Every device connected to the IoT is a potential entryway for a malicious attack. Before companies branch out their IoT and begin collecting huge sums of data, cybersecurity takes precedence.

Thankfully, cloud cybersecurity is gaining momentum alongside the IoT. As a result, it’s getting easier to secure data — especially for companies that make common-sense digital practices a priority.

Getting stakeholder buy-in

Not everyone in your company will see the value of intelligent building technology. Many high-level stakeholders may see it negatively—an unnecessary expense or a complicated commodity with more minuses than positives. It’s up to facility managers and other innovators to make a case for smart building IoT solutions, and often, it’s an uphill battle. Even for considerate stakeholders, it may take time to convince them the investment is worth it.

The best thing any company can do is reflect on the growing body of data, case studies, and practical examples showing how the IoT produces cost savings and other high-priority benefits.

Understanding integrations

The IoT is complex. Think of it as trying to piece together a puzzle with no picture to work from. You know certain pieces fit here and there, and you can start to see the bigger picture as you connect a few, but the larger image doesn’t come into focus until you’ve got a majority of it all worked out. It’s slow-going and there’s some guesswork involved. A company might not understand the smart building integrations it has or the ones it needs until it has dabbled for a while.

The best way to approach a smart building transition is to understand it. Understand the IoT in a practical sense. Then, understand the nature of integrations and set up simple ones. As the purpose and practicality of the IoT becomes clearer, so will the picture of your smart building.

Education and responsibility

Even if a company has the financial means and forward-thinking mindset to embrace smart facilities, there’s still the question of who will manage them. Whose job is it to manage integrations and establish reporting? Decipher trends and opportunities? Optimize the IoT around specific business goals? Getting someone formally trained and familiar with smart building technologies takes time and money.

Facility managers are more important than ever, especially those with IoT experience. Before a company can fully embrace smart building tech, it needs to enlist and train a facility manager.

Smart buildings take time to plan

To realize the benefits of smart buildings, companies need to understand the obstacles in front of them. From learning how to use a smart building technology, to tasking someone to set up and manage integrations, to getting stakeholder buy-in — these unique challenges need attention. Taking the time to address each, in turn, paves the way for a smart building you understand and can use to make your business better.