Sadly, governments and corporations have significantly failed us regarding the recent climate crisis. These days it feels like most sustainability initiatives are too little too late. So, what’s the solution to the problem?
One fix for commercial buildings wasting a lot of energy is smart buildings. But exactly what features do smart buildings have that contribute toward sustainability? And how do you build one?
If you want to discover the answer to these questions, you’re in the perfect place. In this guide, we’ll be explaining why smart buildings are the future of sustainability.
Why Businesses Are Pushing Toward Sustainability
To find out why businesses are pushing toward sustainability, you must turn on the news. According to the EIA, commercial buildings consume 1,243 billion kWh worth of electricity each year. Sadly, most of this electricity is produced by coal and natural gas.
Both fuel sources release a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere, which can exasperate climate change. And that’s not even counting the destructive mining often used to secure them. Businesses that strive to do their part are eager to take advantage of the sustainable upgrade to their commercial buildings.
However, stewardship isn’t the only reason companies are pushing toward green upgrades. The government incentivizes many sustainability initiatives with tax breaks, loans, and more. As such, it makes sense from a financial perspective to make sustainability upgrades.
How Do Smart Buildings Help With Sustainability Initiatives
Smart buildings use innovative technology and intelligence to connect various systems. This makes life easier and can save the business valuable money.
But exactly how do these smart buildings contribute to sustainability initiatives? In this section, we’ll be exploring that question in more detail.
Related: Smart Buildings
Lighting
There are two ways that the lighting in intelligent buildings is sustainable. First, they typically use Energy Star-approved lights. These lights use 90% less electricity than the average light bulb. As such, you need far less of them over time.
The second way that smart buildings save electricity is through PoE lighting. If you want more detail on this type of lighting, you can check out our full guide here. But basically, this system automates lighting so that it’s only on when there are people present in the building.
That way, electricity from lights is never wasted. This is a big deal because light accounts for the most electricity in commercial buildings.
Automation
Automation in smart buildings can include automatically adjusting specific systems. For example, the HVAC system might shut off if no one is in the building.
This can save valuable energy when the building isn’t in use. This also goes along with things like CO2 monitoring and humidity tracking.
Sustainable Materials
New smart buildings are typically made out of sustainable materials. These materials reduce the harm that traditional building materials have on the environment. So what are the criteria for sustainable building materials?
According to this government resource, sustainable material should have the following characteristics:
- Reduced maintenance
- Energy efficient
- Better design flexibility
- Lower cost
- Improved occupant health
So if your materials are meeting these standards, then you’re good.
Related: What Is the Living Building Challenge?
Security
There are several ways that your security can be green in smart buildings. First, you can partner with tech brands that prioritize sustainability.
These companies prioritize the environment when developing and implementing their products. You can also install things like motion detectors. This tech ensures that your security system is only on when there’s someone moving.
Want to discover a security company that’s prioritizing sustainability? Click here to learn more about VIVOTEK.
Data Centers
Data centers are beginning to use a lot more energy lately. This is because of the massive amount of data that smart buildings need to process. And that’s not even counting the business data that often goes through them.
The good news is that data centers don’t need to be power wasters. When you set them up in intelligent buildings, they even have the potential to be completely green. There are two different methods you can use to approach this problem.
One way would be to power it with renewable energy. Or, you can use components in your data center that are more energy efficient.
Smart Buildings Can Be New Constructions or Retrofits
As you can see, smart buildings contain everything you need to push toward sustainability initiatives. So how do you proceed once you want one? Well, you have two options before you. The first is to start entirely new constructions.
This option is excellent because it allows you to build smart building features directly into the framework of the structure. It also makes designing smart building much more accessible. However, there’s no denying that new smart buildings can be expensive.
Luckily you have an alternative. You can also retrofit an old building with smart building tech. You can upgrade system by system or do a complete overhaul. Regardless of your choice, we suggest hiring a design company like ours here at C&C Technology.
We can assist you with the planning and ensure that you’re staying on top of the latest smart building design trends.
Whether your smart building is a new construction or a retrofit, C&C Technology can help you. Contact us today to find out what we can do for you.
Related: C&C Technology Showroom
The Importance of Smart Buildings for Sustainability Initiatives
We hope this guide helped you educate you on how intelligent buildings can be the future of sustainability. Customers and clients want to support companies that are serious about environmental stewardship.
By going through these sustainability initiatives, you’re showing your customers that your values align with theirs. You’re also doing your part to protect the environment from the impending climate crisis. That means you and your future generations can continue doing business.
Last Updated on March 13, 2023 by Josh Mahan
