The future of automation

The future of automation

Transforming buildings through a combination of key technologies

IoT, cloud and edge – no company today can avoid these key technologies. Christian Conte, Head of Automation Engineering Services at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, explains why the future of automation in smart buildings is not confined to one single technology. Instead, it’s an indispensable combination of all three. 

Navigating the storm: tackling today’s pivotal challenges

In today’s tumultuous landscape shaped by globalization, digitalization, and specifically climate change, individuals and businesses worldwide find themselves grappling with multifaceted challenges. In particular, the need to enhance energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions is one of the defining hurdles of our era.

Responsible for around 40 percent of global energy consumption, buildings are one of the most important emission culprits– and the number of buildings is expected to increase. The United Nations estimate that 9.7 billion people will inhabit our planet by 2050. As of 2018, 55 percent of the world's population resided in urban areas, a figure set to increase to 68 percent by 2050. Moreover, most people spend a staggering 90 percent of their lives indoors.

These numbers underscore the pivotal role that buildings play in the journey towards decarbonization. Thus, the crucial question: How can buildings be built or improved to become a driver of decarbonization?

Technology can make the difference

In the built environment, technology is the catalyst that not only fosters sustainability and energy savings, but also elevates operational performance and efficiency, transforming structures into valuable assets. Additionally, technological solutions contribute to the well-being of building occupants by enhancing health, comfort, and safety. Three key technologies spearhead the journey from traditional to smart and autonomous buildings:

#1: Internet of Things (IoT): Evolving beyond “things”

IoT products in buildings, such as lighting gear, presence detectors, intelligent valves and smart thermostats, are equipped with built-in intelligence and are able to communicate through the Internet Protocol (IP). These devices produce huge amounts of data and connect seamlessly to cloud-based applications, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) based services that support buildings to become both self-diagnosing and -healing. An example: An air damper equipped with IoT functionalities can autonomously detect when the local airflow is obstructed or irregular. It will then try to adjust locally to fix the issue or, if unsuccessful, send a notification to empower facility managers to fix it.

#2: Cloud computing: It’s all about the data

In the quest for smarter and more efficient facilities, cloud computing emerges as a pivotal technology. Leveraging cloud-based applications and services facilitates the collection and analysis of extensive data via a remote, distributed and cybersecure computing infrastructure. This approach empowers building owners and operators to use AI based services at scale to derive actionable insights into overall building performance, subsequently optimizing operations. An example: By aggregating and analyzing data across an entire building portfolio, a facility manager gains transparency on energy consumption and operational efficiency across the entire building fleet. This data serves as the foundation to continuously optimize energy efficiency and operational costs.

#3: Edge computing: taking smart actions at the data source

Some services need to run on-premise – be it for data privacy reasons or to provide high reliability and low latency. In this case, edge computing allows the deployment of smart services, including AI and Machine Learning (ML), directly on-site, at the source of building data. Edge computing nodes are still connected to the cloud, allowing for automatic software updates and remote access via secure tunnels. However, the safe and reliable operation of the building doesn’t depend on the internet connection as a single-point-of-failure. Edge technology can therefore also bring smart services into safety critical environments, such as laboratories or pharmaceutical production.

Embracing technology to modernize the built environment

According to the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) around 75 percent of buildings are not energy efficient, while 85 to 95 percent of them will still be in use in 2050. Upgrading these real estates with technological solutions can result in enormous savings in energy consumption, ranging from 26 percent for hospitals, to 52 percent for offices and lecture halls – a report from the European Building Automation Controls Association (EU-BAC) reveals. However, renovations can be costly and labor-intensive, with workforce in scarce supply. According to the European Commission, the renovation rate of buildings in 2020 was at around one percent per year, wheres only 0.2 percent of which result in substantial energy savings.

In order to achieve the 2050 net zero targets, the renovation rate of buildings must increase significantly. And here is where cloud, edge and IoT come into play. These key technologies will help to decrease costs and efforts tremendously. Specifically, edge computing nodes will serve as data integration and processing hubs, connecting the existing built environment to the cloud. These nodes integrate already installed equipment with wired connections, such as air handling units or variable air volume boxes. Moreover, they can also integrate newly added, battery-driven, wireless IoT devices, such as temperature or occupancy sensors, smart valves, or user interface devices, such as lighting pushbuttons or thermostats. The benefits of this reconstruction strategy are manifold:

#1 Significant reduction of wiring costs: For simple configurations, wireless devices typically exhibit installation cost savings of 20 to 30 percent compared to wired solutions, with costs savings increasing for more complex setups, according to an article by the ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute . For the integration of mechanical equipment, existing 2-wire connections can be used, which can – thanks to the new 10BASE-T1L technology – even be applied to IP-based communication.

#2 Demand based HVAC system operations: Thanks to wireless sensors, it is known precisely which parts of the building are occupied by people in a specific time and thus, in need for heating, cooling and fresh air supply. Moreover, as edge nodes are connected to the internet, weather forecast and utility pricing data can be considered by the coordination algorithms to avoid excess heating, cooling and ventilation. A study by the US department of Energy estimates that demand-based ventilation alone can bring energy savings of 17.8 percent on average across all US climate zones.

#3: Enabling next generation AI-powered energy efficiency services in the cloud and edge computing nodes: These services are typically used for fault detection and diagnostics (FDD), as well as continuous optimization of energy and operational efficiency of buildings. FDD is already a key lever for energy efficiency in buildings with median savings of around nine percent which equals 2.58 US-Dollars per m2, when applied. As AI is making continous progress, the effectiveness of FDD services is likely to increase as well.

Embracing the trifecta: How IoT, edge and cloud computing are making real estate future-proof

Tackling the urgent challenges of our time needs a profound commitment from the building sector as well. Therefore, a paradigm shift towards smarter and more autonomous real estate is imperative. Whereas IoT and cloud-based services are well known, edge should be considered no less. Companies like the American electrical car manufacturer Tesla prove this: The organization utilizes edge computing for autonomous driving capabilities, while processing real-time sensor data in its cars. It is not a decision about using one technology or another, rather the the opposite. The combination of IoT, edge, and cloud computing emerges as a linchpin in navigating this transformative journey. The resulting comprehensive system including energy monitoring and optimization capabilities is also able to contribute to obtaining aspiring green building certificates, such as LEED and BREEAM. According to CBRE, a US company for commercial real estate services and investments, such certificates can increase building rents up to six to eight percent and capital values even to 14 to 16 percent. Ultimately, these three technologies collectively hold the promise of not only addressing the immediate issues at hand but also paving the way for a sustainable future.

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