Smart building technology designs have already proven able to help owners reduce energy costs, enhance security, and achieve other operational goals. Building owners and operators already know that data can drive more powerful decision-making. Now, owners managing large real estate portfolios are finding that technology capable of delivering portfolio-wide insights – and enabling sweeping action across multiple sites- can generate far greater returns.
Owners already deploying these systems have seen positive results. In fact, one retail operator found that within 90 days of its deployment of an intelligent building platform across nearly two dozen sites, they received a 54% return on their investment. This type of return isn’t simply the result of having access to more data. It comes from thoughtful technology design targeted to address specific operational challenges.
Bigger data delivers bigger value across portfolios
For years, building automation systems have proven valuable for their ability to give building managers deep insight into their buildings’ operating systems. This data has helped operators reduce energy usage, track preventative maintenance, and enhance occupant comfort and safety for buildings of all sizes. However, there have been limits to what these systems can do. These systems have also traditionally limited integration with other building systems, as many automation and energy management systems are proprietary.
Today’s emerging intelligent building software options are designed to pull data across multiple systems – like HVAC and plumbing to surveillance and access control – from an owner’s entire portfolio. Moreover, these systems enable two-way communication that allows building operators to rapidly act on data. By giving owners command of all building systems at a global level through a single pane of glass, today’s software solutions make it possible to identify trends across regions and building types.
Among other factors, a portfolio-based view of operations makes it possible to identify proactive maintenance opportunities based on performance trends across all sites. For example, operators can identify specific system irregularities for which to watch. At the earliest sign of the irregularities in operating conditions building managers can schedule proactive maintenance. This also creates an opportunity to perform some remote troubleshooting, potentially reducing maintenance calls.
Owners may also use this data to compare energy demands across buildings of similar size or age. This data can spur the investigation that identifies whether there is a problem to fix, a need for decommissioning, or complementary site or design factors that should influence future real estate purchasing decisions.
Through the two-way communication afforded by new software solutions, owners can also more easily participate in local utilities’ demand response programs. Through these programs, owners gain meaningful savings and cash rebates by proactively reducing their energy consumption at their utilities’ peak operating times. When owners can easily make changes to HVAC setpoints and schedules across their regional footprint, they have the ability to compound gains through more rebates.
Smart building design delivers ongoing returns
New intelligent building software sits atop other software solutions and can be easily integrated with countless other building solutions. The biggest challenge is often determining which integrations to add. Working with the right partner, such as a technology project manager, can help. The right partner may begin the smart building systems design process by asking owners and other building stakeholders to identify operational challenges they’d like to solve. Challenges might range from energy management and sustainability goals to a range of safety and security issues. Understanding those challenges allows system designers to determine the right technology to solve those issues.
The right partner will design a system that addresses these issues and features the appropriate level of cybersecurity to sustain operations. Once the system has been deployed, your partner should help create dashboards that bring in the right data to address your needs. Data is collected in real time and normalized across the enterprise. With some platforms, machine learning models can further optimize operations.
This data should be reevaluated on an ongoing basis as improvements are made. Your partner can help plan for future technology designs, investments, and deployments that may further enhance the value of your platform. Because intelligent building systems work across systems, they give owner the freedom to move away from legacy software that may have locked them into a single proprietary brand.
Through continuous improvement, owners can increase their returns long beyond the initial installation period.
Ready to start multiplying your returns? CRUX can help.