The Path To More Efficient Building Management: Here’s Where To Begin

Communities rely on schools, hospitals and offices every day. Despite their vital role, upgrading them with the latest technologies to optimize operations, better manage energy use and keep occupants safe and comfortable is a time-consuming process often left on the back burner due to high costs and skilled labor shortages.

But what if there was a way these upgrades could be made simpler, more efficient and accessible? What if a building’s wired network could be upgraded without having to rip out a single wire or ever drill a hole in the wall?

For building technicians, this could mean connecting a new piece of equipment from a mobile app from thousands of miles away, rather than from a precarious step ladder in a building’s equipment room.

This is all possible today thanks to innovative technologies that enable the rapid installation and commissioning of advanced building control systems and finally put these solutions within reach of building decision-makers who are ready to modernize.

With new technologies finally making it possible to easily replace outdated systems, buildings can adopt automation solutions that can be quickly installed and brought online to help enable more efficient, effective and integrated building operations management. Automation can help decision-makers tackle several of their most pressing – and often conflicting – daily priorities more seamlessly, including:

• Life Safety – Protecting people and property from fire, security and environmental risks is fundamental, and now sharing live building data with first responders further improves response and outcomes.
• Sustainability – advancing energy management goals by integrating real-time data with traditional environmental controls
• Operational efficiency – simplifying connectivity upgrades and ongoing management of legacy building control networks to enable more efficient operations, while reducing the potential for cyber threats.

While the path to digital transformation for your building automation may seem daunting without a clear roadmap, here are three steps decision makers can take to help advance these short- and long-term asset management goals:

1) Upgrading Wiring and Network Connectivity to Improve Operational Efficiency

Today, many building management systems rely on outdated wiring and inefficient network technology, meaning even the simplest software upgrades can take up to an hour to implement across a network. As a result, one of the most pressing challenges for building decision-makers is how to improve network efficiency in a world where a severe labor shortage limits access to skilled technicians.

Rather than ripping out and replacing wiring, new solutions like low-cost, space-efficient single-pair Ethernet now allow building managers to enhance their existing infrastructure with modernized, long-range Ethernet connectivity that reuses existing wiring, with no installation or remodel process required. Think of it like upgrading from dial-up modem speeds to broadband speeds.

With recent advances in semiconductor technologies, this process of upgrading to single-pair Ethernet is a relatively simple one. The result? Faster software downloads and more efficient installation of automation equipment – even in large buildings.

With greater bandwidth, buildings can also unlock other opportunities to integrate automation solutions across a network. Building teams can then connect various assets and devices across a building for seamless control and more frequent data collection to inform AI-driven advanced control solutions.

2) Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Advance Energy Management Goals

From monitoring and optimizing a building’s energy management to identifying and mitigating maintenance issues before they arise, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies can help make buildings smarter, safer and more sustainable by aggregating, analyzing and visualizing vast amounts of data across a building’s network.

No matter how large a building is or what industry it serves, the AI/ML integration process is simple. The process can start by integrating sensor technologies that connect to the upgraded network and monitor information such as occupancy, energy consumption and air quality. While there are endless examples of how AI and ML can help streamline operations once sensors are in place, here are several common applications:

• Hotel systems are integrating AI/ML to monitor the dynamic environment in buildings, balancing occupancy data with indoor and outdoor environmental data to provide optimal guest experiences while maximizing energy savings.
• Real-time building environmental and occupancy information is being combined with historical and external weather predictions to optimize energy supply with a building’s energy demand.
• Over the long term, AI and ML integration will also be vital to decision-makers who are looking to gain increased visibility and greater remote autonomous control across multiple buildings. At Honeywell, we have ready-to-deploy solutions that utilize ML technologies to unify and analyze buildings, systems and data quickly and remotely with edge-to-cloud automation to seamlessly monitor several buildings from a single tablet.

3) Integrating Cybersecurity Technologies to Optimize Building Safety and Security

As modern automation systems bring more advanced smart technologies into buildings, decision-makers now have an even greater need for cybersecurity solutions that can help them minimize vulnerabilities while making their overall systems more resilient. Just like any other IT system, OT systems cannot be overlooked and must be constantly monitored to minimize risk and help predict cyber threats.

By integrating advanced cybersecurity technologies such as two-factor authentication, encryption and proper firewalling, decision-makers can protect sensitive building automation infrastructure and stay ahead of these emerging threats.

Building decision-makers can also seek out independently accredited, third-party OT cyber certifications that can provide additional assurances and peace of mind that building management systems are secure. Another opportunity for increasing line of sight into potential cyber events is through the adoption of building operations systems that have cybersecurity solutions integrated from the start. These systems can help ensure that cybersecurity is a priority from day one of a building’s upgrade and is never an afterthought, even when things get busy.

The Bottom Line: Automation Still Requires Customization

In the short term, building automation will help drive greater digital connectivity and security while sparing buildings from often costly, time-intensive installations and remodels. Over the long term, greater future-proofed control and automation will position building decision-makers to tackle the conflicting priorities and challenges of key stakeholders with greater ease and efficiency. Whether it is creating healthier, more sustainable spaces for occupants in a single office building in Manhattan or optimizing energy use across a global hospitality chain in the Midwest, it is important to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all path to building automation. Every building’s solution set is unique and must be customized to its own needs and tenant priorities.