Intelligent Building Design – A Trend That Can Curb Costs

Current construction practice has a building’s different utility systems – electrical, heating and cooling, water, surveillance, access control, fire alarms and voice and data networks – being installed by experts in each area with little communication between them. The systems have different cabling and software as well as closed protocols, meaning only the installing companies can modify or repair the systems they install. Most systems are not Internet protocol (IP) that allows data to be sent or received over the Internet.

The author of this piece deplores this situation and extols the virtues of intelligent building design that reduces these pathways to one major pathway using Internet capable fiber optic cabling. He notes that consolidating these systems can cut $2 per square foot out of initial building costs as well as provide ongoing operational savings. Examples are provided of how IP-based, open-protocol systems save money and cut down on a company’s carbon footprint.

The author admits that not all buildings are a perfect fit for a fully integrated system but notes that buildings of all sizes can adopt different aspects of intelligent building design. He bemoans the fact that most planning focuses on overall building costs with little time spent on methods to make those systems communicate with each other over the life of the building in order to drive operating costs down.

Source: Jamie Walden, Arkansas Business; Apr 13, 2009