Smart Commercial Building Infrastructure


Improve efficiency, reduce energy usage and build a better working environment by using the IoT to create smart commercial buildings.

Improve Building Energy Efficiency 

Commercial buildings account for 18% of total US energy consumption1. Yet, 30%-50% of all energy supplied to buildings is wasted2. By integrating IoT sensors with building-management systems (BMS) it is possible to improve energy efficiency. For example, motion trackers can detect if rooms are unoccupied and send a signal to the BMS, which then switches off HVAC systems and lights. 

Reduce Costs Across Your Portfolio

By making buildings smarter there are opportunities to reduce operating costs.  Optimizing the usage of power-hungry applications like lighting, refrigeration, ventilation or cooling can have a major impact. Predictive maintenance using IoT devices can track the usage of building equipment. Analytics systems forecast when components might fail, reducing downtime and the need for expensive service visits.

Increase Building Productivity

There is much greater pressure to create safer working environment. The IoT plays a major role, for example, by closely monitoring air quality and flow to make sure buildings are well ventilated. Smart building systems can also be used to optimize the use of space, and better manage shared resources such as meeting rooms. Better working conditions contributes to higher staff retention rates and improved productivity. 

Understanding the IoT for Smart Commercial Buildings

Companies are relying on Sierra Wireless to connect a variety of IoT devices for a range of use cases for commercial buildings:

Icon - Industrial Manufacturing

HVAC

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems account for 39% of all energy used in commercial buildings in the US3.  A leading provider of HVAC systems partnered with Sierra Wireless to pro-actively monitor their systems. Advanced sensors monitored the performance of components and sent detailed information back to a cloud-management platform. By using data analytics, the company determined when equipment was likely to fail resulting in better performance, reliability and efficiency for its HVAC systems. 

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Lighting

Lighting remains the leading consumer of energy in commercial buildings. By monitoring activity in areas of a building and then automatically dimming or shutting off lights when not needed it is possible to make significant reductions. The use of a 30,000-sensor smart lighting system at The Edge, a commercial office building in the Netherlands, contributed to overall energy savings of around 70% compared with other non-automated buildings4.

Security

Security

Sierra Wireless provides gateway solutions that can connect security cameras to central access systems and support the relay of real-time data. This enables technologies like facial recognition and results in fast authentication and authorization. In the event of a breach, the system can immediately trigger security alarms.

Solution Overview

Connect Your Commercial Buildings

Build the right IoT solution to connect your commercial buildings by choosing from a comprehensive range of products designed to support each layer of the IoT stack

All-in-One Industrial IoT Solution

Octave® collects and connect building data from the edge to back-end BMS and analytics systems.

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Build Your Own Industrial IoT Solution

Build your ideal IoT solution for your commercial building by choosing from a comprehensive range of solutions designed to support each layer of the IoT stack.

  • Easily connect your IoT devices and integrate them with your building management system with IoT Modules and IoT Gateways
  • Keep building assets connected anywhere in the world with Smart Connectivity
  • Accelerate your IoT deployment with cellular modules and routers, including embedded SIMs, pre-connected to global mobile networks with Ready-to-Connect Solutions
  • Collate and manage device telemetry across multiple buildings at once with AirVantage
1 US Energy Information Administration, June 15, 2020. ‘How much energy is consumed in US buildings?’ Available at: 2020 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=86&t=1. Accessed January 2021.
2 EENews, April 2020. ‘The growing market for Smart Buildings.’ Available at: https://www.eenewseurope.com/news/growing-market-opportunity-smart-buildings. Accessed January 2021
3 Buildings.com. ‘Smart Sensor Technology: Reducing HVAC Energy Use .’ Available at: https://www.buildings.com/articles/28078/smart-sensor-technology-reducing-hvac-energy-use. Accessed January 2021.
4 Reportlinker, January 2020. ‘Smart Building Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 – 2025).’ Available at: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05865901/Smart-Building-Market-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast.html. Accessed January 2020.

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