Smart Buildings
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an article by GEZE |
Smart Buildings – Networked buildings with a future
Modern buildings should be safe and comfortable to use and control and consume as little energy as possible. These demands can be met with automation and intelligent networking of the technical equipment. Building networking is the largest growth market in the construction industry.
What constitutes a ‘smart’ building? Simply putting in a lot of ‘smart’ electronics for technical operation isn’t really enough. A building becomes truly intelligent only when all components work together in a coordinated way – across all manufacturers, centrally and easily operated. In fact, this applies to all product groups: lighting, heating, air conditioning, shading, ventilation and safety technology as well as door and window technology. Thanks to their automated, networked building technology, Smart Buildings adapt dynamically both to the environment and to user behaviour. This makes them safer, more comfortable and more energy-efficient.
The technical systems interact via modern electronic network communication. The programme for companies with respect to technical building equipment and building automation provides customers with both proprietary (manufacturer's own) as well as open systems. Open systems (e.g. BACnet, KNX, LON, SMI, DALI) are supported by many manufacturers: their components are thus ‘interoperable’ and can communicate with each other in a system.
What is ’Smart Building’?
Smart Building describes the automation and central operation of the technical equipment of functional buildings such as office buildings, airports, shopping centres or production halls. Core topics are the safety of the building – e.g. by fire alarm technology or dynamic escape route planning – as well as the energetic optimisation of the building operation, which saves operating costs on a large scale.
The electrical industry supplies Smart Buildings with numerous innovative products and solutions that have already been tested and are common in new buildings. The field of energy efficiency in particular has already achieved great success: energy consumption in an office building can now be reduced by up to 30% through automation. (Source: ZVEI, Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V., Frankfurt, 2018)
Doors and windows are now also multifunctional, intelligent and networked. Because they have to fulfil many different functions: ensure accessibility, provide natural ventilation and ward off burglars. In addition, in the event of fire or panic, they must open escape and rescue routes, at the same time permit controlled access, ensure smoke and heat extraction and protect against fire.
GEZE offers KNX and BACnet interface modules as well as a building automation system for the integration of GEZE products in networking solutions. It allows automated GEZE products from the fields of door, window and safety technology to be monitored precisely and operated reliably. This enables the complete ‘intelligence’ of the products to be integrated into the building network: for example, setting the opening width of a door or opening and closing a window depending on the outside temperature in conjunction with temperature sensors and heating systems.
