Built to evolve
There’s been a major change in the way people think about the built environment. Once, buildings were seen as mere functional spaces. Today they’re regarded as platforms that users leverage to realize critical business objectives.
Making the most of such assets means thinking beyond traditional design and management, and adopting an approach to the built environment that’s purposeful, even visionary, incorporating integrated emerging technologies like AI and smart solutions.
The pace of change, both economic and technological, is getting faster. Today’s innovation is tomorrow’s legacy technology. This means it’s no longer enough to see building systems as static install-it-and-forget-it solutions. Rather, they must be regarded as constantly evolving elements of a constructed ecosystem.
Building occupants need more smart features and the efficiency, flexibility, sustainability, and operational improvements they provide. The problem is that 68% of commercial buildings are over 25 years old1, and as few as 2% currently have fully interconnected smart features2.
That means an opportunity for you, as an engineer, to lead. Smart Building Solutions are the future, but they require the vision and the will to employ them, and the technical expertise to maintain them both now and over the long term.
Your customers are looking to you to guide them. Few of today’s building owners are aware of the full potential of smart solutions. Among those who are aware, few even know how to choose from among the many solutions available.
At Trane, it is our goal to help engineers narrow down the range of options, because the time is now to act—to help customers take the proactive steps to create smarter, more flexible, more adaptable built environments that will enable their future success.
Doing nothing is not an option
Every dollar invested in smart building solutions returns an average of $3 in operational savings over a five-year period3.
Your customers are looking to you to help solve their current—and future—problems. Smart technologies are the new table stakes, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to revolutionize the way businesses are run.
Up until now, many of the tech solutions that have gone into the built environment have been about data flow. Today’s advanced equipment can do much more than deliver data to occupants. It can significantly boost energy-efficiency, operational efficiency, and even business outcomes. Your owner customers are relying on you to help them realize the benefits that come with the smart solutions revolution.
Future Readiness
Staying on top of new technologies isn’t just about keeping current, it’s about positioning a building, its infrastructure, and by extension your customers for future success. With more than 70% of companies currently adopting new AI technologies4, implementing systems now means expandability over the long term.
Code Compliance
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword anymore; it’s something every building owner expects in a new building design—and for good reason. New York’s Local Law 97 is the first of many emission reduction laws coming into effect in the United States. Local Law 97 requires buildings to meet new energy-efficiency and greenhouse gas limits by 2030—and the Real Estate Board of New York estimates penalties of up to $900 million for buildings that fail to meet new requirements by 20305. Similar legislation could be coming to a municipality near you.
Public image
As more consumers and stakeholders become environmentally aware, building owners are under pressure to deliver on their sustainability commitments. The good news is that a visible sustainability program pays real dividends, both in terms of public image and the bottom line. The Harvard Business Review survey found that 65% of people are more likely to support sustainable companies6.
The New Must-Have’s
Yesterday’s buildings required simple, reliable HVAC, stable electric, and robust communications and data systems. Today, all that’s changed. Contemporary building owners are contending with a variety of new demands, opportunities, and threats that are impacting their expectations of their designers and engineers. Below is an overview of some of the key areas that are driving change in the built environment, the top-of-mind issues for most of today’s owner customers.
Sustainability
Buildings have a massive environmental impact. Not only do they consume roughly 40% of all energy produced in the United States, they are also responsible for 35% of all carbon emissions7.
Over the last decade or more, organizations of all kinds have been making commitments to lower their carbon output and increase efficiency. Consumers, stakeholders, and the members of the communities where businesses are based are now expecting those commitments to be met.
Sustainability best practices include:
- Choosing durable products. Select pieces of equipment that are designed for longevity, that are easy to repair, and that are upgradeable to extend their useful life.
- Prioritizing resource efficiency. Select pieces of equipment that use environmentally friendly materials, and that use energy efficiently throughout their life cycle, from production to end-of-life.
- Reducing waste. Favor equipment designed to help reduce waste, that can be repurposed at the end of its useful life, or that contains components that can be recycled.
- Supporting closed-loop systems. Choose equipment from manufacturers who offer take-back programs or recycling services to help ensure materials are continuously cycled back into the economy.
- Encouraging regenerative practices. Select equipment from companies who support sustainable practices, such as using renewable energy or sustainable materials.
Looking for tools to help? Trane® Design Assist™ is a free, web-based application that delivers high performing building automation system designs and documentation for commercial buildings of all sizes.
Energy Efficiency
Efficiency is a critical aspect of any sustainability initiative. However, it’s well worth pursuing by itself as the economic upsides are too large to ignore.
As energy demand has grown, energy prices have increased by an average of 2.5% per year8. As a result, businesses of all kinds are coming under pressure to operate more efficiently and make their energy spend go further. Too many buildings today still rely on outdated systems that waste energy and increase costs. It’s estimated that 30% of the energy that buildings consume is wasted9.
As a sustainability initiative, an efficiency program can begin in any number of places. Among the low hanging fruit are common sense measures such as LED lighting and high efficiency appliances, both of which can yield quick, measurable results. Getting truly serious about efficiency, however, requires larger scale whole-building solutions.
Energy Efficiency best practices include:
- HVAC equipment. HVAC should be at the very center of any efficiency program, as the right system can help lead to t savings in both energy and cost. Favor high-efficiency heating and cooling systems that help improve energy use while maintaining indoor comfort.
- Building automation systems. Intelligent monitoring and control technologies not only centralize building management, but they also allow your customers to gather and analyze building data to make measurable improvements in system performance. That includes energy performance, which BAS systems can monitor and adjust in real time.
- Advanced energy services. Advanced energy services encompass a wide variety of smart, connected, high efficiency solutions that enhance performance, promote energy reliability and resiliency, and help increase efficiency and sustainability.
Learn more about Trane building automation systems.
Reliability & Uptime
Systems failures are costly and getting more so. For any critical environment system, downtime isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a financial and operational risk. That goes as much for data systems as it does for other major systems like electrical and communications.
For all types of buildings, from hospitals to data centers to manufacturing facilities, system failures can lead to hugely expensive disruptions. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that electricity blackouts cost U.S. businesses as much as $150 billion annually10.
Roughly half of the world’s data centers have experienced an outage in the past three years. Of those, 25% suffered losses exceeding $1 million11. The reality is that at least 20% of these outages could have been prevented by equipment controls12.
What’s the answer? Keep critical environments running with smart building technologies and tailored support. By enhancing spaces with modern equipment and controls, you can play a role in preventing downtime for your customers.
Reliability & uptime best practices include:
- Proactive Monitoring & Alarm Systems
To help identify issues before they cause failures. - Custom Contingency Planning
Builds redundancy into systems for seamless transitions in emergencies. - Remote Diagnostics & Predictive Maintenance
Allows building owners to analyze real-time data to detect warning signs. - Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Encourage customers to consider service agreements to extend their equipment life with tailored maintenance plans.
Looking for a building management solution that supports this type of data? Learn more about Trane building management systems.
System Interoperability
As technologies like AI continue to shape our interactions with both the digital world and the built environment, expectations for system capabilities are evolving. Building systems not only work together, but can work collaboratively to create more efficient, comfortable, and responsive spaces. For commercial building control systems—and for the people who manage them—interoperability represents one of the most promising developments since digital systems were first introduced. At an accelerated pace, interoperable systems are becoming a requirement within the building controls industry.
It’s increasingly common for buildings to have controls and equipment from different vintages, all of which use different communication protocols. Interoperability allows these independently designed systems to work together in any building. Once these systems are interconnected and configured to speak the same language, it can help unlock more of the building potential in areas like:
- Scope & Asset Planning
- Data Access & Security
- Productivity & Control
- Communication Protocols
- Ongoing Support & Service
Modern technologies allow for effortless interconnectivity of existing building systems, whatever their age or manufacturer. This kind of integration not only accommodates the use of existing technologies, but it also helps to pave the way for smart building growth in the future, enabling data-driven decision making and serviceability.
Cybersecurity
When chasing these technologies, it is important to keep in mind that additional connectivity can increase cybersecurity risks within the built environment. In order to help mitigate these risks, owners, facilities managers, IT professionals, manufacturers, and others can work together to strengthen and maintain strong cyber-safe practices. Unfortunately, most facilities team possess limited IT knowledge—which is why it's essential to implement cybersecurity best practices at the forefront.
Cybersecurity best practices include:
- Secure remote access
Specify systems that prioritize secure remote access. This eliminates the need to open firewall ports or install VPNs, allowing users to access systems remotely. - Isolation
Design the building automation system as a stand-alone entity—separate from other business systems, isolated from the internet, and protected from unauthorized physical access. - Operation and Maintenance
Implement a regular schedule of system and software updates to maintain security over the long term.
Though this connectivity can present additional risk, this risk is quite manageable. By following best practices and engaging with cross-functional teams, building owners and other stakeholders can safeguard these systems, helping them reap the benefits without taking on additional risk.
Learn more about Cybersecurity at Trane.
Starting strategies
Given the range and scope of today’s owner expectations, it can be difficult to know where to begin when engaging with a client. Trane is always ready to help with any system needs, particularly when it comes to smart building solutions. That said, you’ll find the following three broad starter strategies highly useful. They lay the foundation for all the solutions and best practices that have been outlined above.
Adopt a Strategic Mindset
Today’s engineer is far more than a services provider and project overseer. The sophistication and scope of today’s building solutions require that an engineer become a strategic collaborator and expert technologist, as well as a decision maker within the built environment. This is especially true when it comes to smart building design and implementation.
This new expanded role requires not only technical knowledge—of advanced systems, the building that contains them, that building’s history, and lifecycle—but also a high-level understanding of owner's strategic needs and business goals.
Lay the Data Groundwork
There are many impediments to the realization of the future ready building. Among them the lack of data availability, and the lack of data integrity. Connectivity, specifically connected HVAC equipment and controls, are the best first step and foundational for designing these smart buildings.
By choosing a system that leverages open, industry-standard communication protocols, you help ensure that the building and equipment data will flow, and that it will be both accessible and secure. These connected systems provide owners with a significant opportunity to improve building optimization and future-proof their systems by enabling intelligent analytics and AI.
Get IT Onboard
Engage IT early and build a plan with clear roles and responsibilities for everything from project design, layout and installation to maintenance and service. This will help mitigate obstacles and pitfalls. They know best when it comes to making decisions regarding how networks should be installed and operated to maintain proper isolation within the built environment.
By proactively developing these collaborative teams, companies can avoid gray areas, in which individuals assume someone else is responsible and the work doesn’t get done. Clearly defining oversight for software and hardware issues can significantly reduce the impact of vulnerabilities exploited by bad actors.
Think long-term
Smart buildings will continuously grow and change. Today’s complex systems are designed to evolve—which means they need ongoing hardware and software updates from trained technicians. Encourage your customers to consider a growth and maintenance plan with a trusted service collaborator to help keep the systems you designed operating—and adding consistently increasing value—for years to come.
It’s important to remember that while it takes an engineer to design an optimal system, it’s the operators who’ll be using it day-to-day. Implement comprehensive, ongoing training and documentation—and be sure to install proper system safeguards.
Don’t wait
The world of smart systems and AI-powered solutions is moving fast. The change that this fast-evolving technology is driving will never be any slower than it is today. Which is exactly why future-enabled buildings are so vital to the success of today’s businesses.
No one can know for certain what new innovations are on the horizon. However, we do know that there are some things every emerging technology will require: a connected infrastructure, data flow, and an adaptable, expandable systems design.
As the use of advanced technology—particularly AI—grows, businesses will want more smart, interoperable features in their buildings, not only to add to their convenience and comfort, but to enable them to achieve their critical business aims.
By keeping ahead of new and emerging trends and advances you’ll be able to successfully partner with your occupant businesses and give them amenities they need to compete and succeed.
