How can smart buildings support when adapting to the “new normal”?

In the face of the global Covid19 pandemic, smart buildings around the world prepare to reopen. What can technology do to support companies and their employees to return to work with confidence? There may be new regulations in place to ensure the safety and well-being of the people. At the same time, some buildings are running on changed capacities and operators need to be supported in daily operations. From social distancing and space optimization to remote operations, we are committed to supporting you with the right smart buildings solutions. We want to collaborate to support our customers as they face unprecedented challenges.

Why do buildings matter?

We spend up to 90 percent of our lives in buildings, and we believe that everything people do in life deserves a perfect place to do it. In a world where our fundamental health, safety and wellbeing expectations have been deeply impacted with the anxiety of a new virus,  buildings should offer a haven. Ideally, a perfect place to learn. A perfect place to grow. A perfect place to prosper.

While it’s true that today’s buildings should be efficient, reliable and safe – these characteristics alone don’t enable businesses and empower people the way a true smart building can.

Adaptability is crucial. Smart building interact with the people, systems and external elements around them. They learn from past experiences and real-time inputs. They adapt to the needs of the people and the businesses within them by increasing comfort, efficiency, resiliency and safety. And today there is a new need: to protect people from Covid19. When we use technology to support the people in buildings, we create environments that care.

How smart buildings help support the fight against the coronavirus

Building technology can support companies in taking measures to protect employees, customers and partners. Our COVID-19 recommendations provide information on concrete measures.

Download recommendations

Smart buildings – a new team member

Comfy workplace app
Enabling contact tracing, space utilization, without compromising on well-being

Health organizations and companies around the world have turned to contact tracing and social distancing measures to slow down or stop the chain of transmission of the virus.

When integrated with Enlighted IoT sensors, social distancing measures established can also be managed by building operators through insights provided by data on the utilization of rooms or common office spaces. The Comfy workplace app allows building operators and owners to engage with occupants and keep them informed, safe and productive.

Enhancing business continuity through asset and building efficiency
Make buildings healthy and safe places to return to

The measures taken against the spread of the coronavirus force building operators and facility managers to rethink building and workplace strategies. The health and safety of employees, partners and customers is the first priority. The efforts of the individuals practicing social distancing and increased hygiene measures can be massively supported by smart building technology. Our offerings on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), room automation and building management systems (BMS) help create healthy, productive, sustainable environments and safe workplaces for people to return to after the crisis and beyond.

Enabling reliability and resilience of your buildings and infrastructure
Enabling reliability and resilience of your buildings and infrastructure

Similarly to understand how technologies can support remote working environments despite one’s location, the data capabilities of smart buildings together with building automation enable remote operations. This has proven to be valuable in a pandemic. It allows the building operator to control the building remotely for maximum impact in regards to energy consumption, to ensure cost savings and reduced carbon emissions. Building twin can further extend the building operator’s capability to access all the data remotely.

Support identification and limiting spread of infection

The need for body temperature detection will prove to be critical as workplaces, airports and restaurants re-open. To mitigate any risks caused by the spread of the virus, technologies which allow for efficient scanning of temperatures as occupants and visitors enter the building will be deployed. The integration of the body temperature detection with access control enables a highly secure and contactless solution.

When deployed with the Siveillance solution it enables an accuracy of better than +/-0.5°C at 37°C.

Transforming smart building data into economic benefits

Smart infrastructure can transform cities and industries. But accelerating technological transition will require private investment, including a diverse range of financing models behind the innovative technologies. From intelligent building systems to energy efficiency technology, financing plays a key role in helping buildings – from hospitals, schools, to commercial and government buildings – harness sustainable capital for growth and innovation while acquiring future-proof technological benefits.