Smart-building projects target energy efficiency as launchpad to health and safety

While enterprises take on smart building projects to reduce energy costs, COVID-19 has brought new priorities to the fore.

With the continuing spread of the virus, many building operators have looked toward smart building systems to aid with tracking and tracing the virus among workers, physical distancing, contactless entry, temperature reading and other efforts to keep workers safe as they traverse buildings.

Ericsson, for example, constructed a brand-new factory in 2019. The initial goal was to create a 5G-ready 4G private network that would deliver energy efficiency and gathered Internet of Things (IoT) data wirelessly.

“Instead of having to wire heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems with physical cables over 300,000 square feet, the 5G private network enabled these systems to be connected and gather data wirelessly,” said Sasidhar Yalavarthi, former project manager of Smart Factory at Ericsson.

Data gathered in real time targeted key areas for efficiency gains, Yalavarthi said.

With its sensors in place, Ericsson targeted various energy-saving measures, such as shutting off lights and heat in vacant spaces, using water reclamation for recyclable energy and more.

The smart building technologies deployed by Schneider Electric offered a 25% reduction in energy consumption compared with the baseline, according to Yalavarthi.

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