More Use Of Smart Building Technologies Is Predicted For 2015

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

AutomatedBuildings.com’s article “Emerging Technology to Watch,” presents new smart buildings technologies predicted to grow in the next year:

• Indoor positioning systems (IPS) or indoor location systems. These systems, which provide location information of objects and people inside buildings, are specially designed to be used indoors for the locating of personnel and are predicted to heighten emergency response in the coming year.
• IT-based LED lighting systems are projected to become the new standard within the next year, due to their low voltage light sources. These systems incorporate Power over Ethernet (PoE), which centralizes power distribution, costs less, and allows for easy monitoring of end devices, resulting in less high voltage in buildings.
• Eye tracking. This technology uses video cameras that sense reflected light from the eye to evaluate where the customer is looking most often when making decisions. Eye tracking is most often used in retail window design, web pages, and advertising.
• Electrically switchable glass. Also known as smart glass, it changes a window’s light transmission properties when voltage is applied, allowing for changing of tint and absorption of light. Although not a new technology, switchable glass is set to improve in the next year, with improvements being made to its energy consumption in order to have optimal operation and decrease cost of energy for the company.

Sensors Used In Structural Monitoring

The use of three structural monitoring systems, moisture intrusion, structural loads, and seismic monitoring, is also predicted to increase.

• The implementation of moisture sensors in buildings helps to prevent mold, shorten duration of leaks, and prevent breaches of integrity, all via sensors and data recorders that monitor continuously.
• Structural load sensors include gauges to monitor stress, strain, vibration, deflection, displacement, and tilt, allowing for timely response to any issues.

Seismic monitoring measures motion and vibration via accelerometers in the event of an earthquake. Real-time data provided by the system can assist in post-earthquake inspection, which can increase possibilities of continued building function or quick recovery of functionality.