About Lora Alliance
The #Lora Alliance is a technology alliance focused on deploying Internet of Things (IoT) solutions worldwide through their commitment to the development of their LoRaWAN open standard. This open standard wirelessly connects devices to retrieve actionable insights that inform the optimization of various processes.
Smart Goals
These processes are integral to building optimization and increasing the sustainability of smart buildings on a global scale. Their goal is to lower operational costs, improve the wellbeing of occupants, and reduce environmental impact.
As the commercial construction industry increasingly embraces sustainable smart buildings, the definition of such a building is evolving. Not only is the building’s environmental impact and resource usage considered, but overall cost reduction, security, and occupant experience are also valuable factors. Making buildings smarter and more sustainable doesn’t just impact the planet either – this process also has repercussions on the property value of the building and the margins of any housed businesses.
To appeal to stakeholders and parties involved in the construction of smart buildings, a –cost-effective infrastructure that can connect varying smart systems and devices within these buildings and even across small communities is required. Fortunately, an LPWAN open protocol like LoRaWAN provides a cost-effective solution to these large-scale requirements via the connection of battery-operated remote smart devices.
Eyes on Costs
This cost-effectiveness is evident when comparing LoRaWAN to cellular networks. Whereas cellular networks require constant synchronisation with the network and drain battery power, LoRaWAN communication only occurs when it’s necessary to send data in accordance with certain actions, events, or schedules. As such, older buildings with high levels of energy consumption and less advanced technology can benefit from LoRaWAN where wired upgrades are too cost-prohibitive or likely to cause damage to historic buildings.
This cost-effectiveness makes new concepts surrounding sustainable buildings even more appealing. Although the “green” connotation of buildings focus primarily on resource consumption, recycling, and energy usage, the newer concept of “blue” buildings includes these benefits while expanding ideas of sustainability. “Blue” buildings which could be enabled by LoRaWAN impact the planet, profits for various parties, and occupants. This definition is focused on creating a sustainable space that promotes the wellbeing of occupants by considering temperature and air quality as well as physical and social impacts. The monitoring of environment lighting, layout, and air purification are all essential to increasing the wellbeing of occupants.
Data democratization across integrated systems of information technology and operational technology is essential to facilitating such environments. This makes the communication between advanced sensor data possible while allowing for the automatic adjustment of certain variables which encourages sustainability. Some of the different sensors and the operations which they can help automate include:
- Water pressure, usage, and quality sensors which can be used to detect leaks, monitor equipment requiring water, and relay information concerning waste water.
- Air quality sensors which can maintain temperature, contaminants, and humidity at comfortable and safe levels.
- Optical sensors that adjust lighting depending on occupancy, available natural light (daylight harvesting), and shading to save energy and create a comfortable work environment.
- Infrared and proximity sensors can detect heat and movement which is utilized for security protocols and pest control.
- If the smart building is producing its own local sustainable energy, then information concerning storage and production of geothermal, wind, or solar energy can provide insights into resource usage.
The monetary ROI of utilizing such cost-effective LoRaWAN technology to limit energy consumption and waste may be immediate and trackable, but improvements to sustainability and occupants’ well-being are well worth consideration alone.
If you’re interested in implementing IoT technology and making your building smarter, then contact us at Evolution Data. As experts on IoT in all its facets, we can explain more about the adoption of IoT in smart buildings and its complex but worthwhile ROI.
