The ambition of connected objects in the building sector is simple: combine users’ comfort with energy efficiency. To achieve this, ever more energy data is extracted. This data constitutes the big data of the building industry and allows smart management of resources….provided it is used properly!
A multitude of connected objects in smart buildings
Growing demand for energy data in buildings goes hand in hand with the democratization of connected objects. Sensors and meters of all kinds are becoming widespread: electric sockets, lighting and even the traditional coffee-making machine are now connected to the network. Together, they produce building’s big data.
With this renewed interest in home automation, what can we expect for the future? The role of drones in the building sector may remain to be imagined, but that of robots seems more obvious. The air-purifying robot, presented at CES 2016, is a perfect example of this trend.
Efficient use of the smart building’s energy data
The analysis of this big data of the building sector allows precise centralized management of resources. Heating, air conditioning and lighting: everything is put to use to ensure users’ comfort and optimize energy costs. At the same time, data is becoming more accessible, on tablets and smart phones, resulting in connectivity in real time for quick, accurate decisions.
Connected… and autonomous objects? Domotics tends toward more and more autonomy, with objects that communicate with each other. By taking data into account at a specific moment, the systems today are capable of single-handedly making decisions to optimize a building’s energy consumption. In our headquarters, Agua, in Toulouse, the building’s comfort and energy performance are coordinated by the self-learning software Galaxy Pilot. Real artificial intelligence in the building, at the service of occupiers’ comfort and well-being.
Transparency and safety: the new issue of smart building’s big data
This sudden rise of the Internet of objects and this exponential increase in information raise the question of security. In the face of this growth of the window of potential attacks, the data as a whole and the network that hosts it must be reliable and secured.
This is an essential point that needs to be settled, at a time when the next stages of the smart building of the future are already taking shape – such as the culture of open data, which advocates open systems and free access to buildings’ energy data.
