A substantial part of IoT’s success in commercial real estate is due to
its ability to enable in-house units with sensors and monitoring abilities
that make it possible to create more energy-efficient spaces. This is
through the devices recognizing patterns and learning the owner’s
movements, preferences, and habits. As well, occupants are provided
more manual control over utilities with voice-command abilities and
apps that allow for remote usage.
IoT mainly impacts these two utilities:
1. HVAC
IoT provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
systems with the ability to make estimations and decisions on
their own. This includes adjusting temperatures and ventilation
on a daily, or hourly, basis depending on external factors such
as outdoor temperatures, inside needs and the patterns of the
occupants it can analyze. An additional benefit for properties is that
this can be specific room to room.
For example, IoT knows when no one is in a room and can turn
down the heating or the A/C with the goal of preventing energy
waste as well as lowering the monthly utility charges. This
application of IoT in HVAC is a substantial asset to look out for
when renting or selling commercial real estate properties.
2. Lighting
Commercial real estate can continue to help businesses with
conserving energy and lowering of costs IoT-driven smart lights.
Instead of having all the lights on in the entire building or floor,
intelligent lighting systems only keep the lights on in spaces where
employees are working. The company, Atlas Global Solutions, even
found that with the use of intelligent LED lighting systems, they
could reduce energy costs by 75%.
Smart Meters
Smart meters are a popular IoT technology with both property owners
and utility companies. They are devices that give ongoing information
on the property’s energy usage and track usage for the owners. For
utility company purposes, smart meters allow them to manage the bi-
directional flows of energy from power grids and make improvements
to renewable energy projects from the data smart meters provide. As
well, analysis solutions in smart meters can monitor power usage and
provide suggestions for adjustments based on data.
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Predictive Maintenance
How beneficial would it be if property owners could be made aware
of problems before they occurred? IoT predictive analytics makes this
possible and has become a huge trend in commercial real estate.
In expansive business spaces, maintenance issues are inevitable. IoT-
enabled sensors and energy monitoring not only flag issues but also
can automate and resolve maintenance malfunctions. This convenience
creates a selling advantage for commercial real estate property owners
and agents.
Higher Air Quality
A study revealed that employees who work in environments with higher
air quality achieve cognitive scores that are 60% higher than those
that don’t. With IoT, sensors can monitor the air for CO2 and NOx and,
depending on the levels, can initiate necessary actions to filter the air
and circulate a higher quality of air.
Beacon Technology
Beacon technology is another trending use of IoT in commercial real
estate. Beacons are Bluetooth devices that can be placed inside a
property and transmit all the information about it via the Internet. This
way, a prospective buyer can have all the details delivered right to their
phone before even physically visiting the property. This includes square
footage, price, photos, and even a 360-degree virtual tour.
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