Be it a workplace, home, or, increasingly, a building that is both, what we want and expect from where we spend our lives indoors is changing rapidly.
Beyond the basics of shelter, our buildings increasingly are expected to enhance, nurture and complement our lives.
The role of ‘smart’ buildings in these expectations is on the rise, creating internal environments that meet the challenges of today.
Quite aside from the way our lives have changed due to the global pandemic, building automation and services spanning security, climate control, energy distribution and management, connectivity and design are reshaping our world.
As one of the world leaders in this area, ABB works with customers to achieve greater adaptability, responsiveness, efficiency and wellbeing, driving advanced building solutions for better lifetime value.
It does this not only through its suite of solutions, but with its expertise gained through experience, working with clients around the world for new builds and existing structures.
In the Western world, we spend most of our time within buildings, as much as 80 per cent of our lives for some.
In residential and commercial contexts, that time is focused on the creation and enjoyment of social and economic value.
As a smart buildings specialist, ABB’s priority is amplifying that value.
With ABB's smarter building solutions, stakeholders can take advantage of ABB's expertise and know-how of building automation in both the electrical and mechanical building systems.
From the individual components within systems and a choice of communications protocol platforms, ABB can support a broad range of requirements.
A building’s stakeholders, from construction to sale or leasing, need to attract and retain occupants by offering smart, connected environments that deliver comfort, security and convenience, while at the same time remaining cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable.
Healthy buildings provide safe, secure environments for people. Shifting to more energy-efficient buildings is now regarded as central to carbon-reduction strategies.
ABB works with customers across a diverse range of sectors to define solutions that achieve long-term results, such as reducing carbon emissions, and immediate outcomes, like reducing energy demand.
Its work and services cover a diverse range of sectors including commercial, multi-residential, construction, hospitals, healthcare and aged care, education (universities and schools), hotels, retail, and property development.
The area of energy management and efficiency, for example, delivers huge benefits in a number of areas, for both occupants and owners.
Through intelligent and automatic lighting, air-conditioning, heating and movement detection, ABB Ability solutions increase energy efficiency and security.
With digital solutions everything can even be controlled remotely, giving complete control wherever operators are, whenever it is needed most.
This not only reduces operating costs, which can be to all stakeholders’ advantage, but also reduces a building’s carbon footprint, adding to its appeal as well as simply being the right thing for our planet.
Take for example Calvary Adelaide Hospital where the ABB i-Bus KNX system was adopted for all lighting control and monitoring, based on the worldwide KNX standard.
With this solution, coupled with DALI (digital addressable lighting interface), gives hospital personnel and maintenance staff full command of the lighting functions. All these functions can be managed automatically according to a schedule, sunset or sunrise, or presence of people, or by the touch of a button.
This level of controllable lighting system is key to energy saving, with the additional benefit of increased comfort and safety.
Monitoring and recording of systems performance and energy consumption also delivers real-time data that can be used to analyse and improve that performance as well as reduce operating costs across a building. Knowing precisely what systems is using what amount of energy and when hands stakeholders the power of knowledge.
As well, it means maintenance and repair can be tracked, diarised and completed more efficiently.
A security system that is simple and effective also speaks to increasing occupants’ satisfaction which, for tenanted buildings in particular, can reduce vacancies and increase tenures.
ABB delivers security for the whole range of uses, from domestic to commercial and more, with such solutions as ABB-secure@home, which offers smartphone app operation, and ABB Door Entry Systems, which goes beyond a door video system to also offer smart home monitoring.
Also domestically, ABB-free@home creates an intelligent home with control over such aspects as blinds, lights, heating, air conditioning, and door communication via wall-mounted remote control, laptop or smartphone.
Regardless of a building’s role, how its users interact with it and how it serves them is at the basis of its success or otherwise.
With its global track record, ABB is bringing new level of useability and efficiency to buildings, working with experts in a wide range of roles, from building managers to engineers, architects to developers, to create space people want.
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with ABB to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
