Microsoft and Samsung entered into a collaboration to revolutionise the property industry on 13 July 2020. According to a press release published on Microsoft's website, this concerns Microsoft's Azure IoT platform and Samsung's SmartThings initiative.
What is very unique compared to what we have previously seen from the IT giants is that they are talking about commercial buildings and hospitals, not just private homes. The innovation is to take the form of digital twins, optimising buildings and making building operations more efficient.
McKinsey published a report in 2016 showing that "construction" came second to last for innovation, just above "agriculture and hunting". So innovating the construction industry is arguably a major opportunity that many want to seize.
Just under a year ago it was summer, and I was pondering which industry I thought would be the next to be "disrupted" by the giants. I looked towards the industry I know well, which is building automation. This is where all the control and insight of buildings takes place today, and which I believe Microsoft and Samsung are targeting.
Much suggests that Microsoft and Samsung want to "disrupt" building control and insight.
Google, which is personally the one I have most faith in, is also working on smart buildings. In the most recent offices Google built in the UK, there was a specified requirement for MQTT communication at the sub-controller level. This meant moving away from traditional communication methods that today are still often Modbus and BACnet. This was a requirement just to be considered for supplying to Google's buildings. The supplier that delivered the right technology was also shortly afterwards acquired by another major player.
A GitHub project has also been created by Google relating to having structured data in buildings – https://github.com/google/digitalbuildings
Data in buildings will become a race between the giants and the traditional players.
The expertise that traditional suppliers possess in building technology is unique and difficult to compete with. Of course the giants can acquire some large companies and possess this themselves, but my interpretation of the initiative is that they want to be best at analysis and the cloud that aggregates data. They are probably not interested in the technical systems, but in the data these generate. But should you as a building owner wait to see what happens?
I don't think so. Rather, I would be cautious about buying the large, heavy, traditional top-level systems. The building and the technology in the building is one thing, but the visualisation of data is what Microsoft and others want to conquer. Looking at the traditional BMS and an insight platform from Microsoft, the latter is in a completely different class!
But there are some things you as a building owner can do already today to prepare for the future.
Do not buy systems from locked vendors – even protocols that are so-called "open" are difficult for cloud-based systems to access. Have the conversation with your suppliers and require that everything has an open API or the ability to send data via MQTT. BACnet and Modbus are not the future. If they cannot deliver today, what is their plan for being ready in 1–3 years?
Remember that you as the landlord hold the power – if you don't want to buy today's solution, it must be adapted.
I have written a longer article for Nemitek about this below.
For us to begin the journey towards algorithms and "self-driving buildings" we need to have data over time. The sad truth today is that in traditional systems we are more focused on real-time data than historical data. This is very often stored in outdated databases that are not ready for AI and machine learning. We also see that the cost of converting this data is too high, so in practice we start the data journey today.
We don't always need the most advanced systems – these are reserved for a tiny fraction of the newest buildings. For us to be able to move to the cloud, it is important that the automation works on its own. Don't create bespoke solutions unless you have to. Try to have generic solutions that are logical. KISS ("keep it simple stupid") – and the path to the cloud becomes much easier.
It is more important than ever to find a common labelling system. In Norway we have long looked to Statsbygg as a template for TFM (cross-disciplinary labelling system), but if we get global companies with a clear ambition for generic solutions, we also need to look at the modern way of categorising data. Relying on names alone is very old-fashioned, but if we also use "tags" we are probably more ready for a revolution. Just think about social media – we use "hashtags" (#) for everything. Why not in buildings? #roomsensor, #supplyairsensor, etc. There are several good initiatives with global recognition, such as "Project Haystack", which Google has also used as inspiration.
The advantage of having open data and open systems on top is that you can combine the best of both worlds. Having insight and control over existing data from technical systems is an absolute necessity. But combining this with new available sensor technology is where we can really reap the rewards. The simplicity of extracting real-time energy data or harvesting indoor climate data can be done in minutes and can add a whole new dimension to building control.
Our buildings account for 40% of energy consumption and 33% of our CO2 emissions. New technology is the solution for achieving our sustainability goals.
Having better systems for insight, finding faults automatically, or simply being able to access buildings from anywhere in the world becomes more important than ever. We saw this clearly during the COVID period we have been through and are still in.
If you have specific questions about new builds, renovation, or replacing technical components, Energy Control AS has developed an open guide for how buildings can be future-ready – We face a global challenge, and for that we need an "open source" approach to knowledge sharing.
Click here to receive the Guide
Fill in some info and we’ll get in touch by email or phone.
You can also call us on +47 516 10 170
Fyll ut litt info, så tar vi kontakt på epost
eller telefon.
Du kan også ringe oss på telefon
+47 516 10 170
