Smart Buildings – Ten Myths

1. Cost
Business owners used to believe smart buildings to be costly. Smart buildings are highly cost-effective and budget-conscious. Business owners find their initial investment in smart buildings is usually returned in less than two years.2. Use
Commercial and industrial site owners once considered smart building use to be limited. With creative design and fabrication, smart buildings are well suited to diverse uses. For example, smart buildings are ideal for industrial facilities that need to restrict industrial processes for worker safety. Purchasing a smart building provides restricted use for QA/QC labs and processes requiring hazardous chemical and biochemical R&D.

Smart buildings serve as additional storage areas. In some municipalities, smart buildings serve as adjunct school libraries. When classroom space is at a premium, smart buildings are the best and least expensive choices.

3. New Buildings
Some believe smart buildings must be brand new. This isn’t the case. Some smart buildings have been created using old truck trailers and rail cars. These buildings are retrofit to a specific design and use, and are barely recognizable as smart buildings.

4. Lack of Eye Appeal
In urban areas like New York City, building space is scarce. Smart buildings fill a particular need to create space. The advantage of a smart building is its full-scale automation features and space efficiency.

5. Smart Buildings are Mainly about Energy
Smart building management systems in place mean that equipment failures occur less often and reduce costs of operations and equipment repair.

Part two to follow.