High Performance Buildings: A Tsunami of Change Is Coming
Increasingly, building and facility managers need usage data and dashboards – with video surveillance and access control data included – to gain insights on how a building is being used.
Legrand's WattStopper distributed control system called Digital Lighting Management (DLM) was included in the Parkland Hospital project in Dallas. Completed in 2015, the $1.27 billion high performance building is said to be the largest public healthcare facility in the United States.
By Brian DiBella
A wide range of forces including security, environmental concerns, market demands and regulatory factors are driving architects and building management leaders to focus on designing and constructing high performance buildings (HPBs). This movement, coupled with the drive toward advanced connectivity and the near explosion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, presents security professional with many challenges and opportunities.
According to the federal government and the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, an HPB has to achieve optimum efficiency on a continuous basis. This means a building has to integrate and optimize all major performance attributes including energy conservation, environment, safety, security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality and operational considerations in order to be considered an HPB.
However, it’s the building managers, designers, architects, and systems professionals who define HPBs on a daily basis as they make decisions to balance the multiple objectives for a specific building use. Building and facility managers need usage data and dashboards – with video and access control data included – to gain insights on how a building is being used. Any system that helps make the total environment more visible and more accessible has an opportunity within high-performance buildings.
Beyond the design elements, there’s a clear emphasis for managers to prove the worth of these buildings. When it comes to sustainability, functionality and monitoring within HPBs, managers need to be able to show data that demonstrate positive results. Because of this, there is a greater need for more and better sensing and monitoring technology. This is where security integrators and installers can come in and provide value.
Connectivity and IoT
As connected devices become more relevant, facility designers and managers need to assure that a building’s occupants stay connected in countless ways. From controlling lights and power outlets to monitoring energy consumption, to contributing to the endless usage data stream, IoT will be leading the way.
While it’s a small percentage today, some estimate that IoT will generate approximately 10% of the global GDP by 2020. IoT has strong business momentum and all market projections toward 2020 are bullish. A survey by FNAC in 2014 shows that for consumers, the main categories for which connected objects can bring value are:
Security Systems
- smart alarm systems 85%
- smart surveillance cameras 85%
- smart smoke detectors 80%
Health Systems
- smart thermometers 65%
- smart blood pressure monitors 64%
- smart pill containers 53%
Safe, Secure and Resilient
Additionally, concerns about occupancy safety have elevated the importance of building security beyond the traditional concerns of potential fire, electrical, and physical hazards. Building owners today have to be prepared for times when the safety and wellbeing of the people and assets within a building are in danger even when the physical building itself is not. Intruders, active shooters, explosives, pandemics and cyber attacks are just some of the threats that a building owner may have to contend with in the 21st century.
The expectation for greater security and resilience is spurring new requirements, such as seismic-rated products, redundant systems, and waterproofing. Security planning now involves not just hardware (e.g., cameras, gates) but also design elements (e.g., site of mechanical equipment) and greater collaboration among architects, engineers, and, increasingly, security consultants.
The HPB Holistic Approach
High-performance buildings go far beyond the requirements of basic building codes and standards. HPB engineers consider building operations holistically – accounting for everything from energy and water consumption to lighting and sound levels – with the ultimate goal of providing sustainable design principles to ensure optimal performance over extended periods of time. They recognize the interconnected nature of the building materials and occupant well being.
Building managers need to know how frequently spaces are occupied, allowing them to adjust the layout of space and the use of lighting and climate control based on these usage trends. The types of monitoring, both video surveillance and otherwise, that security professionals use to manage access within buildings can be very valuable. This data can provide building managers with a better understanding of how spaces are being used and increase the overall efficiency.
Security professionals can also provide a real foundation of on-going data as the use of space evolves. Do occupants prefer a huddle space, or formal meeting room? How often are private offices occupied verses common areas? This type of data allows building managers to adapt their space to actual occupant use, allowing the building to be more efficient in terms of footprint and to make sure the right resources and tools are available for the occupants.
The role of a security system is shifting from exclusively managing access to a building and its spaces, to an on-going role where the relationship with the building is more integrated, providing dynamic data to help the building evolve. The ability to provide tools for tracking the usage and traffic within a space, as well as capturing and reporting on how occupants use certain rooms and resources is a great opportunity for security professionals.
Managers need reliable ways to capture, analyze and report on the usage. With this in mind, security systems can be viewed as the internal nervous system of a building, becoming the eyes and ears of the facility.
At the end of the day, the building is only part of the equation. The reason we design and manage high-performance buildings is to give people a place to do great work. The building needs to support them safely, efficiently, sustainably, but ultimately it’s the performance of the people in the building that contribute to the success of the occupying businesses. We need to find the balance of human performance and building performance.
Brian DiBella is President of the Electrical Wiring Systems (EWS) division of Legrand, North America. He is responsible for all P&L activities and oversees the executive leadership team for the adorne, Pass & Seymour, Wiremold, Cablofil, On-Q and Luxul brands.
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