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Today’s workplace environments are not what they were just 5 years ago. Post-pandemic, the hybrid work model has almost become the norm, making it increasingly difficult to entice employees back to traditional workspaces. Simultaneously, outdated office buildings can become property portfolio liabilities, particularly if they don’t meet expected building standards like LEED or WELL, putting them at risk of becoming stranded assets.
As mentioned in previous posts in this blog series, for building owners and facility managers, now is the time to refocus on creating efficient, engaging, and comfortable workspaces. This may mean balancing building upgrade investments amidst managing today’s razor-thin profit margins, meaning finding scalable and cost-effective solutions has never been more urgent.
Smart sensing IoT solutions provide a path forward
The good news is that, in many cases, this doesn’t mean overhauling HVAC or building management systems (BMSs). Often, it’s more about how those systems are monitored and controlled; this is where state-of-art internet of things (IoT) sensors excel.
Smart sensing IoT solutions combine wireless sensing devices and enterprise cloud-based software to accurately collect detailed data on key indoor environment conditions such as temperature, humidity, and indoor air quality (IAQ) and even workspace usage like meeting rooms or desk occupancy.
The wireless and simple surface-mounted sensor design eliminates the need for costly, complex, or disruptive installation. Further, they are battery-powered and can be easily configured to sample more frequently during work hours and less on nights and weekends to save on battery life.
Better insights for better space management
Once deployed, these advanced IoT sensing solutions generate and collect near real-time building data, providing building managers and owners data-based insights to make adaptive indoor space decisions for:
- Smarter space planning: Real-time occupancy data enables more efficient use of meeting rooms. For example, sensors can immediately identify available spaces, reducing occupants’ frustrations like unavailable rooms. Longer-term occupancy data analysis can reveal whether meeting spaces are appropriately sized, helping optimize layout space by dividing one large room into multiple smaller, more functional spaces.
- Workspace optimization: Desk and room occupancy sensors can ensure more effective sharing options for workspaces, making optimizing features like hotel desks for hybrid workers or guests easier for tenants, and providing the right space for when occupants are ready to support their productivity.
- Air quality and comfort: By combining occupancy data with IAQ metrics, systems can proactively adjust ventilation in response to CO2 levels, for example, keeping occupants comfortable without any action on their part.
- Energy efficiency: Reduce energy use (and associated costs) and increase energy efficiency by leveraging occupancy data insights with local BMS integration to automate systems like lighting and HVAC. Additionally, it helps reduce energy consumption by optimizing the number of air changes needed in a space based on its occupancy.
- Building services scheduling: By using a platform with open APIs, actual space usage data can synchronize with facility services like cleaning and maintenance schedules, optimizing service delivery, and controlling costs.
Each function gives occupants a greater sense of workspace control, leveraging data to adapt conditions to support their well-being.
Creating workspaces that respond to occupant needs
Taking steps towards creating a building of the future has been perceived as challenging. However, with solutions capable of scaling at your pace of upgrading, state-of-the-art IoT sensing can transform traditional workspaces into adaptive hubs for productivity and well-being. Learn more about how EcoStruxure™ Building-IoT Sensor Solution can help.
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