We are hearing more about the “intelligent building” concept. If you do a quick Internet search, I’m sure you will find several definitions of intelligent building; however, when moving from theory to practice, we should all be pondering the best way to describe it.
Last month, CommScope was Cisco’s guest at the Ecobuild America event in Washington, DC. Cisco invited us as a valued Smart+Connected Real Estate Partner because any well-planned network discussion must address the physical layer as a component towards overall success. While CommScope offers a wide range of solutions and products that address the needs of an intelligent building, we found that customers and business partners gravitated toward our iPatch® solution to define what an intelligent building must contain. The SYSTIMAX® iPatch® enables control and a fundamental process change because it adds a software management component to an otherwise passive component of the infrastructure. This control and change leads to more complete optimization.
So, now we’re left with a host of questions:
• Does the ability to control all components to facilitate real and impactful operational efficiency make a building “intelligent”?
• Is an intelligent building one where all systems work together on one platform to decrease capital and operating expenses?
• Or, is an intelligent building simply a term that is still in evolution and won’t mean anything until all the component technologies and companies (building automation systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC); video surveillance; communication, and access control) finally hold hands and get along?
What do you think?
