Unlocking the Promise of Connected and Intelligent Buildings

Despite years of talk and best intentions, our industry has yet to deliver smart buildings in a meaningful way. While the necessary technology exists today, our relentless focus on lowest first cost and value engineering drives smart building functionality out of projects?far too often.?

All of?that promise remains locked because of limited thinking throughout the design phases. The climate and our communities suffer the most. We need to think differently.?To address the?current?climate, affordability and?equity?crises ,?we?must?transform the built environment?by delivering connected and intelligent buildings at scale.??

Action for Impact ?is a McKinstry initiative to deliver the optimized built environment that our communities deserve. It?challenges us to?fulfil?the?promise of connected and intelligent buildings ?by:?

• Adopting?better system planning for superior outcomes.?A typical building contains 15 or more low-voltage systems, including lighting controls, security systems, access cards, audiovisual, distributed antenna systems and more.?Siloed design, procurement and operating processes?and?a?failure to consider and prioritize?interoperability are impeding smart building progress. This is unacceptable because low voltage systems are critical?to?unlocking better outcomes through their collection of data for analysis and action. We must pioneer new approaches to low-voltage system design,?reduce?procurement?overhead?and?streamline?delivery?to?make these systems more affordable, integrated?and useful.???
• Enabling?shared energy and decarbonization at scale.?Buildings must become more than standalone islands.?EcoDistricts, in which multiple buildings?communicate?and?harmoniously?draw from?shared local?energy resources,?offer a new way to think about development.?This?shared-energy paradigm eradicates?unnecessary waste, accelerates?zero-carbon opportunities and forever changes?how occupants interact with the built environment.?By accelerating?neighborhood-scale shared?energy?adoption, we can turn buildings into tools?that help us?fight the climate and affordability crises.?
• Integrating smart buildings into smart grids.?Buildings must communicate with and help decarbonize our utility grids. Today, utilities have little visibility into – and are isolated from – the buildings they serve. We need buildings,?EcoDistricts?and?neighborhoods?to become active participants in grid optimization. When buildings and utilities communicate across the meter, they can collectively adapt to rapid grid load and demand changes in near real time.??

Everyone shares a responsibility in removing the obstacles?that prevent?connected and intelligent buildings from delivering climate, affordability and equity solutions.?A critical?first step in unlocking?the full potential of smart buildings is breaking down the outdated technology design, procurement and deployment process siloes that stifle system integration and interoperability.??

The?South Landing development in Spokane ?serves as a test case for what’s possible when our industry designs with connected and intelligent outcomes in mind. The optimized EcoDistrict shares energy across buildings to minimize energy consumption and carbon emissions. It also minimized redundant systems, driving down first costs and total costs. More importantly, the buildings within South Landing share data across the meter, allowing the local utility to balance building and grid operating needs.??

South Landing is inspiring McKinstry teams to think differently in leveraging shared-energy systems to reach zero-energy and zero-carbon aspirations?at zero cost premium. Our clients benefit from that?inspiration?with similar EcoDistricts coming to life in cities across the U.S.??

McKinstry stands?committed to transforming buildings into environments that adapt autonomously, share?energy and balance utility grids through our collaboration with clients, partners and the communities we serve. Together, we can unlock the promise of connected and intelligent buildings?to create more energy efficient environments?that?keep people healthy, happy and productive.?

Ash Awad?

President & Chief Market Officer?

Learn more about Action for Impact and the four initiatives driving McKinstry efforts at:?

• Our Call to Action for Impact ?
• Zero-Carbon Future ?
• Reengineered Supply Chain ??
• Connected & Intelligent Buildings ?
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ?
• McKinstry Action?For?Impact Landing Page ?