Smart controls are revolutionising building management, offering enhanced occupant experiences as well as significant energy efficiency benefits. This blog looks into how smart controls improve the inhabitants’ experience, and also provide significant energy advantages for Facility Management (FM).
Enhancing Human Experience
Smart controls create a more comfortable and efficient environment for occupants, and can be adapted to time of day, or zones to create specific experiences, such as welcome lighting in hotel rooms, or adaptive lighting in office buildings.
Personalised Lighting Settings
Offices
In office environments, personalised lighting settings allow employees to customise their workspace lighting to suit their preferences. This can reduce eye strain, improve concentration, and boost overall productivity. Different tasks might require varying levels of illumination, and the ability to adjust lighting can help employees work more efficiently and for longer.
In offices, integrating lighting controls with HVAC and security systems creates a cohesive and automated workplace. For instance, lights can be programmed to turn on and off based on occupancy detected by security systems, while HVAC systems can adjust temperatures based on the number of people in a room, optimising energy usage and comfort.
Adaptive lighting and climate controls in offices can adjust to the needs of employees throughout the day. For example, lighting can be brightened during morning hours to help wake up the workforce and dimmed later to reduce glare on computer screens. Climate controls can maintain a consistent, comfortable temperature, improving overall workplace well-being and productivity.
Hotels
Good lighting is essential to your guests’ well-being. Bio-adaptive lighting offers scientifically validated lighting recipes that ensure comfort every hour of the day.
Simulate a natural wake-up in the morning. Energise guests in the bathroom and in the gym. Reduce light levels in the evening to promote better sleep. Provide low-level illumination on the way to the bathroom at night to minimise sleep disruption.
Guests in smart hotels can tailor the lighting in their rooms to create a comfortable and relaxing environment. Personalised settings can enhance the guest experience, making them feel more at home and improving overall satisfaction. For example, guests can adjust lighting for reading, working, or sleeping, contributing to a more enjoyable stay.
Smart hotels benefit greatly from integrated systems. Lighting controls can work in tandem with HVAC systems to adjust room conditions as guests enter or leave, ensuring energy efficiency. Integration with security systems enhances safety, while providing guests with seamless control over their environment through a single interface, such as a mobile app or in-room tablet.
In hotels, adaptive controls can enhance guest comfort by automatically adjusting lighting and temperature based on time of day or guest activity. For example, a room’s lighting can gradually brighten in the morning to simulate a natural sunrise, helping guests wake up naturally, while the climate control ensures a comfortable sleeping environment at night.
In some climates, HVAC can account for over half of a hotel’s energy consumption. Linking check-in/check-out information and data from smart occupancy sensors helps to optimise energy usage in guest rooms by turning down systems when rooms are unoccupied. Allow your guests to choose sustainable room settings themselves by offering a Green Mode.
An energy audit by Cundall, a 5* hotel in Singapore showed the installation of Philips Interact adaptive controls led to a 26% energy saving, a cost reduction of 210USD per room, per year.
Smart Buildings
In smart buildings, personalised lighting can be applied to communal areas and individual rooms alike. Occupants can set their preferred lighting for different times of the day or activities, leading to a more comfortable and adaptable living or working environment.
Smart buildings use integrated systems to create a fully automated environment. Lighting, HVAC, security, and even appliances can communicate and work together to optimise energy use and enhance occupant comfort. This integration leads to smart buildings being more efficient, safer, and more convenient for their occupants.
For smart buildings, adaptive systems improve the overall living or working environment by continuously adjusting to changing conditions. This leads to greater occupant satisfaction as spaces become more responsive to individual needs and preferences, fostering a healthier and more productive environment for all users.
Personalised lighting settings, integration with other smart systems, and improved comfort and productivity through adaptive controls provide significant benefits to offices, hotels, and smart buildings. These advanced features not only enhance occupant experience but also contribute to energy efficiency and operational effectiveness, making the investment in smart controls a wise choice for modern buildings. Companies have achieved up to 40% energy reduction by implementing smart lighting and HVAC controls.
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