And what is done for the sake of improvinghuman lives often has a benefit to theplanet, as well. One of the smartestbuildings on earth, the Edge in Amsterdam,is also the greenest: it was awarded thehighest sustainability score ever given byBREEAM (the Building ResearchEstablishment Environmental AssessmentMethod), receiving a 98.4% due  to itsinnovations with smart technology. 

Consider just some of the numerous waysthat smart buildings can benefit yourbuilding and your planet.

Intelligent LightingWhen it comes to lighting, many peopleassume that simply having enough light tosee is the only important factor. But thequality of light can have so much more ofan impact on the health, well being andattention of the individuals in your building.Many buildings already have motionsensing lights, as we are all aware, but fewtake full advantage of what is available withintelligent lighting. When a lighting systemthat allowed teachers to dim and changethe color of the light in their classrooms,they saw an immediate uptick in student'sattention and focus.  

AnIntroductionto SmartBuildings

People who use fitness trackers and othersimilar technology will often say that theylearned so much about themselves andtheir habits by using such devices.Aggregating data - even as simple as howmany steps one takes in a day - can revealpatterns we never knew existed. Andchanging behavior – always difficult, as weall know – can be made easier simply byhaving access to that data. 

Imagine what kinds of changes we canmake when it comes to more than just oneperson, but to an entire office, company, orapartment building. This is possible throughtechnology we already have today, bycombining the Internet of Things (IoT) witha Power over Ethernet (PoE) backbone tocreate smart buildings. It is likely that youhave heard of at least some of thistechnology already but may not know ofsome of the incredible features thesesystems can possess. PoE is modular,flexible, and provides continuous data aboutthe health and wellness of all who reside inyour building. There are countless elementsto these incredible platforms, and we haveonly begun to scratch the surface with whatthey can provide for us.

But this is not always the case: silence canbe just as distracting as loud noises at times.In open office floor plans, for example, it cansometimes be so quiet that a coworker'smechanical keyboard seems like theloudest noise in existence, and what forthem is a productive email is for you tenminutes of frustration and a complete lackof focus. Even in private offices, sound cantravel much more than one would think: ifthe walls were constructed out of thinnermaterials that are designed to be movedeasily, what was assumed to be a privatemeeting is suddenly the gossip of the watercooler. 

That is why sound masking is so important.This technique is different from noisecancelation, as it is additive, not subtractive.A simple example is something like a waterfeature – by including one in your waitingroom or reception area, something like roadnoise is covered seamlessly by the sound ofgently falling water, and your clients canrest assured that their conversations arediscrete. A more complicated example isinstalling small sound speakers above theceiling tiles in your office, which can quietlyproduce white noise throughout the officeto gently make the area less deathly quiet,and provide privacy to areas that need it. Asthese are often small, low voltage devices,sound masking can be incorporated into asmart building platform to act incoordination with all of the other IoT deviceswithin the space.

Studies on sound suggest fascinating andworrisome trends: noisy environments havemany long-term effects on our health,ranging from the obvious (hearing loss andimpairment, as well as sleep disturbances)to the less obvious (heart disease andimmune system changes). Sound is alsodamaging for wildlife, as well. Studies haveshown that the over-abundance of boatsand other loud motorized aquaticequipment make life difficult for animalsthat use sonar to communicate. Buildingsmarter buildings that know how muchsound is being generated, and where it maybe leaking out into the city streets or into

Simply by changing the amount andtemperature of the lighting, students wereable to refocus on tasks that werebecoming less stimulating over time, evenwhen they were unaware of the change inlight. 

Motion activated lighting has existed fordecades of course, but motion trackinglighting is something much more recent.Utilizing motion sensors, this allows forlighting that brightens as motion comestowards it, and dims as it leaves, creating asmall pool of light around an individualrather than lighting the entire area. Thistechnology is ideal for evenings whenbuildings are being cleaned, or apartmentswith few occupants walking in the middleof the night. Using smart building software,a building owner can get an understandingof how often their spaces are used at night.This data could allow a further reduction toenergy consumption via this more task-oriented lighting, providing a benefit to yourbottom line and to the environment.

Lastly, ultraviolet light can be utilized tosterilize surfaces. Referred to as UltravioletGermicidal Irradiation, or UVGI, this processhas been used for decades in medicalsanitation and is now being utilized in otherlocations through smart technology.Through sensors and timers installed inlight fixtures and connected through PoE,UV lighting can be activated at times whenno one should be in the building (such aslate at night, for example), and when itsenses no movement (as a safety feature) aslong as all of the hardware components areunified on one software platform. Thisshould not replace standard cleaningprocedures, of course, but this utilization ofPoE can act as an additional layer ofprotection.

SoundSound, like lighting, is another area thatmany tend not to give much thought. It isoften assumed that so long as an area isn'ttoo noisy, anyone should be able to focus inthat space.

TemperatureEveryone has their own preferences when itcomes to temperature, but at least a portionof that preference can be attributed togender. According to one study, women onaverage tend to prefer warmertemperatures, and in fact tend to performbetter on math and verbal tasks when theyare in spaces where the temperaturematches their comfort level. On average,men tend to prefer cooler temperatures,but see little change along productivity lineswhen exposed to warmer ones. Thus,increasing temperatures for all genderswould be the most beneficial to the wholeoffice, but even better than this would bethe solution that smart technology providesfor us: individual climate control for allemployees or residents of the building.Achieving custom controls and moretargeted HVAC usage can be achievedwhen using a smart building platform thatunifies multiple systems into one controlcenter.

Of course, energy efficiency is a must - bothfrom a corporate social responsibilityperspective and from increasing regulationsby local municipalities. Smart buildingtechnology can help with comfort andproductivity, but it could be exploited to thepoint of excess if no limits are set. A greathelp to maintaining efficiency for a smartbuilding utilizing such individualizedtemperature control is to install a series ofsensors connected to the windows of thebuilding, so that the system knows if theyhave been opened while the heating orcooling portions of the building, thuspreventing energy – as well as monetary -waste. Additionally, facilities managerscould set a predetermined range oftemperatures to ensure no room exceedsthe maximum and minimum allowabletemperature.

Mental Health andProductivity It should be clear at this point that many - ifnot all - of these elements will improve the 

nature, can only have positive effects on theoccupants of our smart buildings as well asthe external environment. 

Air Quality Next is an area of smart building technologythat once again has a great deal of range:air quality. Air quality is an increasingconcern globally, and it can impacteverything from health to productivity.Improving air quality, whether by refreshingstale office air or removing strong smellsfrom a microwaved lunch, to sensing whencarbon monoxide levels are rising beyondthe threshold, are well within the bounds ofsmart building technology, and have animmediate impact on the space’soccupants. Smart building platforms allowowners to use air quality sensors to triggeralerts to building management whenpollutants rise beyond acceptable levelsindoors, or to trigger increased HVACactivity to filter air more quickly in targetedparts of the building. While carbonmonoxide detectors are readily available,and a bottle of air freshener can help withmost smells, only smart building technologycan let you monitor all of these factors andfrom one location, let you know when filtersneed changing, and make adjustments toevery setting with the touch of a button.

Smart building technology can also scan forother common indoor pollutants, such asasbestos, nitrogen dioxide, and radon, andhelp prevent Sick Building Syndrome (SBS).SBS, the phenomenon of illness steamingfrom the building someone resides or worksin, can be affected by many of the factorslisted above, but perhaps the mostimportant is air quality. After all, with poorair circulation or inadequate filtration, any ofthe reasons for SBS are made worse: mold,pesticides, pollutants, and so much more.And those indoor pollutants can very easilybecome outdoor pollutants, just aspollutants outdoors can become moreconcentrated indoors. Cleaner air isimportant to everyone, and improving airquality can decrease negative health effectson the employees' and occupant’s health.

less real estate space is needed for theirworkforce. In light of this, hot desking morethan ever needs to now be combined withintelligent disinfection to ensure thatspaces are sanitized frequently to preventthe spread of pathogens. Intelligentdisinfection can be achieved in many ways,including utilizing asset tracking (sensorsthat track the location of objects within abuilding) to track things like cleaning carts,ensuring that all areas of the building arebeing cleaned adequately and on schedule.All of this is possible if the building runs on aunified smart building platform to ensure alldevices and systems are working togetherfor optimal results.

Smart parking can be yet another aspect ofsmart buildings: by creating linking sensorsin parking sports and connecting those toapps available to your employees orresidents, they can be informed directlywhere there is parking available, instead ofhaving to drive around to find a spot. Whilethis may seem merely a minor convenience,not having this small irritation at thebeginning of a workday can be a great,almost-invisible boost to your mentalwellbeing. This also saves some minor wearand tear on your vehicle, as well as gas, andknowing that you are doing your part toreduce energy use and improve theenvironment is also helpful to mentalhealth. Conclusion This may all seem to be the future knockingat our door, but it is actually the presentwaiting for us to catch up. All of thistechnology is already highly available: thefinal step is simply to integrate all of thepieces into one, cohesive system. We haveso much to learn about ourselves and theworld through our buildings, and all of thatknowledge is perfectly attainable right now.There is so much to be learned, and somuch to be saved through these methods,both for us and for the planet.

collective mental health of your office.Knowing that everything is connected tothe same platform, that new things can beplugged into that platform whenever it isneeded, and that everything can bemonitored and changed on the fly asneeded is a wonderful load off the collectiveshoulders of those working for you or livingin your space. Simple things like setting upthe Wi-Fi router, figuring out what's wrongwith the projector in the conference room,or knowing for a fact that every door andwindow is closed and locked for the night,are all made so much easier when the datais all there, and every piece of technologyinherently works with every other piecethanks to a PoE-based platform. Downtimeis also decreased with such a system: wheneverything is being monitored, knowingprecisely what is wrong and how to fix itbecomes so much easier. 

According to the TED talk given by Coenvan Oostrom about his building, the Edge -which, as previously discussed, is thegreenest building in the world - 30% of alldesk space goes unused in an averageworkday, due to sick days, out of office work,and vacation. This means that on average,we can reduce the size of office buildings byat least 30%, thus saving costs and reducingecological impact in one fell swoop. Buthow would we deal with that 30% reductionin office space and increase in real-estateeffectiveness? By hot desking. Hot desking –the term for not assigning desks to anyindividuals, and instead allowing them toswitch to any works station they wantwhenever they want – allows for multipletypes of work stations, increasedstimulation and focus, and mostimportantly, fewer empty desks.

At the same time, in order to bring workersinto the office, these spaces need to beclean and safe. This TED talk was given in2016, years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,which has already accelerated the work-from-home trend and further decreasedmany corporate offices’ real estate needs.Regardless of why they are coming to thisconclusion, companies are realizing that

Igor, Inc. Founded in 2013, Igor is a leading Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) software companythat connects devices to the Internet of Things through their open API platform.With a global market increasingly trending toward smart homes and businesses,Igor has quickly made a name for itself as a company that makes enabling smartbuildings easy. Now installed in over 30 countries, Igor's flagship product, Nexos,delivers on the global market’s readiness to enter the IoT world.

Nexos is a robust IoT smart building platform built on Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)technology that supports a growing ecosystem of partners that deliver a diverseset of user needs, such as intelligent lighting, security integrations, and advanceddigital building controls. Nexos enables smart buildings by bringing togetherdisparate systems, devices, and technologies into one centralized platform. Thisallows companies to use Nexos for capturing better business outcomes andimproving occupant experiences.

If you would like to know more about how a smart building can affect the healthof your employees and environment, please visit Igor’s website at igor-tech.com.