Prior to the smart building era, commercial real estate was not as strongly tied to overall organizational productivity. It was a necessary operating expense that, when treated as an investment with growth potential, could yield a return on capital. However that return was not always related to the commercial activities that occurred within the space.
Today, this dynamic is changing. As advanced building technologies continue their march towards mainstream adoption, indoor building environmental quality is becoming a bigger piece of many companies’ competitive strategy. This is because staffing costs are typically 50-85% of total business operating expenses, and when the office experience for employees is sub-optimal, productivity and competitiveness are impacted.
In fact, substantial research shows that buildings with sub-optimal indoor environments exert a significant productivity cost on the businesses within those spaces. This cost, when quantified in studies, typically exceeds the net energy costs for the entire building over an average year. And since the average building owner spends 22% of their building operating costs on energy in a given year, this is a non-trivial expense.
Fortunately, new building technologies can help. Installing an IoT system into a commercial building results in energy efficiency gains of 80% or more. These building technology upgrades can free up operating capital for investment in initiatives that may be otherwise difficult to finance, such as employee wellness programs that directly impact productivity.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, installing IoT into a workplace immediately makes a building more responsive to the health and wellness needs of occupants.
Research has shown, for example, that better ventilation is correlated to increased productivity. IoT systems, which offer immediate energy savings, also come with these kind of HVAC optimization features that can improve indoor air quality for building occupants.
Likewise, optimizing the balance between artificial indoor lighting and natural daylighting has been correlated with improved learning outcomes in schools due to better light quality as well as improved mental stimulation and mood. It is probably that these findings can be projected onto any indoor environment where knowledge work is happening.
Similarly, hospitals that give patients control over in-room lighting features achieve improved healthcare outcomes, and more rapid recovery times. IoT systems, like Enlighted, come pre-installed with intelligent daylighting and task-specific light tuning features that grant this kind of enhanced occupant control and personalization.
Research institutions like The Center for the Built Environment at UC Berkeley highlight a number of additional areas for consideration in building occupant wellness: acoustics, human comfort, speech, privacy, team space, and collaboration. The US Green Building Council is also incorporating wellness factors into the standard via their new WELL Building Standard®.
Building IoT systems like Enlighted are already addressing several of these factors – through the IoT software applications focused on human comfort discussed above, but also with intelligent IoT-powered spatial design software. The Enlighted Space application, for example, helps analyze and deliver on occupant privacy needs, and creates customized workspaces for teams. It also allows building managers to see exactly how these spaces are being used in real-time.
Applications that monitor and optimize workplace acoustics, speech, and more are not far off, as new use cases for IoT in commercial buildings are being developed all the time.
So, in an era where smart, healthy buildings are becoming the norm, sub-optimal spaces that don’t actively consider worker wellness, or how building technology can enhance the experience of the workplace, will increasingly act as a drag on competitiveness, productivity, and talent acquisition.
These technologies are here, and delivering value, today.
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