Smart Buildings for Sustainable Cities

The basic function of a building is to protect the user. It is, therefore, important for them because people need to control and create their own environment. Also, some people are thinking about the future and what it affects them. They are looking forward right now to make important decisions to build a safe, productive and sustainable cities. The important issue is can technology help to create a building that satisfy all these needs? These buildings have a name: Smart Buildings. They form part of a city’s infrastructure, contributing positively for sustainable city development, and to the environment and people.

The first reason for the project of Smart Buildings that use technology can help in the sustainable development of cities is the ability to control energy consumption. It happens because these buildings have automatic and integrated systems to control everything that uses energy to work inside and outside of the building. Unfortunately, most part of countries are still dependent of energy originated from fossils fuels.

According to Anne Sharp, “if urban buildings continue to be planned, designed, built and operated without a transformational change, the energy consumption of buildings is forecast to triple by 2050.” (Sustainable Buildings, 2009). As a result, when systems of electrical grids and networks programs of controlling information are connected, for example, the energy which is used will reduce dramatically.

When an electrical grid is interconnected with systems of controlling energy inside of the building, this connection is called Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs). In the other words, according Meli Stylianou, NZEBs are defined as buildings that are highly efficient and which over a year generate as much energy from renewable sources as they consume.” (2011).

This system is very helpful to lower current energy consumption because it are operated to work in a way to enhance a electrical demand — Demand Responsive Buildings (DBRs) — during specific periods, almost anticipating the needs and behavior of users. Moreover, when small changes have been made to  individual components of the building, such as large windows for receive more natural solar energy, bit by bit the difference between energy consume and accumulate reserve will be visible. However, to make it possible, it is necessary that the integration of these two frameworks and the willingness and interest of people who worry about adopting it in the big cities.

Individuals who are interested in developing systems for smart buildings are generally are worried about cost-benefit when these buildings are designed. Even if the initial costs to hire specialized technicians for creating and developing a complex infrastructure, acquiring equipment’s and specific construction materials will result a high cost in the first months. However, they will get financial returns in the long term. A good example of that is how technology can bring a faster return is the use of solar energy because this energy should be directed to support a reserve for special emergency, for instance in case of blackouts.

Consequently, when a converged infrastructure is interconnected with a sustainable techniques to reduce energy consumption (sensors of presence, rainwater reserve, recycling…) the environment and the human being will be positively affected. Although smart houses and buildings are not a reality in all places around the world, however where this technology is adopted, many people agree that it cannot solve their problems, but make life easier.

Light, all electronics, doors and internal climate can be controlled by gadgets installed in Smartphones and Tablets, especially, when people who have special needs, like John Peck who lost all of his limbs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in 2010. According Francesca Trianni, writer of the TIME magazine, Peck have a special house that helped him “with high-tech features such as moving cabinets, tablet-controlled lighting and an automated shower, his house is an example of how smart buildings can enable those who are disabled to be more self-sufficient.” (2014).

Finally, technology should be used to make life easier and more accessible for all people as Peck’s example showed previously. Likewise, architecture has the purpose of solving social and urban environmental problems such as poor quality living,  inadequate infrastructure and dense occupation. To encourage agents of development,  city governments must have enhanced political, financial and institutional capacity for ensuring access to more wealth generated in the city.

“Only in this way can cities adapt and deploy some of the vast array of tools available to address urban problems — tools such as land title registration, land use control, and tax sharing”, explains David Satterthwaite according his article entitled “The Urban Challenge Revisited” (2007). However, if the government of any country wants start the development of their cities in a sustainable and equal way, three factors are necessary for this goal to be possible: people, operations and integrated systems. All of these three factors contribute to make a dynamic, functional and productive building depending which type of role it will execute.

The key for dynamism, functionality and productivity in smart buildings is the investment in comfort for users. According to Emily Pacey, in the article Smart Buildings: People and Performance, “to survive, smart building systems need to accommodate individual occupants’ contrasting preferences for heat, light, cooling, entertainment, video conferencing and other services (Royal Academy of Engineering, 2013). In other words, when a building will be able to anticipate needs and behaviors of occupants, the concept of Smart will be possible in all human environments.

Furthermore, I think we need to understand that these changes will not occur  overnight. In fact, when the main issue concerns about develop of cities and how technology should be used to reduce and reuse energy consumption is a matter of time adopted it in most part of large cities. If some strategies are implemented by cities it will encourage more sustainable buildings.

The LEED Certificate seal is a great example of global incentive for develop more sustainable buildings because according to Anne Sharp, “the amount of energy sayings from LEED certified projects which population have been producing will equate to 25.8 million tons of coal until 2015, it is enough to fill 15 football stadiums” (Sustainable Buildings, 2009).

In conclusion, knowing the fact that technology always will change, affecting the way how people adapting and interacting with their environment, smart buildings are helping to change the way that technology and sustainability are seen. As a result, because the real need to reducing costs and preservation of nature, it is necessary to develop new energy-efficient interventions, real-time decision support systems and personnel security in “smart” buildings for sustainable cities.

References

Hatch, D. (2012, July 27). Smart cities. CQ Researcher, 22, 645-668. Retrieved from
http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id
=cqresrre2012072700&type=hitlist&num=7

Sharp, A. (2009, January). Slim City: Sustainable Buildings. Retrieved from
http://www.driversofchange.com/slimcity/downloads/sustainable_buildings_high_
res.pdf

Pacey, E. (2013, June 13). Smart buildings: people and performance. Retrieved from:
https://www.raeng.org.uk/news/publications/list/reports/RAEng_Smart_Buildings.pdf
Stylianou, M. (2011, November). Smart Net Zero Energy Buildings and Their Integration
in the Electrical Grid. ASHRAE Transactions, 117(1), 322-329. Retrieved from
http://0-search.ebscohost.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=67359326

Satterthwaite, D. (2007). The Urban Challenge Revisited. Environment, 49(9), 6-17.
Retrieved from
http://0-web.b.ebscohost.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/ehost/detail?sid=182f6582-2   c31-45ac-b23c-11d952a6b915%40sessionmgr110&vid=3&hid=120&bdata=#db=aph&AN=27718492

Trianni, F. (2014, June). A Look Inside the Home That Made “Life Easier” for a Marine
Veteran Who Lost All His Limbs. TIME, 22 N0.3, 70-71.