Green buildings? Sustainable buildings? Smart buildings? Intelligent buildings? Are these terms all talking about the same thing?

Smart Buildings: Gathering the Data

Smart/intelligent is about how to gather, manage, analyze, visualize and optimize data. Some of the data-related “things” largely outside the scope of green/sustainability issues are telecommunications, office data networks, access control, video surveillance and A/V systems.

Part of a building’s immense data collecting, however, from total energy consumed to room temperature trends, is very much about green/sustainable issues. Why have all that data unless you are going to do something useful with it? For human and environmental benefits, a Building Automation System (BAS) uses data to optimize energy efficiency and occupant comfort.

Green Buildings: Applying the Data

Energy efficiency and the health and comfort of occupants are big components of green and sustainable initiatives. The green movement is also, however, interested in more global issues as well, such as the total impact (from cradle to grave) of a building on the environment. Such concerns include recycling and reuse of materials, water usage and treatment, emissions of pollutants, sustainable sites, redeveloping brownfields and nearness to mass transportation. These issues tend to fall outside the scope of what is considered smart/intelligent in a building.