J2 Innovations’ FIN Framework sits at the heart of many smart building, smart equipment and IoT projects which gives the management team a deep insight into industry trends. How we use and interact with buildings is changing. Now the rate of change has been dramatically accelerated by the experience of
As Abtec Building Technologies seeks to enhance its service offering to industrial and commercial customers, the award-winning smart buildings provider has announced the appointment of Kieron O’Toole as Head of Industrial IoT. In his new role, Kieron will lead the business unit responsible for the design, implementation and management of
In this technological era, everything seems to be easy. Most things can be done with just a single tap on your device. From setting the room temperature to opening the garage gate, you don’t need to stand up and do it by yourself. Imagine yourself coming home after a very
Do people want a smart box that can physically control everything in their homes? We posed this question to consumers for the first time, back in 2004. Being a home automation company in the Netherlands and coming from a background of technology development and IoT enthusiasm, we pioneered remote controlling
James Tee from mobile app agency Sonin explains how connected technology is currently making an impact in households and why construction firms need to plan ahead for the future. The influx of Internet of things (IOT)/connected devices, apps and software is evidently making its mark on the construction industry. From
Gooee is using the Frankfurt Light + Building 2016 exhibition for the European preview of the world’s first ‘full-stack’ lighting ecosystem. An interactive demonstration on its stand will offer delegates the chance to fully experience the key end-user benefits of luminaire products that feature ‘Gooee Inside’, including Environmental Intelligence, Human
J2 Innovations’ FIN Framework sits at the heart of many smart building, smart equipment and IoT projects which gives the management team a deep insight into industry trends. How we use and interact with buildings is changing. Now the rate of change has been dramatically accelerated by the experience of the COVID-19 virus and its repercussions, both good and bad. Industries across the board have been affected and have had to adapt how they operate. In building controls, the drive is towards remote work and management, digital processes, and increased automation. Remote work and management Many people are becoming familiar with working remotely and managers are realising that they need, or might want, to expand remote working to more people within their organisation. To keep up with the needs of occupants, building operators need the capability to manage buildings remotely at a macro level and through applications at a micro or personal level. This is true for large buildings but applicable to smaller buildings and portfolios. With technology like J2’s new FIN microBMS enabling plug ‘n’ play solutions for the small to mid-sized buildings market, it is becoming easier for multi-site organisations to efficiently manage buildings remotely. “The COVID crisis is accelerating building portfolio operators’ realisation that they need to be able to remotely manage their buildings more effectively, so the need for easier and more secure connectivity technologies will increase. The climate crisis is accelerating the transition to greener technologies, both in terms of renewable energy generation and a focus on reducing the carbon emissions from existing buildings by optimising the way they are controlled. In many buildings, the need to increase air change rates to reduce the risk of COVID transmission, has temporarily been prioritised over energy efficiency. But once the immediate crisis has passed, the HVAC industry will deepen its commitment to developing more advanced ways of maintaining good indoor air quality, while simultaneously minimising energy use. Air ionisation and mechanical heat recovery solutions are therefore likely to grow in popularity.” says Chris Irwin, VP of Sales EMEA, J2 Innovations An interesting aspect of working more remotely can be seen in the prefabricated buildings market. Because modular or prefab construction is more efficient and cost effective than building on-site, building off-site and delivering completed pieces of a building has become a growing trend in the construction industry. J2 Innovations is already seeing this trend extending to include controls, with more pre-installation during the off-site construction phase. Flexible spaces Building owners, particularly those operating in retail, will need to make their buildings more flexible and adaptable – victory and profits will go to the nimble. Despite the growing demand for on-line shopping, bricks and mortar spaces are still needed to service market needs that cannot be met on-line: cafés; gyms; hairdressers; entertainment and cultural venues; click and collect places, where customers can find services to rewrap returns, postal or delivery counters, instant clothing alterations, etc. These market demands cannot be delivered to your door and need safe and smart spaces. As retailers and hospitality companies adapt to these changes and consider omni-channel experiences, building owners need to rethink their offering. In-person shopping isn’t dead, it’s just different. “I expect an increase in demand for warehouses as many businesses will move from brick-and-mortar stores to the Internet where much of it will remain” says Michal Lom, Sales Manager Northern & CEE. “There is likely to be a shift from open plan to fewer offices with a higher quality of indoor environment as one of the lasting effects of coronavirus. This will result in the re-modelling of the interior and the overall upgrade of technology in the building”. There will be an increase in localized, shared workspaces as many people will work in home office mode, but not everyone has the conditions for it at home. Also, people are sociable creatures and need contact with others, which shared offices can offer them. Digital Processes If it can be and hasn’t already been transformed, 2021 will see ever more processes becoming digital: IoT, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning are the future. We must consider what this means for our own businesses and how quickly we can adapt, adopt, and apply to keep ahead of the market and the competition. For building operations, space must adapt and so must the services a building provides for comfort, safety, health, and security. Automation play an increasingly important role; bringing in machine learning, data management and analytics, cloud, and edge computing, IoT and, probably we will find applications for blockchain and AI too. “I believe we will continue to see a concerted and continued push to integrate and leverage the vast amounts of valuable data derived from Operational Technologies (OT) (i.e. manufacturing floor, building systems) into the Information Technology (IT) side of the enterprise. Most mature IT infrastructures already possess and maintain existing computing resources (servers, storage, networking, security) either deployed on premise or in the cloud. This infrastructure supports traditional mission critical IT enterprise applications. Use of existing IT infrastructure assets and the associated enterprise applications layer (e.g. SAP ERP, IBM Maximo for asset management, analytics platforms) enables OT data to be more seamlessly consumed, resulting in streamlined business processes, reduced cost, increased productivity and optimization of existing and future enterprise assets.” – Steve Glymph, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships, J2 Innovations Investment in Interoperability VP of Engineering, Hisham Ennarah sees a greater focus on solving interoperability issues between devices and protocols. This issue has, for many years now, been of growing significance for the industry, but in 2021 big investments and more progress can be expected to solve it. “There are a bunch of initiatives to resolve the inter-connectivity problems we have in the building automation industry. I see investment from multiple organizations in this area of inter-connectivity between different protocols and frameworks. A good example of that is The Web of Things (WoT), an exciting initiative which is an open source standard being pioneered by Siemens.”
As Abtec Building Technologies seeks to enhance its service offering to industrial and commercial customers, the award-winning smart buildings provider has announced the appointment of Kieron O’Toole as Head of Industrial IoT. In his new role, Kieron will lead the business unit responsible for the design, implementation and management of IoT and data infrastructure for Industrial and commercial customers – from edge to core to cloud. This will allow Abtec BT to deliver even greater expertise and value in smart buildings and the new wave of smart factories being implemented globally. The Industrial IoT service brings together Abtec’s range of digital services including IT/OT converged data networks; high availability data centres and WAN; cyber security; intelligent lighting, heating and access control; CCTV; presence tracking; and 24/7 infrastructure and energy management. These digital foundations reduce operational cost and risk for customers, but they also form the bedrock of wider Industry 4.0 programmes such as digital twins, supply chain integration, machine learning and AI optimisation, whilst enabling a world of new Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors and applications to be deployed. Prior to joining Abtec at the beginning of October, Kieron has worked extensively across the industrial and enterprise ICT environments in systems engineering and businesses improvement roles for organisations such as Polestar Interactive and BT Global Services. He is also a member of Aston University’s Industrial Advisory Board and the Institute of Consulting. Of his appointment, Kieron comments: “It is an exciting time to be joining Abtec Building Technologies. Industrial IoT will play a transformative role in customer experience and production efficiency and will enable new ways of working across the entire supply chain. Using my knowledge and experience, I am looking forward to being part of Abtec leveraging its unique expertise, assets and service wrap in the industrial market to provide our customers a reliable data infrastructure partner.” Dave Watkins, Director of Abtec Building Technologies, commented: “We are delighted that Kieron has joined Abtec in this new role. He has a proven track record in delivering results, and his expertise will add value to our business as we grow our Industrial IoT service offering.” www.abtecbt.com
In this technological era, everything seems to be easy. Most things can be done with just a single tap on your device. From setting the room temperature to opening the garage gate, you don’t need to stand up and do it by yourself. Imagine yourself coming home after a very long and tiring day. That was winter and the cold wind is blowing angrily on your window. You quickly enter your house and only to find that the cold has penetrated the insides of your home. You immediately turn on the thermostat. But before it could manage to heat the whole place up, you are already shivering with cold. Grabbing your favorite blanket, you head to the couch and roll yourself into a ball. Well, that should not be happening by now with smart thermostats readily available in the market. With the smart thermostat, you can turn it on way before you even step on your porch. Once you arrive at your house, the room has been heated up and all. Smart thermostats also turn itself off automatically if it doesn’t detect any motion happening in the house. That comes handy when you forgot to turn it off. Instead of consuming a lot of energy, it helps lower down your energy bills. One of the best thermostats you can buy is Nest. You can easily connect it to the Wi-Fi network in your home plus you can control it using your smartphone by downloading the Nest app from the Google Play Store. There, you can see the room temperature as well as the temperature outside your house. You can also adjust the temperature according to your liking. Aside from Nest, there are still other thermostats that can fulfill your needs. If you want to know what are the best thermostats that are compatible with Google Home, you should check out the article The Best Google Home Compatible Thermostats for Smart Climate Control. You’ll be offered 7 thermostat options and helpful answers to the frequently asked questions. A Brief History on Smart Home Since day 1, people have been obsessed with creating machines that would lessen manual work. Before smart devices are a thing, electric-powered appliances have been helping humans in getting the work done fast and efficient. In the early 1900s, the first washing machine, vacuum cleaner, clothes dryer, dishwasher, water heater, sewing machine, and refrigerator were introduced. Those machines did reduce the workload, and their success became a stepping stone for more home automation projects. More than 70 years after, the first general-purpose home automation technology was born. The network was meant to control multiple tasks at once, which in turn, will consume less time and require lesser effort to manage. Although technological breakthrough seemed slow, its potential can’t be denied. True enough, we’re now living in a world where almost everything can be manipulated using smart devices. And it seems like we are not stopping, either. Creating Smart Homes From Scratch To have an automated home, it should be smart from the ground-up. Of course, that requires a great deal of planning and . . . money. However, for the homeowners of the future, it sure doesn’t matter as long as it will make their life much easier. It’s true that you can purchase individual smart devices to handle different tasks, but it’s a lot better if you integrate home automation while you are still building your home from scratch. In that way, you can manage them all using just one platform. Controlling different home features such as security, temperature, lights, and maintenance can be quite tiring and difficult. But, you have a choice to do it simultaneously if your house is smart enough from the beginning. Supposing that the world is heading is up for more advancements, we can rightfully believe that in the years to come, all homes will be controlled by smart machines. Why not start now? It is a good investment as it will increase the value of your home with a couple of thousand dollars. Wrapping Up Internet of things, or IoT, is gradually being seen as the new standard nowadays. As the world becomes more and more tech-oriented, no doubt, smart homes will be the home of the future. Home development will never be the same, but way better.
Do people want a smart box that can physically control everything in their homes? We posed this question to consumers for the first time, back in 2004. Being a home automation company in the Netherlands and coming from a background of technology development and IoT enthusiasm, we pioneered remote controlling devices, smart lighting and assisted living, even back then. Now remember, this was years before the iPhone was introduced. Touchscreens had only just started popping up. Even though all of these things were already possible, our ambitious plan to “conquer the world” didn’t quite take off in the way we had expected. Why? It turns out that people didn’t want a mysterious box with the potential to control fully their home. They simply weren’t ready for that concept because they didn’t understand it. Years later, in 2012, the realization of what people actually wanted came when we partnered with a forward-thinking and leading Dutch energy company, Eneco. They realized that the energy world is changing and that we have to transition from a central to a decentralized system. From a world with central energy production and delivery over a grid to people’s homes, to a reality where people are generating their own, sustainable energy and using a smart grid. In this new world, they needed a new business model. They wanted to shift from a traditional supply of energy to a new service model, one that could help them connect with their customers and drastically reduce churn. The smart thermostat we were developing provided just that. From a smart box concept in 2004, it developed into a new self-learning smart thermostat that incorporated all the features of the original product, but added one big new advantage: an attractive smart energy display. This suddenly provided a new foothold into the smart home market, allowing multiple features to be introduced to the screen. It helped to transform the concept of a smart thermostat intended for a niche and ‘geeky’ audience into a mass energy-saving solution. Now, over 200,000 people have embraced this smart home proposition branded as ‘Toon’ by Eneco in their homes in the Netherlands, putting our product in the top three smart thermostats in Europe. The case for smart thermostats to provide a platform to the smart home became apparent, as sales continued to grow and we decided to build new features and services on top of our platform quickly after that. For instance, we connected smart plugs to our smart thermostat, so that consumers can control their lighting and devices and gain unique insights into their usage on a device level. We also introduced a smoke detection feature that builds on a wireless smoke detector and alerts Eneco’s customers when there is a fire in their homes. These are just a few of the many examples and opportunities that the platform offers. But there are more. Indeed, Quby sees the potential for many features to come: Smarter energy with storage and boiler management Eneco recently partnered with Tesla to sell their home energy storage solution called the “Powerwall”. We are currently developing new insight features for their solution on our smart thermostat. But not long before that, their user base was delighted to see a solar monitoring feature. This allows them to see how much energy they are generating, consuming and delivering back to the grid. The consumer thereby gains insight if they are on track to generate returns on their investment. Another recent introduction was a new boiler management service, allowing for maintenance of the boiler based on predictive analysis that shows the decreased performance of the boiler before it breaks down. These are just a few examples of the smart energy solutions that enable people worldwide to play an active role in the energy transition. Instead of shying away from these concepts because it threatens the traditional energy company’s position, Eneco decided to build their business around it. Insight into energy consumption and appliances The visual display of our device presents insightful details of the energy consumption of the user, showing hourly, daily, weekly and monthly usage of gas and electricity. This even allows for benchmarking with neighbours and friends. Additional features coach the user into understanding what’s happening in their home and to see where they can reduce both their usage and cut their bill. With the extension of a smart plug, they can now see how much energy usage individual appliances account for, and easily spot ‘energy hogs’ in their home. Beyond these features, our research and development team are also exploring ‘home health’ uses by adding sensors for air quality and other detection that will offer people even more insight. Leveraging third party creativity with API’s Because our platform offers open API’s, it opens up a world of opportunities by leveraging creativity from third party developers who are able to develop new consumer services and even connect new hardware from third parties. A possible area of innovation could relate to people’s health and assisted living services could become a logical next step. This means helping the elderly lead fulfilling and active lives, while their loved ones are in the loop and able to remotely monitor their safety. Privacy and safety In all this, there is the question of privacy and safety, which we take extremely seriously. We have the infrastructure and policies to match this. The data of the end-user is stored on the device and it only leaves the thermostat if the end-user says so. As you can see in Quby’s roadmap of new features, the possibilities are endless and we are continuously building towards the connected home of the future. We’ve learnt that these concepts simply cannot be introduced all at once, especially when developing products and services for a mass market. They have to be introduced gradually as an extension to a service that people are familiar with and understand, and in a way that makes sense to them. That can only be done if you start from a position
James Tee from mobile app agency Sonin explains how connected technology is currently making an impact in households and why construction firms need to plan ahead for the future. The influx of Internet of things (IOT)/connected devices, apps and software is evidently making its mark on the construction industry. From how management in the office are communicating with workers on site to the way that companies are now tracking employee progress. These growing trends are altering the shape of the sector as we once knew it. We can now even check and remotely disable the batteries on our most popular working tools through our smartphones. From an operations perspective we now have the capability to continuously boost internal efficiency and productivity. But the question is, what about marketing and sales? What impact will connected technology have on that? As the Internet of Things (IOT) and connected devices become more accessible we’re beginning to see various industries leverage the technology, such as healthcare, transport and indeed construction. Like Dewalt’s Bluetooth batteries these devices stand alone and can be controlled by using a mobile application located on a smartphone, tablet or wearable device. IOT and connected devices are also making their mark outside of enterprise sphere, and this is where construction businesses should begin to take note. As humans we’re becoming increasingly accustomed to turning to mobile to seek the answers to our everyday ‘problems’, and expect ‘solutions’ up-front. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year showed that manufacturers and well-known brands are beginning to react to this increasing need for instant results by releasing smart home gadgets of their very own. From heating thermostats to smart locks to kitchen utilities these products are designed to provide ‘solutions’ for homeowners, with the quantity of these devices set to exceed the 90 million mark by this time next year. These unveilings at CES came at a time when consumers/homeowners gave their strongest indication yet that the prospect of a smart home was more preferred than opposed. According to a survey by Better Homes and Gardens magazine 64% of people stated that they were interested in having smart technology installed in their homes. Research has also shown that the prospect of connected technology in the household significantly increases the appeal of buying a property, in fact there’s an element of expectation during the search process. A survey by Coldwell Banker and CNET Smart Home Survey from August last year indicated that 81% of current smart-home device owners stated that they would be more willing to buy a home that has connected technology already in place. If you’ve recently visited a home in the United States chances are it’s probably closer to being deemed a ‘smart home’ than the last property you visited here the United Kingdom. According to online statistics portal Statista the United States currently top the charts in terms of global ‘smart home’ revenue and household penetration, with the United Kingdom sitting fifth in that respective chart. Despite not being as prominent in the market as the United States it’s inevitable that the increased demand for connected homes will soon be crossing the Atlantic, meaning that connected- plans should now start to be put in place. There is already a growing demand in the United Kingdom for IOT and connected devices in the transport, healthcare and energy sectors. Since July last year the UK government have been encouraging cities and businesses to apply for up to £10m grant for a “single collaborative research and development project to demonstrate the capability of IOT in a city region”. Its aim is for citizens to benefit from “environmental improvements, economic opportunities, and more efficient delivery of services” through IOT solutions. Proposed developments will vary from smart lighting, lower noise pollution examples, enhanced passenger journeys and reduced emissions, which will undoubtedly shine light on the benefits that such technology can bring. By 2020 there will be 21 billion connected devices globally according to a report by Gartner. Although it’s difficult to project the ratio that smart-home products will make up of this figure, it would be a fair assumption to make that based on recent findings, the property and construction industry will play a prominent role. As for any construction project the key to its success is maintaining efficiency and productivity throughout whilst producing a desired product at the end, which will generate a return of investment. By considering IOT and connected devices you’ll be reacting to the inevitable shift in buyer demand, which we’ll begin to notice in the not so far future. This article was produced by Sonin.
Gooee is using the Frankfurt Light + Building 2016 exhibition for the European preview of the world’s first ‘full-stack’ lighting ecosystem. An interactive demonstration on its stand will offer delegates the chance to fully experience the key end-user benefits of luminaire products that feature ‘Gooee Inside’, including Environmental Intelligence, Human Engagement and Product/ Asset Tracking. Environmental Intelligence includes the ability to control and monitor energy data to support predictive maintenance and determine such factors as occupancy, ambient light levels, white colour-tuning and LED performance. Human Engagement provides the ability to personalise the user experience, engaging individuals within a dedicated environment. Product and Asset tracking, the final benefit, allows an asset to be managed and tracked throughout its total life cycle. Advances in technology have made it possible to print circuitry that encompasses power and communication capabilities. These so-called ‘smart labels’, containing RFID or Bluetooth, can be applied to products and assets and be identified within the Gooee ecosystem. Jan Kemeling, Gooee’s chief commercial officer, says that the reaction so far to Gooee Inside has been extraordinary. “There is a consistently high demand for an interoperable, scalable lighting system within the built environment and we are continuing to develop our technology to provide the full lighting solution,” he says. “Managing energy costs and meeting regulatory requirements regarding health and safety are just two of the critical issues for businesses today, and both can be addressed by harnessing the benefit of Gooee Inside.” At the start of 2016, Gooee announced a series of partnerships and working associations with seven Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) including Havells Sylvania, the Aurora Group, Gerard Lighting and John Cullen Lighting.
