In his career spanning over two decades, Gaurav has handled key positions across an array of multinational corporate such as IBM, L&T Infotech, and Schneider Electric to name a few.

One of the HVAC units routinely eats up more energy than it should. Lights stay on unnecessarily even when rooms are unoccupied. Employees sitting next to the glass facade often complain about feeling too hot, whereas employees elsewhere are pulling-on sweaters to brave the office air conditioning. Some areas in the office appear dark and underlit despite investing in high watt lighting fixtures These are all common occurrences in an office environment. And if you add them up, you get a significant inefficiency problem.

Optimizing building operations and improving efficiency is an obvious solution. And theoretically a simple one too. But in practice, what we often see is different systems being operated in silos, resulting in a lack of information flow and high inefficiencies. The absence of analytical data and deep insights into metrics suchas energy consumption, comfort index and predictive maintenance, for instance, prevent buildings, large and small, from achieving true optimization. On the other hand, an integrated system manages and analyses data collected from various sources, and helps managers understand how each system is utilized, and proper ways to optimize it.

Enter the Internet of Things(IoT). The IoT has been a disruptive force in smart building automation and control sector, offering new opportunities to enhance the efficiency of buildings raise employee productivity, and encouraging the development of innovative new services. For these reasons, Memoori’s recent study estimates that the market for Internet of things in Buildings(or BIoT) is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.4 per cent, from $34.8 billion in 2017 to $84.2 billion come 2022.

Scalability & Sustainability
IoT can yield remarkable benefits. As interconnected IoT devices and sensors throughout the building measure, optimize and integrate multiple systems, an office can raise its efficiency and reduce energy usage while enhancing employee comfort and optimizing various operational and maintenance costs. Thanks to an integrated system, building operators, facility managers or owners can control energy management systems, HVAC and lighting not just in their respective buildings but across all their sites.

Thanks to an integrated system, building operators, facility managers or owners can control energy management systems, HVAC and lighting not just in their respective buildings but across all their sites

A solution like 75F's Building Intelligence System ticks off both boxes: scalabilityand sustainability. It uses the Internet of Things and edge computing to predict, analyze monitor and control a building's HVAC & lighting system. By continually monitoring a room's needs, analyzing incoming data, and controlling the operations the 75F system effectively manages a building's energy loads. It drives away employee discomfort by eliminating temperature and lighting imbalances. The process saves money and energy in fact up to 50 percent on your HVAC and Lighting energy bills!

The bottom line
According to the US Green Building Council, buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global energy related carbon dioxide. Sustainable buildings therefore play a significant role in humankind’s march towards sustainability. According to the World Green Building Trends 2018, 55 percent of respondents in India are expected to take up green building projects in 2021.

Typically, any mention of smart or green buildings raises questions of affordability. The perception is that they are expensive. However smart buildings not just make good sense environmentally but are proven to be 14 percent less expensive to operate than traditional buildings. Investing in IoT and cloud-empowered systems, in fact, boosts RoI through energy savings, lower installation cost, increased employee productivity reduced equipment wear and tear and savings through automation.

Another benefit of smart buildings is that they increase property values. A European Commission study shows that a connected and smart building can increase rental values by 11.8 percent in the case of commercial buildings. It has also been observed that there is 25x reduction in operating expenses, leading to higher asset value. Yet another 2017 European Commission report on smart buildings highlights the high value that energy efficient commercial properties bring. The report cites the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, and notes that smart/green buildings show up to 17 percent increase in resale value, up to 35 percent increase in rental rates, 30 percent lower operating costs and up to 18 percent higher occupancy rates.

Summing up as the sustainable building movement gathers more momentum, it will scale-up to smart IoT connected cities in the near future. The IoT powered smart building is the foundation we all need to lay as we build a sustainable future.