The AIRE SmartLab – Smart Building Solutions put to the test

For a smart building, the interaction of various IoT solutions is necessary. But which providers keep their promises? How do the added values become visible? And how do you measure the (economic) benefits? The AIRE SmartLab is a test environment for smart building solutions in which these questions are answered. Johannes Nussbaum, Head of Innovation at Art-Invest Real Estate, gives an insight into the Smart Building Lab and reports on best practices and challenges from his wealth of experience.

Testing and trying out IoT solutions

In the AIRE SmartLab, modern smart building solutions are tested for their significance in a real context: How easy is the installation – Plug & Play or complicated commissioning processes? How good is the customer service when problems arise? How reliable is the technology? How susceptible is the solution to disruptions and is the service provider proactive? What insights are created? What added value does the solution bring us? For a smart building, an interaction of different applications is necessary. Above all, the networkability of the solutions is central to this.

In smart buildings, there are a variety of interfaces: between the actors and also between the building and its technical systems. These need to be connected with each other through IoT solutions in order to make new forms of services and user experiences possible. The focus is on the question of how well technologies work together, because a sensor alone does not offer added value.

Selection – What should be measured?

When selecting a solution, the focus is primarily on costs and benefits. To better assess this, it is helpful to define a framework. In this way, it can be determined which added value is created by solutions and what significance they have. Existing frameworks such as the 3-30-300 rule can also be used. This describes the cost structure for the tenant of a building: €3/m² utilities, €30/m² rent and €300/m² employee costs (Jones Lang LaSalle). This makes it clear which issues should be prioritized, such as employee productivity and health.

Bringing the benefits to life

Users, tenants, operators and owners of buildings benefit from various aspects of a smart building. For example, users can use indoor climate sensors to warned of critical CO2 and humidity levels and countermeasures, thereby reducing the risk of contagion from infectious diseases. For tenants, special Analyses of space use and utilisation interesting. On the basis of this data, office space can be replanned and used more efficiently. Ultimately, facility managers can, for example, Monitor and optimize energy consumption .

You can easily implement these and other use cases by starting with a low-cost pilot and scaling later. It is important to document the results and learnings well in order to be able to carry out targeted persuasion.

Watch the full talk:

Lecture by Johannes Nussbaum, Head of Innovation at Art-Invest Real Estate, on the topic “The AIRE SmartLab – a test environment as a success factor for smart building solutions”

You can find more information about the speaker on LinkedIn