Modern Building Services

FEATURE SMART BUILDINGS “Lighting is able to significantly improve people’s wellbeing – the temperature of the lighting can change throughout the day to affect people’s mood, the way they are working e.g., productivity, and I have just read an article from a company in the US who is specifying this kind of solution and they are saying that people are no longer getting the ‘2 pm headache’ – which traditionally arises from poor air quality and bad lighting, causing people to feel lethargic and unwell by the end of the day. Lighting has really begun to change people’s environments. As the demands are being met by the customers it is going to cause real-estate companies to upgrade their sites so that the incoming customer can have a smarter building that is connected, sustainable, safe, secure and affordable…but wellbeing is such an important thing for them now because one of the most expensive items for any company is its staff, retaining staff is so important and lighting has a huge part to play in that. “It is a great opportunity moving forward to evolve and we’ll see the repurposing of buildings and ultimately smarter cities. “Buildings can become ‘smarter’ through various technologies including temperature sensors, humidity sensors, security cameras on the door, etc., but lighting is ubiquitous, its everywhere so the opportunity for connectivity through lighting is an obvious way. It has not come as quickly as people thought and the concept of LiFi is still being worked on but if you can imagine that could be the way you connect to the cloud; it would really be a significant step up. “Today, the light itself can be made smart which is opening up even more opportunities for use in homes and further improving people’s lifestyles. We have also seen smart lighting used in retail to monitor people movement and see how long people spend lingering in certain areas or looking at certain products and we also see space utilisation being a core requirement for buildings going forward. “Lighting is very much a solution that embraces so many things such as wellbeing and health, it allows people to sleep better and feel better when lighting is addressed properly. Every building that is considered now always uses the term ‘open’, it is essential that smart lighting control platforms are open, interoperable, and protocol agnostic if you have something that is quite closed and traditional it is going to limit the capabilities of that buildings. For Building automation systems, it has taken many years for them to address that. The change is happening now. Who would have thought we would have seen the demise of the big lighting companies such as Philips and GE and the engagement of the big IT companies such as Google?! “Commercial real estate is such a huge part of the world’s assets and economies, lighting becomes such a significant part of the solution, and being ‘open’ is really important for that collaboration. It has become the age for smart lighting!” For piping systems of building services, you need compensators to absorb thermal expansion, reduce vibration and noise. ERV rubber expansion joints from ELAFLEX, setting standards for decades and offering the ideal solution. Type ROTEX is an EPDM Rubber Bellows (PEEK reinforced) for both LPHW and MPHW to 130°C constant temperature . DIN 4809 approved, no obligation to dismantle this type within 10 years . Many other ERV types available, e.g.: • ERV-R: WRAS Approval • Type TA: tted with a white PTFE lining for extensive chemical resistance, FDA approved • ERV-GR: for Acids, Alkali and aggressive chemicals • ERV-W: white Nitrile (NBR) to foodstuff standards • ERV-GS: ISO 15540 ( re resistant ) High Grade Expansion Joints from ELAFLEX ELAFLEX Ltd. Riverside House, Plumpton Road · Hoddesdon, Herts EN11 OPA Ph. 01992 45 29 50 · E-mail: sales@ela ex.co.uk www.ela ex.co.uk MADE IN GERMANY Email your enquiry to: sales@elaflex.co.uk Check out our configurator : ervconfigurator.elaflex.co.uk Ad_2020_ERV_90x270_Ltd_EN.indd 1 20.07.2020 10:43:40 RogerWoodward has been engaged in the building, auto- mation, and controls industry for many years in the UK, US, and APAC, he is nowworking with companies and start-up’s offering consultancy within this market. Previously, he was also GM and MD of Tridium, which provides an integrated solution for buildings. More information can be found at www.ambx.com/ “The future of buildings and cities are going to be smart and connected spaces, what is the role of smart lighting within commercial buildings?”