Commercial real estate used to be all about one thing: location. These days, location alone is not enough; today it’s about technology. As major cities in the U.S. begin to adapt to the IoT and smart technology, the commercial real estate in those cities is going to have to keep up.
This might sound like a tall order, but when you really think about it, using more smart technology in commercial real estate is actually a way to enhance a building’s performance and reduce costs that are standard in the industry: energy, maintenance and administrative.
Enhanced Portfolios
There are a few ways that having a smart building in your commercial real estate portfolio will help enhance your space. One way is that it can help you collect data that you need to help lower your asset risk.
You’ll also upgrade your management capabilities. An obvious use of smart building technology is security, but not exactly how you think. Sure, basic, standard security can be done with smart technology – but that is old news. The new wave of security for commercial property management will be monitoring things like electric boxes, plumbing, and other maintenance issues like mechanics.
The new wave of security for commercial property management will be monitoring things like electric boxes, plumbing, and other maintenance issues like mechanics.
Transparency for Buyers
A building that uses smart technology will be able to use all that data to create trust with buyers through transparency. There will be a record of all the data points that the IoT is monitoring, and that information can be made available to potential buyers who are evaluating the property’s value. Not only will you have enhanced information, but the fact that you can continue to collect and analyze this data will also be a selling point.
Not only will you have enhanced information, but the fact that you can continue to collect and analyze this data will also be a selling point.
Commercial Uses for Smart Technology
Many of the uses for smart technology in commercial real estate mirror the ways that it is used in residential real estate.
First, it is an overall energy saver. Commercial buildings consume a lot of energy, but with smart technology that use can be improved and reduced. Of course, this is also good for the environment and for wallets.
The energy control includes, but is not limited to, the heating and cooling system and the lighting network. While commercial buildings are just never going to be able to make everyone happy when it comes to temperature and lighting, using automated smart technology is a step in the right direction. Building managers can use this tech to help them collect data that leads to decisions that help optimize the building’s environment.
Lighting sensors are already being used in many commercial buildings, and this tech helps make sure that empty rooms aren’t staying lit. It’s hard to rely on tenants to turn off the lights all the time, but now you don’t have to. Keeping unneeded lights off will also help regulate the building’s temperature.
The best part about using smart technology in a commercial building is that it is always learning. It can adapt to the external environment, like seasonal changes, and the internal environment, like the number of people in the building.
