Evaluating the Features of Intelligent Buildings - Research Proposal Example

Running head: Evaluating the features of Intelligent Buildings Student name: Student number: Course title: Lecturer: Date: Abstract Intelligent buildings are controversial subject since the scope defining what is actually intelligent is wide and varied. The study strives to examine the features and characteristics of what constitutes an intelligent building, through critical examination of available literature on the subject. Furthermore, the paper examines the challenges of intelligent buildings and evaluates the benefits. The paper concludes that whereas, the buildings have some challenges, the benefits accrued outweigh the limitations. Key Words Intelligent building Self-control Inhabitants’ requirements Integrated control Autonomous functioning Introduction Humanity has undergone varied stages of evolution, which have been attested in the human being’s lifestyle. The way and the place the human beings life has immensely changed such that buildings dynamically change with generations. From the earlier simple buildings which were simple structures providing a source of shelter to the ultramodern buildings which are equipped with a variety of actors and sensors such as illumination, humidity or temperature sensors. There has been a paradigm shift towards embracing and construction of intelligent buildings which alters its behavior to the requirements, demands, needs and preferences of its inhabitants. Intelligent buildings are defined as intelligent since they are required to be totally autonomous as occupants of a building do not have to explicitly interact with it, such that the building is in itself adaptive to the demands of the inhabitants. The decisions to adapt to the changing needs of the inhabitants have to be done in real time basis by the autonomous agents, which can individually make decision depending on the constrain which is supposed to be altered. Aims and objectives The utilization of intelligent buildings versus the conventional buildings is a controversial issue regarding the economic, operational, technology, environmental and human usability constructs. The study has the following main objectives To expound the understanding on intelligent building based methodology for creating light transmitting concrete. This involves development of various techniques and technologies which when applied in building construction, enables the building to exhibit intelligence characteristics. To propose the desirable characteristics of a multiple based technologies and human usability constraints that can be used on several constructions, especially in intelligent buildings and proposition the components of an effective intelligent buildings. The research shall strive to establish the enviable properties of an effective intelligent building, and utilize the established characteristics to come up with the necessary requisites for a desirable intelligent building. To evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of the established and founded applications of the intelligent buildings from various dimensions and perspectives such as economic, operational, environmental and usability considerations. To evaluate the benefits of intelligent buildings. Significance of the study The research has diverse significances and implications justifying the need for the research. The research is of paramount importance in challenging the widely held belief that buildings are supposed to be passive and require human intervention to enable the buildings to adjust to the inhabitants’ changing needs. The research highlights on experimented and proven findings which have been utilized to portray the contrary to the belief. The research further portrays the features of construction including Monitoring of IAQ and contaminants, Radiant heating and cooling, Dimmable fluorescent lighting integrated with sun blind control, Natural and displacement ventilation, Lighting control with motion sensors integrated with security, Individual temperature and lighting control as well as After-hours control of lights and HVAC integrated with security and Optimized control algorithms. Moreover the study has the intellectual merit of proving that buildings can also be intelligent, and human intervention is not always required. The research is based on potentially transformative concept, which shall contribute fostering the relationship on the researcher field and the implementers of the research, which in this case are building contractors and engineers. For the findings to be implemented, the persons in the building sector will have to consult with the researchers in order to gain knowledge on the implementation and utilization of intelligent buildings. The research shall immensely contribute to the broadening of available knowledge on the application of intelligent buildings, considering that with the advancement of technology, there has been an avalanche in the development of basically everything to have intelligence including intelligent phones, intelligent vehicles, intelligent alarm systems, intelligent environment and intelligent finance and business. The research shall therefore create an ingress level knowledge for further development of the intelligent buildings and construction. Background There have been several attempts to make buildings that are knowledgeable and adaptive to the demands of the users, several previous attempts have however not been immensely utilized in the construction industry due to various constructs and competing demands. The characterizations of an intelligent building can be generally categorized depending on the control services and the information and that oblige the requirements and anticipations of the inhabitants. This is achieved through expressly deliberate controlling software and actual electronic hardware and devices installed within the structure that operate the communications and construction automation functions are requisite to achieve the intelligence. Literature Review Intelligence of buildings has been a controversial subject over time, what was defined to constitute intelligence in some years ago, has been overtaken by events and they are no longer considered intelligence. The definition of the word intelligence in itself is a controversial item, with several scholars and school of thought offering differing opinions. It is therefore vital to review past researchers related to intelligent buildings, including websites, journals, reference books and dissertations. The concept in intelligence in buildings is mentioned by [6] who holds that intelligent buildings should have the capability to control various systems such as lighting system, air-conditioning and other factors such so that they can be managed in the most energy efficient manner. Other researchers such as [9] have offered a different concept of intelligence building, according to [2], the level of systems integration plays an important role and building is said to be intelligent when it has the capability to provide means and ways if optimal usage of the building as per its designation. The various building factors and components should be able to integrate between and among the systems so has to enhance efficiency and functionality. The integration is achieved through Building Automation System (BAS) which are electronic equipment that does comprehensive automatic control of several key building system functions from a centralized control hub, instead of the system functions being done individually. The integrated controls include Fire and Security, Energy Management, as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, Temperature Control, lifts, power and lighting. Intelligent buildings according to [4] relies heavily on building automation system, which includes energy management such that energy is saved through controlled lighting as well as optimal management of the heat generated by the lighting systems, so as to ensure that air conditioning systems work in unison with other energy consumers. [5] presents that there exists a relationship between the Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) and the energy consumed per unit area, such that intelligent buildings have to consider the whole picture in the energy performance of the building, such as considering various constructs such as energy usage service design and management, building design, location of the building and tenancy characteristics to achieve the most optimum energy levels, while ensuring that the inhabitants to of building are satisfies with their residency, hence contributing to environmental conservation. Furthermore, intelligence is highlighted through interior lighting in terms of optimizing the buildings energy conservation, by utilizing computerized or automated lighting controls so as to enhance daylight harvesting, while ensuring that the air conditioning of the room is as per the requirements of the inhabitants. Lighting and air conditioning consume a lot of energy, when the conventional control methods are used, which involves physical turning off switches, which are strategically placed around the building. With intelligent buildings, the act of physically moving round turning off switches is eliminated, since the air-conditioning and lightings and are schedule at pre-defined time, or alternatively, the switches have sensors to detect light intensity, humidity and temperature and automatically switch on and off, depending on the preset required environment. According to [1], air conditioning is intelligent buildings are achieved through several Variable Air Volume (VAV) Air Handling Unit (AHU), which are specific to the rooms such that the required airflow is to the individual room. This is achieved through locating the controlling thermostats, carbon dioxide sensors and variable speed drives in the rooms, so as to ensure fresh air is pumped into the room, when excessive carbon dioxide is detected. The same intelligence principle works for fire safety through smoke detection in that during fire outbreaks, the Air Handling Unit (AHU), stops functioning, therefore preventing smoke from circulating in the room, while opening exhaust air dampers which extracts air outside, hence reducing the effects of fire. With advancement of technology, intelligence of buildings has been exemplified in various ways including real time management of exterior systems in order to create efficiency and control costs, such as landscape systems, outside lighting, automated parking systems, parking lot access gates and outdoor surveillance. Other authors have proposed radical alterations to intelligent buildings, according to [10]; intelligence is achieved in walls through delighting by utilizing the fibre concrete walls. The intelligence emerges with the capability to make concrete a light transmission medium, which has elicited different perceptions and opinions with the main challenge being believe that concrete is opaque material that cannot pass light and the contrary is just a delusion. The intelligence was presented by Jean-Louis et all through [5] that is in the form of Pixel Panels which were an attempt to make concrete a light transmission medium. The transparency of concrete is achieved through Pixel Panels by embedding a fiber optic grid in concrete panels to carry light from one side to the other, which involves an homogeneous array of acrylic bars which are intrinsic in concrete binder, as explained by [4], this are used to allow light to pass through the concrete at different angles and distances, altering the concrete to polymer ratio is used to achieve different modifications, this allows sun light to pass through the fibers and be visible inside of a building. The Translucent Panel involves the use of cement, sand, and small amount of fiberglass to approximately 25 millimeter centre thick panels that can allow direct light to pass through, hence enabling the building to achieve intelligence in terms of light transmission. [9] proposes the placing of several optical glass fibers parallel to each other flanked by the focal surfaces each block fiber to create a matrix where the optical fibers make up approximately 4% of the concrete, hence allowing light to be transmitted due to parallelism in the matrix arrangement. In the arrangement, the fibers optic blend with the concrete due to their miniature size, they then become structural component combined of the two, this makes the surface of the blocks remains homogeneous concrete.  The glass fibers ensure that light is lead sandwiched in the two sides of the blocks, since fiber does not loose light in addition to the paralleled position, the side facing the light source appears the same to the side of the block facing away from the light source, these creates prickly exhibit of shadows on the darker side, facing away from the light source. The construction of intelligent buildings through usage of fiber optic concrete is however ascribed with immense challenges, with the main challenge being costing, Fiber optic cost, in relation to the use of other day-lighting options, is high. This is coupled with the fact that currently there are no industrial processes that can be used to produce the blocks en masse, hence, making their production too slow for wide based application. The fact that there is no standardization organization dealing with light transmission concrete, means that several persons can produce their own concrete, to suit them, which may fail on quality and reliability. There is also central control as an intelligent building component in terms of supporting complete IP-based information network for concurrent control and management considering single facility or multiple facilities. Intelligent kitchen is also an intelligent building component with the capability of kitchen equipment and facilities monitoring, such as refrigerators, beverage dispensers and ovens as well as energy usage. Digital signage is also an intelligent building component which is utilized in ensuring safety through broadcasting of real-time life safety and emergency communications as well as regular communications. Moreover, intelligent buildings are exhibited in intelligent restrooms for monitoring and managing the restrooms such as water usage, operations and maintenance. Intelligent buildings are exhibited in IP connectivity with the use of an open, interoperable IP network, to enable all the IP-connected devices in the building to communicate, to enable the entire building operations and management remotely, while enabling comprehensive simultaneous access to data, voice, video, databases, and enterprise applications. This is meant to achieve various automations such as end-user application-specific automation functions, automation of office operations and business automation, so as to enhance the productivity of the persons residing in the building, through offering comfortable working condition, creative space, intelligent decision-making, analysis-commerce and objective decision making and information retrieval. The intelligent building utilizes computer networks as an important bridge between the different controls and management functions of the building. In addition intelligence is exhibited through building access control, surveillance and visitor management as well as persons entering the building, visitor tracking and people attendance management. Fire detection and the corresponding safety systems are crucial parts of an intelligent building; organizations spend a lot of resources yearly in installing and maintaining fire detection systems in buildings to guarantee safety from unwanted fires [8]. The intelligence in fire detection is to ensure that the process is done in a more economical, effective and efficient manner through having intelligent sensors which offer reliable and accurate fire detection. The intelligence is also exhibited by the utilization of wireless systems will eradicate the requirement for using cables, while reducing interferences to fire fighting. The implementation of Integrated building systems significantly reduces the occurrences of false alarms, while enhancing building evacuation and assisting in firefighting. The intelligence of buildings in fire safety is achieved through embedded processors and dedicated information networks, with the advances in technology permitting the sensors to have the capability to learn about the buildings circumstances and its occupants needs and change the behavior of its control systems accordingly and hence be proactive and function in a responsive manner rather than conventional preprogrammed control models. The intelligence is further highlighted through arriving at a specific decision through comparing and analyzing inputs from various environments such as air quality, the number of building occupants, air movement, smoke, temperature and humidity. Furthermore the intelligence considers the reactions of individual persons to particular circumstances and to learn different behaviors for different occupants of the buildings. Intelligent building should also have a maintenance component. In conventional buildings, the scheduling of mechanical maintenance has been done through empirical data, which has to be physically collected so as to get the inputs into the scheduling chart. The traditional method is therefore time consuming, expensive and may not always guarantee that maintenance is optimized. In intelligent buildings, the requisite data concerning building operations can be automatically obtained, and integrated into the management and scheduling tools. Whereas several studies have highlighted the characteristics and features of intelligent buildings, other authors such as [5] offer a glimpse into the perceived and actual benefits of intelligent buildings. [12] argues that intelligent buildings is more of an hype than an actual implementation, basing on the line of argument that it is not viable to achieve a truly intelligent building, furthermore, the economic benefits of intelligent buildings may not be realized, considering that the initial capital expenditure is very high. Other studies have argued against the principle of intelligent buildings highlighting the limitations of such buildings such as increased complexity, which may compromise on space and the longevity of the building. However, [7] enumerates the benefits of intelligent buildings including the ability to learn and to adapt to the individual demands of the occupants, environmental benefits through reduction of energy usage, enhanced security through self-controlled surveillance and security systems, prompt reporting of status and faults in mechanical and electrical systems and thermal transmissions through windows or walls. Intelligent buildings are also perceived to be of superior quality and can provide a more comfortable working environment. Conclusion Intelligence in buildings is a collection of several factors and attributes which are aimed at making the building adaptive to the demands and requirements of the inhabitants. The buildings are intended to have a centralized self-control to make the environment of the inhabitant to be comfortable without the need of human intervention. Whereas intelligent buildings have a limitation in terms of increased complexity, the buildings have several benefits, which cumulatively make intelligent buildings worthy, since the benefits outweigh the limitations. There is however need for further research in developing of intelligent buildings to ensure they do not result to unnecessary complication and to overcome the problems that are experienced in the current implementations of intelligent building Reference 1. Allan, Ashworth 2006, Contractual procedures in the construction industry, Pearson/Prentice Hall, London. 2. Barry, Fryer & Robert Ellis 2004, The practice of construction management: people and business performance, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken. 3. Beylerian, George & Andrew, Dent 2007, Ultra materials: how materials innovation is changing the world, Thames & Hudson, London. 4. Blaine, Erickson, Brownell 2006, Transmaterial: a catalog of materials that redefine our physical environment, Princeton Architectural Press, Princeton. 5. Derek, Phillips 2004, Daylighting: natural light in architecture, Elsevier, Massachusetts. 6. Farhad, Ansari 2005, Sensing issues in civil structural health monitoring, Springer Harvey Whipple, Concrete, Concrete-Cement Age Publishing Co, Michigan. 7. Frank,Harris & Ronald, McCaffer 2001, Modern construction management, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken. 8. Gibbler 2009, ‘Sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology’, Journal of comparative physiology, vol. 160, no 1, pp. 45-53. 9. Gregg , Ander 2003, Daylighting performance and design, John Wiley and Sons, Colorado. 10. Jennifer, Hudson 2006, 1000 new designs and where to find them: a 21st century sourcebook, Laurence King Publishing, London. 11. Royal Institute of British Architects 2004, ‘Structures and buildings’, RIBA journal, vol. 111 no.6, pp 45. 12. Jacobson, E., .Finding Novel Fire Detection Technologies for the Offshore Industry,.Fire, March 2000, p.26 Read More