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WHY LoRaWAN® IS THE FOUNDATION FOR SMART BUILDING SUCCESS

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www.lora-alliance.org WHY LORAWAN ® IS THE FOUNDATION FOR SMART BUILDING SUCCESS INTRODUCTION Smart buildings present an obvious sector of the market in which Internet of Things (IoT) enabled services can generate efficiencies, improved user experiences and profits. Much of the early focus has been on utilizing IoT applications to generate savings in utility consumption but this is now widening to encompass applications that support the new ways that people use the buildings they live and work in. Popular applications include room and desk sharing, individual environmental control, predictive maintenance and many others. Costs associated with traditional workplaces have typically followed the 3:30:300 model set out by real estate firm JLL which outlines operating costs of US$3 for utilities, US$30 for rent and US$300 for employee compensation per square foot. Naturally, the actual cost of this varies from market-to-market but the ratio generally holds true. The traditional view has been that you can't influence rent or employee compensation and that utility costs are the only area with room for maneuver. Historically, these are the easy wins with IoT-enabled sensors and meters being used to monitor and manage power, heat, cooling and lighting- related energy consumption more efficiently. However, organizations are now starting to realize that having a smart building means much more than making small adjustments to energy and water consumption. Smart building initiatives now form part of organizations' sustainability and employee recruitment and retention programs and, with millennials who are used to automation and expect attractive work environments, the role of smart building applications will become of greater importance. For organizations to attract younger generations of workers, who have come of age in the age of technology and flexible work locations, they will need to offer workspaces that attract them to come in and spend time there. Applications that enable the smooth sharing of desk space, enable individualized environmental and other controls and are maintained to a high standard of cleanliness and décor will be vital. Even so, buildings themselves remain unsmart. New buildings continue to be constructed with no reference to enablement of smart building applications forcing most smart building technology to be retrofitted. In the past, this had caused substantial challenges in terms of installing hardware, power supplies and connectivity ultimately making it both time and cost prohibitive. From a building owners' perspective, being able to swiftly and cost effectively add new functionality to existing real estate and thereby increase its value is a key driver. The ability to add such capability at a low cost and with minimal disruption to tenants is of significant attraction and accelerates the time to additional profits for building operators. Low power devices with wireless connectivity therefore look particularly attractive for building tenants and owners but there is a bewildering and growing list of technological options that claim to offer this functionality for customers LoRa Alliance ® and LoRaWAN ® are registered trademarks. Used with permission. ©2020 LoRa Alliance ® M AY 2 0 2 0

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