The Smart Building

The technological developments of recent years have given rise to capabilities that, not so long ago, were beyond our imagination. Continuous connectivity, IoT, cloud usage, the ability to retrieve and analyze infinite information, and phenomenal user interfaces are all available to us for use and integration in everyday life. Our homes, transportation, industries, offices, and phones have all become impressively smart and attractive, with many new and added values.

These developments have been accompanied by an increasing demand for advanced residential and work environments that will promote savings on operating and electricity expenses while providing a unique user experience, network security, and the information we need to see a building from a new perspective. It is no longer a traditional building consisting of a large number of closed sub-systems (each standing on its own) but a more intelligent, more efficient, more comfortable building that studies the needs and habits of tenants, as well as the maintenance manager.

3 Levels of Activity

Electra Technologies strives to be a pioneer and Israeli market leader in the smart building field, leveraging a comprehensive approach that integrates three levels of activity:

1. Data Collection & Storage: The ability to retrieve, collect and centralize the information found in all building systems, including elevators, access control, security systems, air conditioning, electricity, and more.

2. Integration & Drive to Action: If the data is the tool, integration is the benefit. Connecting the systems enables greater energy efficiency and savings on electricity costs. For example, the lighting and air conditioning systems operate in accordance with the building occupancy, as reported by the access control system.  Smart integration also results in operational savings, as areas in a smart building are cleaned according to their actual use, rather than periodically and arbitrarily. Remote monitoring components are embedded in systems such as elevators and air conditioners, allowing issues to be controlled and even rectified without the need to dispatch a technician.

3. Information Analysis: The ability to perform advanced analysis allows malfunctions to be predicted in advance, in addition to studying tenants' habits. This data analysis contributes to the optimal management of resources, such as allocation of parking spaces according to the actual presence of employees, requesting preventive maintenance for systems at times it is least likely to interrupt other activities, and so on.

A Day in the Life of a Smart Building Tenant

For example, the following scenario is already possible today: someone who works in a smart building, or a visitor to the building, is invited to attend a meeting. The invitation permits him to enter the parking lot (which is synchronized with the diaries of workers in the building, and provides parking for them accordingly). An access control station reads the invitation on his smart phone and opens the turnstile. If he is unfamiliar with the building, he can easily find his way to the meeting room by using the application's 3D navigation. The system will allow him to pay for lunch at one of the building's restaurants through his phone as well. The application will allow him to book the conference room, report a malfunction such as a lightbulb outage or water leak, and receive updates on when the technician arrives and the malfunction is remedied. And that's just the beginning.

The future is already here. Electra Technologies is making it accessible to its customers by bringing them all the advantages of the smart building.