Abstract
The reality of global warming must have been settled by now while the incidence of same has in very recent times adopted unprecedented dimensions. The global community continues to look for ways to combat the impact of climate change and technology is looked upon to deliver the innovations that would ensure a better tomorrow today. Rapid advancement of Information Technology (IT), is now transforming the way we create and interact with the built environment with the notion of Intelligent Buildings (IBs) underscoring its main features. However, these IBs utilize systems that require energy, and fossil fuels are currently the world’s primary energy sources; they can also irreparably harm the environment, exacerbating climate change. What then is the true essence of IBs? This paper, through review of existing literature, attempts to explore some issues associated with the conceptualization of IBs, highlighting how they are similar with other notional options that deliver the same benefits but without the needed IT systems or the energy required in running them. It also discusses the need to focus on less energy demanding and management approaches at design or occupancy of buildings as a way to reduce the demand and thus consumption of fossil fuels across the world.
Highlights
What is the true essence of Intelligent Buildings (IBs)? This paper, through review of existing literature, attempts to explore some issues associated with the conceptualization of IBs, highlighting how they are similar with other notional options that deliver the same benefits but without the needed Information Technology (IT) systems or the energy required in running them
In separate research by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the construction industry accounts for 40% of worldwide energy usage, with estimations that by 2030 emissions from commercial buildings will grow by 1.8% [10]
Receptors, computer based monitoring and control systems are the core of intelligent buildings and these installed systems have to be maintained and kept running with energy which is currently mainly sourced from the consumption of fossil fuels—coal or oil and gas
Summary
Moses least half a million inhabitants [1] This will “...add to the growing demand for housing, water supply, sanitation and other urban services” [2], requiring the erection of taller and taller buildings, enclosing larger and larger spaces [3]. Buildings are some of the biggest energy consumers in the world, accounting for one-quarter to one-third of all energy use and a similar amount of greenhouse gas emissions. With nearly half of the world’s new building construction in China, energy demand by buildings is projected to increase [4]
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