Creating a smart building is not a one-and-done project. It is a constantly evolving field with regular upgrades, maintenance, and integration of new technology. The first two parts are fairly easy. Most upgrades are designed to just fit into the hole that the previous device left, and maintenance is simple as well. The tricky part is integrating new technology in your Smart building without disrupting or outright breaking the old systems.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to go about introducing and integrating new systems with your existing systems:
Understand the use case:
The first step of the process is to fully understand your requirements, as well as the system you are trying to implement. Next, look for the exact functionality you want in your building. Once you have an answer to that, it is time to find the right system. You can obviously find pre-made systems that will just install and work, but they are costly and not worth the extra cost. Instead, you should be looking for individual devices that all band together to provide the functionality you are looking for.
When picking the devices and other parts of the system, make sure that they all work together and that they work the way you think they do. You can consult with experts or even do your own online research to find the answers. Do not spend any money unless you are completely sure of these two things.
Find the points of conflict:
Every system would just do its thing in an ideal world and won’t bother anything around it. In the real world, however, things are a bit different. In the complex interconnected systems of a building, anything new has a high likelihood of creating problems for the existing tech. This can cause significant issues, as you might have to replace the old tech with a newer, compatible one or just don’t use the new system. So, before you go about installing new things, make sure none of the old stuff is allergic to them.
Focus on quality implementation:
Even if you spend months doing research and finding the perfect system to integrate into your smart building, if your implementation is bad, the the whole thing would just be useless. Quality implementation is one of, if not the most important of any smart technology integration process.