Page 469 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

1 Intelligent sustainable buildings

1.1 Introduction

Cities cannot become smart and sustainable unless the issue of the built environment and in
particular buildings are addressed. On a global basis, buildings are responsible for 40% of global
annual energy consumption and up to 30% of all global energy‐related greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. Also on a global basis, the building sector is responsible for one‐third of humanity’s
resource consumption, including 12% of all fresh‐water use, and produces up to 40% of our solid
waste. Source (UN‐Habitat 2013). In order to address the issue of climate change through the
reduction of GHG emission the impact of buildings must be reduced. It is therefore important for
buildings to become more intelligent and more sustainable to reduce this environmental impact
dramatically.
The concept of a "smart" or "intelligent" building may seem to be an oxymoron. Intelligence is
normally indicative of a human (or animal) attribute in which individuals are capable of making
interpretations, deductions or inductions, related to observations and to stimuli. Some great
individuals, such as Einstein, have been described as extraordinarily "smart" or intelligent" and so it
may seem that making these associations with inanimate objects such as buildings is, at first glance,
an inappropriate association.
The concept of "intelligent buildings" has been around for a number of years and has relied on the
ability of individual systems within the buildings to communicate, to integrate and to perform in a
manner allowing for numerous, complex, controls to generate a much‐enhanced response to many
kinds of stimuli. Thus, the argument of intelligence can reasonably be associated with the ability of
these buildings to function in an enhanced manner yielding many benefits for the occupants, the
operators and the owners. This report will provide a number of examples of "intelligent buildings",
while describing the benefits and efficiencies generated by such integration.

Definitions of intelligent buildings have been proposed by different user groups and have also
evolved during the last few years. Some view the ultimate benefits of intelligence to be the provision
of a more efficient and effective working environment for the occupants, while others define such
intelligence as providing greater economics for the building operators and yet some others conclude
that automated responses, in particular to security and emergency situations, are of particular
importance.
The following definitions for intelligent buildings should be considered:

 The use of integrated technological building systems, communications and controls to create a
building and its infrastructure which provides the owner, operator and occupant with an
environment which is flexible, effective, comfortable and secure;

 Use of technology and process to create a building that is safer and more productive for its
occupants and more operationally efficient for its owners;
 A building in which, those responsible for its operation, those benefiting from its operation and
those ultimately responsible for the safety of all its occupants can share a view, and a vision of
the building status at all times.

ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 459