Extract

The uptake of smart building management systems has increased in recent years, in both new and refurbished buildings, aided by technological advances such as smart sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud-based computing and data-driven control approaches. Many studies have reported the energy saving potential of employing systems which leverage indoor environmental and occupancy information collected in real-time to better manage building services. The increased uptake of these systems means that natural resource demands and environmental effects associated with the extraction of raw materials, processing and manufacture, installation, maintenance, and replacements as well as the supporting supply chain activities have increased the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. However, these embodied impacts are often overlooked in most studies that consider the environmental benefits of smart building energy management systems. The economic feasibility of these systems is also underreported, which is important given the additional hardware and services necessary to fulfil the functional requirements of these systems; studies that reported the cost effectiveness of deploying these systems are often based on simple payback calculations. In addition, from a social perspective, the production of these systems involves many raw materials, the extraction and processing of which may potentially be associated with challenges such as human rights violation and human health concerns. Accordingly, this study reviews existing research on the life cycle sustainability assessment of smart building management systems. The findings highlight the lack of comprehensive studies on the life cycle sustainability assessment of smart building management systems in buildings.

Keywords: Life cycle sustainability assessment; smart building; smart building management system; office building.

PDF

Download