Smart building technology is revolutionising energy consumption in commercial buildings, a section of the urban environment that has habitually been the biggest contributor to “energy waste” and climate change. Well over 5 million commercial buildings in the US now incorporate smart technologies, which not only reduce energy consumption but also increase productivity, comfort and safety of building occupants. However, such “smart makeovers” are still only feasible for buildings over 100,000 square feet, meaning huge energy saving potential and building automation business opportunities remain in the field of small to medium sized commercial spaces. There should be a rethink of the cost structure within smart building automation for smaller spaces. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, these larger buildings comprise only 6% of the US commercial building stock. Even looking in terms of floor space, buildings less than 50,000 square feet comprise 50% of the total floor-space, which means that they, in turn, use about […]