Essentials of Smart Building Technology: The Future Smart Homes

The term 'Smart Home' generates a lot of buzz in recent times. Most of the times, the idea resonates around ad-hoc solutions that convert your home into a digital gadget. Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. has lots of solutions that make homes more fun and entertaining in recent times. However, just a few people have given Home Technology a very holistic thought.

An iPhone is a unified product, marrying hardware and software - same as (recent) automobiles. But when it comes to homes, there is a party that is just concerned with the Building Structure/Delivery; and yet another party concerned with Building Technology. This brings about a divide and ends up keeping homes from being unified solutions that they should be. This book challenges that status quo.

It began by exploring the concepts of Smart Homes. The Fundamentals, the Technology Foundations, the Structural Components, the Technological Components. The first part ended by offering some very Unique Innovations that are only possible with the Technology Foundations of Smart Building Technology. Such innovations as the use of Direct Electricity (Solar), Operating Systems, Unified Cabling, etc.

The second part of the book tells a (holistic) story of the 'Smart Home Delivery Company'. Imagine Apple for Smartphones or Mercedez for Automobiles. This started with the Planning Process; then to the Design Coordination; and then to the wider Value Chain; to the Prefabrication Process. It ended with the Management of the Smart Home Facility. The role of such transformational processes as Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a central theme of the second part of this book.

The last part proffers solutions that are possible with Smart Building Technology. Again this is from a very holistic viewpoint. It summarizes the book in a very interactive way - taking the reader through the journey of purchasing a Unified Smart Home, in a similar way you purchase an iPhone.

A very important takeaway from this book is that Smart Homes should holistically merge a Building Structure with the Building Technology - right from the design stage of the home. This concept can easily be extended to other types of buildings - Commercial, Entertainment, etc. We believe that by reading this book, you will gain a renewed sense of refreshment about the future of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector.