This is an old revision of the document!
Conclusions and Self-Assessment
Main Conclusions of the Study
IoT allows for the transformation of a building from a “passive structure” into an “active system” that responds to human needs. According to Kęsek, the ultimate goal of implementing these smart technologies is to solve social and environmental problems, which directly translates into improving the quality of life for residents, rather than focusing solely on economic indicators. “The use of smart technologies to solve social, economic, and environmental problems causes economic development and contributes to raising the quality of life.” 1)
The analysis of IoT technology in the context of Building Management Systems (BMS) leads to the following conclusions:
- Integration as the Key to Success: The greatest added value in smart buildings is generated not by the mere presence of sensors, but by their mutual integration. Only the exchange of data between the lighting, air conditioning, and access control systems allows for real optimization of costs and comfort.
- The Need for Standardization: The fragmentation of communication standards (BACnet, ZigBee, MQTT) remains the biggest technological barrier. The future of the industry depends on the popularization of open protocols that eliminate the problem of vendor lock-in. However, the Matter protocol offers hope for improvement.
- Security as a Priority: As the number of endpoints (sensors) in the building network increases, the “attack surface” for cybercriminals grows drastically. The security of IoT systems must be designed at the architectural stage (security by design), rather than added as an optional module.
Personal Assessment of Solutions
In my opinion, IoT technology in building management is currently at a turning point. It is ceasing to be a luxury and is becoming an operational standard forced by rising energy prices and environmental regulations (e.g., EU directives on energy efficiency). We are moving into a phase of “building autonomy,” where the human role is limited to supervising AI algorithms that independently learn user habits. A key future trend will be the combination of IoT with Artificial Intelligence (AIoT).
Buildings will not just collect data but will autonomously make decisions about energy shifts, enabling the creation of so-called zero-energy buildings. I believe that the use of Digital Twins will become a standard for every major commercial property. This will allow not only for better day-to-day management but also for testing crisis scenarios (e.g., evacuation or power grid failure) in a virtual environment before they occur in reality.
The future of this trend, however, extends beyond individual facilities. These buildings will become the primary cells of “Smart Communities,” where energy data exchange will occur not just within one building, but across an entire urban complex, creating sustainable energy ecosystems. I see the greatest potential in pro-ecological solutions. In the face of rising energy prices and restrictive CO2 emission standards (e.g., EU EPBD directives), IoT systems are no longer an option but a necessity. My assessment is unequivocally positive: despite high entry costs and data privacy challenges, the social and environmental gain resulting from smart building management is indisputable.
Fig.: Conceptual diagram of the building automation evolution.