The University of British Columbia (UBC) Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), a living laboratory for researchers to teach, test and study the long-term impact of sustainable practices and technologies, features advanced building controls, sensing technology and management software from Honeywell.
The “green movement” has permeated the security industry on a number of levels from corporate and internal sustainability initiatives to green products and customer offerings. Manufacturers, dealers and integrators are playing their part in the movement with everything from simple, cost-cutting initiatives to documented corporate sustainability policies. Motivations involve a combination of corporate responsibility, the bottom line, and the ability to do business with customers that require a commitment to reducing the carbon footprint.
For convenience, cost and efficiency, building managers are looking for a single point of control for all systems that make up the security and building automation functions. The secure, “green” building has arrived.
Many electronic system contractors (ESC) often know green as motorized shades, LED lighting and home energy management and monitoring. Courtney Baker sees a bigger green. “These are major areas that the dealer/installer community can affect; but being green is a lot more than just saving energy. It is also about indoor air quality, water efficiency indoor and outdoor, material selection and generally being aware of how [a client’s] home ‘should’ work.”
Today’s access control users want things to operate more simply. Manufacturers are responding by using the most up-to-date technology available, enabling features to be easier.
Austerity breeds creativity. The economic pinch has informed the choices of end users in all kinds of security, particularly in the past year. The access control customer today is better educated and more tech savvy. The consumer world has taught them that technology can help them not only do more with less, but do it more smoothly, efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.