Dubai: Doha and Dubai lead the region in terms of “smart building” capabilities across all three categories — green, safe and productive — according to a survey released by Honeywell Smart Building Score.
The survey, developed by Honeywell with researchers Nielsen and global advisers Ernst & Young, assessed airports, hotels, hospitals, office and residential buildings along with educational and retail facilities across 620 buildings in seven major Gulf cities — Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait City and Riyadh.
Norm Gilsdorf, president for Honeywell’s Middle East, Russia and Central Asia, said that smart buildings are the fundamental building blocks of smart cities, and every city in the survey showed clear leadership in delivering examples of benchmark-setting smart buildings.
“We spend 80 to 90 per cent of our lives in buildings; they are an integral part of a city’s ecosystem. With the advent of new technologies, especially internet of Things, the role buildings play is being redefined from a static environment to a more dynamic and interactive space that impacts the happiness, lifestyle, well-being and productivity of occupants,” he said.
The Smart Building Score evaluates a building’s use of 15 technology assets to find out which systems are in place to make them green, safe and productive. The systems’ overall capabilities, coverage of the facility and uptime are then factored in.
By 2030, he said that more than 5 billion people or 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities compared to 3.5 billion people now.
The smart city journey for Dubai is far from over. With the big shift of people, “we are going to need a sustainable and resource-sufficient way. Smart buildings need to be an enabler to lower emissions, reduce waste production, manage water usage and improve quality of life of the people living in the building,” he said.
The survey showed that the average smart building score in the Middle East was 48 out of a possible 100. The average building score in Doha was 70 — more than 20 points above the regional average. The average score in Dubai was 65. Abu Dhabi came third, with a score of 48.
Pete Costa, vice-president of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions for the Middle East, said that the survey results show that the region is well on its way to achieving its smart city goals, with Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi in particular serving as great examples for the region.
Overall, he said that the region’s airports are leading the way with smart building technologies, with an average score of 80. Hotels had an average score of 57, followed by hospitals at 56, retail at 52 and private offices at 46. Scoring the lowest were high-rise residential buildings at 45 and education facilities at 41.
“With the exception of airports, connectivity and system integration were found to be lagging. 57 per cent of the buildings surveyed were found to lack efficiency-boosting technology that helps centralise facility information and streamline operations,” Costa said.
Across the Middle East, buildings scored only an average of 38 on asset capability. This number can be improved by investment in smart systems such as gas and water leakage detection, health and fire safety fixtures, energy-efficient components, and emergency power systems.
