Let’s be smart about taking the heat out of the working environment - Tom Sime

In the past month Scotland has been basking in unprecedented temperatures. There has been a lot of interesting political commentary from what it means in terms of global warming, to how hot your working environment can be before employers should send staff home.

There were also discussions about how unequipped we are in the workplace for warmer weather, compared to other countries that usually see the sort of temperatures we have experienced recently.

And it is true. Our buildings are typically geared up for the cold weather, and keeping the heat in.

With many weather forecasters and environmentalists predicting that Scotland and across the UK will see hot spells more frequently, it is time for businesses to implement changes to ensure its staff have comfortable working conditions, no matter the weather.

Tom Sime, CEO of Exchange Communications

Monitoring the temperature of our working environment may seem a ‘nice to have expense’ that is something to consider for the future, but innovative smart building technology is now at our fingertips, which allows us to control our working environment to the very degree, whilst considering the environment at the same time.

Temperature and humidity monitoring systems for smart buildings control heating, ventilation and air conditioning, making it easy to adapt the temperature of a building to reflect the weather.

This brings a host of benefits, not just for staff who will be able to work in comfortable conditions.

At a time when the cost-of-living crisis is affecting businesses across Scotland, these systems can help reduce the running costs associated with heating and air conditioning by ensuring it is as efficient as possible.

A subsequent benefit of this is it controls the energy consumption of a building, making it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly – a consideration businesses should consider when looking at addressing a consequence of global warming.

Simple things like not leaving windows open when the heating or ventilation systems are running, limiting thermostats to required temperatures, ensuring that heating and ventilation are not in use at the same time could have a big impact on how energy efficient a building is.

The system can be monitored remotely and adjusted when the office is not in use which is a great advantage in this era of flexible working. This will become particularly essential when we approach winter and the impending energy price rise as with smart building technology, there is no need to waste money and energy heating an empty office.

Intelligent automation means that smart buildings can collect data on the weather, building occupancy, and the calendar, taking into consideration days when the office is not in use, resulting in heating and ventilation systems automatically going into a lower power mode when they are not required.

Exchange Communications is at the forefront of delivering smart building connectivity. We are seeing more and more property owners come to us looking for solutions to make their buildings more efficient, sustainable, safer and more comfortable.

I’ve no doubt that as the weather hots up, we will see more businesses implementing smart building technology in response.

Tom Sime, CEO of Exchange Communications