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DC Building Intelligence: The 7 Priorities That Actually Matter
If you're serious about 'smart buildings,' here's the short list that separates dashboards from real operational intelligence.
“Smart building” has become a junk phrase. If you want building intelligence that survives contact with real operations, focus on these priorities in order.
1) Instrumentation you can trust
If your sensors drift or your data disappears, nothing else matters. Start with:
- stable device identity
- time sync / consistent timestamps
- health monitoring (online/offline, power, errors)
2) Control loops that are explicit (and reversible)
Automation should be explainable:
- what rule ran?
- what input triggered it?
- what output was applied?
- how do you roll it back?
3) Zoning that matches human reality
Most buildings fail here. “Zone” isn’t a wiring concept; it’s how people use the space. Make zoning software-defined so you can adjust without ripping walls.
4) Commissioning that produces evidence
If you can’t show “before/after” in a credible way, you’ll lose trust. Your system should make verification obvious.
5) Continuous optimization (BEPS/BPS makes this mandatory)
BEPS-style policies increasingly require improving performance over time, not once. Treat optimization as ongoing operations, not a project. (DC BEPS overview: https://doee.dc.gov/service/building-energy-performance-standards-beps)
6) Security and lifecycle
Buildings live for decades. You need:
- secure remote update
- audit logs
- reasonable failure modes
7) Make AI the last layer, not the first
AI is great once the fundamentals exist. Without fundamentals, AI becomes an expensive hallucination engine glued to bad data.
TL;DR
Infrastructure first (power + control + data), then automation, then AI. In that order.