Light + Building 2018

CEO of the Business Unit Low Voltage and Products,
Division Energy Management,
and head of the Siemens booth at Light+Building 2018

Siemens will be appearing at the trade fair under the motto "Digitalize your building". What does this mean exactly?

Digital transformation is fundamentally changing building management. Smart buildings need to be made even more livable and at the same time more efficient to operate. This is where intelligent digitalization solutions, a reliable and efficient power supply, and self-adapting building management systems that are increasingly automated come in. At Light+Building, we will show how digitalization, building management and power distribution systems achieve optimum interaction. This starts with software-based planning and configuration, as well as the digital implementation of system-specific data in BIM (Building Information Modeling), and includes the demand-oriented protection of power distribution systems, for example, as well as the systematic recording of energy and system data during operation of the building. The data integrated in our cloud-based IoT operating system, MindSphere, is available for additional building management tasks. It also enables data-based services, such as performance analyses or power benchmarking.

What opportunities do digital buildings offer?

Digital buildings are energy consumers – and at the same time generate and store energy. They minimize the energy they require and communicate with the entire power grid. This makes them "prosumers", producing and consuming energy at the same time. Prosumers play a key role in the field of transformational energy systems. Integrated building management systems make energy consumption in a building transparent. The detailed data of a building provides the basis of sustainable cost and emissions reduction.

In digital buildings, for example, plants and systems can be predictively maintained, thus preventing downtimes and damage in advance. Digitalized buildings also offer advantages for building users as well: productivity, comfort and safety can be significantly boosted by means of intelligent building management systems. New solutions such as indoor navigation, for example, help users quickly find conference rooms or equipment or show each employee the best route in case of evacuation. Digital buildings are communicating buildings, continuously generating data. We convert this data into knowledge. Knowledge that equips our customers for the future and increases their competitive edge.

What role do power distribution and consumption play in Smart Buildings?

With digitalization, the number of electric loads is also increasing. Firstly, it has to do with power distribution: Modern electrical devices, a growing number of communication and multimedia devices, as well as the use of renewable energies, charging solutions for electric vehicles and increasing automation require new concepts in power distribution and electrical installation. All plants and systems must be coordinated with one another and must be networked. There are ever more stringent requirements in terms of safety. Through innovative solutions, we assist our customers in implementing safe, standard-compliant and communication-capable power distribution. Moreover, we offer innovative and efficient solutions and services to optimize energy consumption and thus increase the long-term efficiency of buildings. In this, our systems also ensure that the optimization of heating, ventilation and lighting goes hand in hand with a perfect room climate.