Exploring smart home and internet of things technologies for smart public buildings

Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the development and use of smart home technologies. Besides being used in private homes, these and other wireless Internet of Things (IoT) technologies may also complement classical building automation to retrofit existing stock. Especially public and commercial buildings in Germany and Europe have the potential to become more energy-efficient and to provide a healthier environment for their users. This paper introduces an ongoing feasibility study on Smart Public Buildings at the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart. The study addresses the special requirements of public institutions for the utilization of smart home and other IoT technologies. To explore and validate these requirements, different use cases and prototypes based on an open-source platform for the home automation have been developed. Firstly, a preceding analysis of the special requirements of public buildings in Germany is outlined. Secondly, the basic installation of a smart building system at the university campus is introduced. Finally, some of the prototypes and use cases that have been carried out are presented.