Global smart building technology spending is forecast to grow from $6.3 billion in 2014 to $17.4 billion in 2019, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.6 percent, according to a new report from IDC Energy Insights. 

IBM has announced a new smarter buildings partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the first higher education institution to pioneer use of a new cloud-based analytics system for reducing energy and facility operating costs.

GridPoint, a provider of energy management systems (EMS), announced that its submetering, monitoring, and intelligent building control technology, combined with its cloud-based analytics software and service offerings, has helped national retailer VF Outlet achieve an average savings of 26 percent across its installed sites.

The ZigBee® Alliance, a nonprofit association of organizations creating open, global standards to define the Internet of Things, has announced the unification of its wireless standards into a single standard named ZigBee 3.0.

Wireless controls can be used to link devices found in a variety of building systems, including HVAC, lighting, fire and life safety, and security and access. In addition, they often provide networked control in buildings or areas where wired controls are simply too challenging or expensive to install, notes Navigant Research. 

The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) has announced a new initiative to help launch smart building and energy efficiency technologies in the Pacific Northwest. The SBC will work with companies to match cutting-edge technologies with buildings that are a good fit for initial product deployment and testing.

Overall connectivity penetration rates across all building systems are currently only around 16 percent; this connectivity penetration rate will rise steadily over the coming years, and with it the market potential for the Building Internet of Things (BIoT), says Memoori in a new research report.

A growing number of household and building operations can be managed via the Internet. Today’s smart homes and smart buildings promise convenient, efficient building management. But often these systems are not secure. Scientists are working on a software product that defends against hacker attacks before they reach the building.

Technology companies Atmel Corp., Broadcom Corp., Dell, Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics, and Wind River announced they are joining to establish a new industry consortium focused on improving interoperability and defining the connectivity requirements for the numerous devices that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT).