Smart buildings are now the fastest-growing market for long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) deployments with building operators turning to the technology’s low-power and long-range wireless capabilities to cut costs and boost efficiency, according to new information from the LoRa Alliance.
According to information gathered by the LoRa Alliance from Alliance members, key applications that are leading to this growth include:
- Energy and operational efficiency
- Environmental monitoring
- Preventive maintenance
Additionally, the Alliance said that regulation, such as France’s BACS, are imposing reduction in energy consumption that is also encouraging adoption of the connectivity in smart buildings.
According to market research firm Transforma, LPWAN technologies like LoRaWAN will grow to 1.8 billion by 2034, up from just 439 million in 2024. This is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 15.2%.
“The smart building market has truly taken off this year as major building management companies have realized substantial benefits on the back of LoRaWAN deployments,” said Alper Yegin, CEO of the LoRa Alliance. “LoRaWAN adoption has skyrocketed in the smart buildings sector because operators realize the benefits it offers alongside a strong ROI once solutions are implemented.”
Why it is happening
Historically, building management has relied on wired systems. According to the LoRa Alliance, these are being replaced with wireless technologies due to the flexibility in deployments and the ability of LoRaWAN to penetrate walls but with low-power consumption.
Additionally, LoRaWAN networks can co-exist with other wireless networks and are complementary to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G and RFID.
The Alliance said the technology can be integrated into building management system standards like BACnet, KNX, Modbus and other environments. This includes updating older existing buildings as well as modern facilities.
