Page 21 - Green Builder Nov-Dec 2020 Issue

THE STATE OF

SUSTAINABLE

BUILDING 2021

UPDATING THE

HOME OFFICE

With more people than ever shifting to full-time,
in-house work, many household designs need rethinking.

NCE UPON A TIME —
about 35 years ago —
considered the way of the An Even
working from home was
future. Telecommuting
was where everyone was Smarter Home
O headed; labor marketing
experts predicted that driving to work was S MORE PEOPLE WORK FROM HOME,
going to be obsolete by the end of the cen- numerous optional amenities have
tury. And this was before a little thing called become must-haves. Here are 10 things
the internet came along. A that telecommuters expect in their current
It actually took a bit longer for technol- and/or next homes:
ogy to grow up, and for major companies to Security cameras, locks, intruder alerts, and remote
seriously consider allowing their employees check-in/monitoring
to work from home even part time. But by Smart thermostats that link to intelligent HVAC and
the time President George W. Bush went into mechanical systems
his second term, corporations such as IBM, An integrated indoor air quality (IAQ) system—
Google, Bank of America and Best Buy were monitors/sensors connected to vent fans, energy
letting workers do their thing from inside recovery ventilators (ERVs) and range hoods—to
their homes. Those same companies reversed facilitate fresh air exchange
direction within about 10 years because inno- Aging-in-place functionality for active adults: Non-
vation and productivity su‰ered. So, almost intrusive cameras/monitors, fall detection devices
everyone went back to work on site. and voice-controlled technologies
But with the arrival of COVID-19 and Smart switches/plugs, appliances and irrigation
the lockdown that everyone has had to live systems
with since last spring, being a stay-at-home Built-in data protection and privacy technologies/
employee is getting the thumbs-up again. protocols
The Brookings Institution estimates that up Enhanced connectivity and bandwidth capabilities
to 50 percent of workers now do so remotely, Water heating, monitoring, and leak detection
more than double the total who did in 2018. Household audio speakers
Twenty-“ve to 30 percent of those persons Capability to integrate home with a solar-power
may keep that status once the pandemic is system
over, according to research-based consulting SOURCE: COGNITION SMART DATA
“rm Global Workplace Analytics.

November/December 2020 GREEN BUILDER 19

12-28, 32-36 GB 1120 State of the Industry.indd 19 12/10/20 6:49 PM