From electric cars to solar panels, technology has been at the forefront of innovation in sustainability efforts. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to be a critical global concern, developing smart cities and sustainable energy practices are more important than ever.

In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2020, half of all smart city objectives will be centered around climate change, resilience and sustainability. To build truly intelligent cities, we need to optimize the sharing of information at a foundational level, starting with the structures on which these cities are built.

Where do we begin?

The United Nations estimates that almost 40 percent of today’s global greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. To reduce these levels, the industry needs to begin creating smarter structures that use data insights to streamline functions in the building, and this starts with the infrastructural backbone: the elevator.

Acting as the spine of the smart building, the elevator is a linchpin for collecting and distributing building usage information, generating deeper insights into how people move throughout the structure. Using movement data collected through elevator IoT platforms offers buildings an efficient way to evaluate building processes, energy requirements and even hours of operation for retail operations in the structure. Understanding how and when people get around aids sustainability efforts by allowing cities to better manage movement, optimizing building traffic and cutting down on energy usage.

How do we use IoT?

Harnessing the power of data analytics, machine learning and cloud computing to predict and prevent elevator shutdowns and reduce overall downtime, IoT technologies can help buildings run more sustainably. IoT insights are available in real time, so actions can be taken immediately if anything hampers normal functionality across a building. These insights can also be used to predict when new parts will need to be replaced so they can be sourced before any issues compromise the efficiency of building operations.

What does this look like in practice?

To meet the needs of today’s smart cities, some elevator companies are using IoT platforms that harness the power of data analytics, machine learning and cloud computing to predict and prevent shutdowns.

Using IoT sensors on elevators and escalators, data is collected in real time, which is then aggregated into a user-friendly platform via the cloud. This information is processed with data analytics and machine learning to analyze trends on connected elevators to create advanced algorithms and predict performance trends.

For example, this kind of technology can show that up to 70 percent of the time elevator shutdowns are the result of a door-related issue. With information collected using IoT sensors and performance data run through algorithms, elevator contractors and building owners can be alerted when a particular door is reaching a 90 percent probability of having a problem. Acting fast to resolve this issue reduces downtime and streamlines maintenance efforts when the building has minimal traffic. All these efforts directly correspond to generating more sustainable practices in the building.

IoT in elevators will help buildings make great strides toward building the foundation of the digital infrastructure of tomorrow’s cities.