Maze of Building: February 2018

Building is simply a structure that has at least a roof and walls and stays in one place permanently. The primary function of a building is to provide shelter to the occupants. However, functions of a building doesn't stop here.

Try to imagine yourself in your five-storey dream house or even in the most beautiful and fabulous shopping mall. Now take away the safety and security system, air conditioning and ventilation systems, lifts and escalators, lighting systems, plumbing systems, power and energy management ... and you are now left with an empty shell which is cold, dark and dangerous. It is totally inhabitable. Does it still called as a building?

Undoubtedly, building services make a building livable, providing a safe and comfortable environment. Here, we introduce you to a few building services which explain the current standard of comfort in a building.

1. INTRUDER ALARM SYSTEM ( Amira Imanina binti Mawardi - A17BE0010 )

An intruder alarm system monitors and detects unauthorized entry to properties – homes and businesses alike - and alert the property owner or authorized third parties to an intrusion .The intruder system comprises detectors, control panels and communications devices. Detectors identify and react to specific occurrences including movement, shock, vibration, smoke, heat, and flood. Different types of detectors are available, each protecting different aspects of the property. These include:

Passive infrared sensors (PIRs) detect people moving using infrared heat sensing,
Dual Technology sensors use combined infrared and microwave sensing technologies to help reduce false alarms,
Magnetic door contacts detect the opening and closing of doors and windows, Glass break sensors listen for the specific noise of breaking glass,
Shock sensors detect attacks on doors and windows,
Smoke sensors can be connected to the intruder alarm system to detect fire

This alarm system give benefits to the owner as it helps to make sure security of houses/buildings are secured.

2. AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM (Eileen Khiu Xin Ying - A17BE0024)

A decade ago, who has ever imagined that we could actually be able to control the weather? - simply just by pushing a button to make it warmer or cooler, wetter or drier. Air conditioning system makes it a dream come true.

FIVE BENEFITS OF CURRENT AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM – Comfort Solution!

Energy saver
A large variety of choices in the types of air conditioning, ranging from a simple split system to a larger heat recovery VRF system and heat pumps, has becoming more and more energy efficient. Today's air conditioners can have upgrades like programmable thermostats, zone control systems and dehumidifiers, all of which help to keep your home cool effectively without the use of any chemicals and energy bills down!

The humidity problem

No one likes to feel sticky and hot. In offices, air conditioning system boosts workers’ productivity, an early study has shown that it made US government typists to do 24% work. High humidity can actually make the environmental hotter than it is! Air conditioning system simply removes the moisture from the air, making the occupants better off.

Controllable comfort

Due to the advancement in air conditioning system development, today we are able to manipulate the comfort we desire for. More sophisticated systems (eg: central air conditioning system) are able to recover heat from hotter areas and redistribute them to the cooler areas, maintaining the space to the desired set point at every corner.

Improves air quality

The indoor air quality can be 2 -5 times (and even up to 100 times) more polluted than the worst outside air! With air conditioning which contains purifiers that can filter the air, reducing the bacteria and dust particles, odors and contaminants. It benefits occupants with fresher and cleaner air, especially for those who suffer from allergies and respiratory sickness.

Wider effects

The boom in air conditioning is good news for many reasons. Research shows that working capacity of human beings increases significantly with the comfort conditions they are in. If the room temperature is very high, not all the heat from the body are released, thus with the feeling of uncomfortable, lacking of concentration and irritation of mind might occur. This statement is supported by a study conducted by Harvard University in 2017. Inevitably, air conditioning system plays its part well in increasing human's efficiency due to a higher level of comfort and health level it brings.

3.TINTED WINDOW (Muhammad Alif Nazren Bin Mohd Jamal -A17BE0057)

Nowadays, tinted window has been widely used. This is because tinted windows can bring numerous advantages.
First of all, it gives a higher level of comfort, especially in summer. It screens out significant amount of UV rays and heat from entering your building environment, besides softening the light, balancing the temperature and maintaining a comfortable work environment all year- round. Next, the tinted window can secure your privacy when you are at home as it provides visibility from inside only but not from outside. The feature of its thicker thickness can further reduce the chances of burglary, property damage or personal injuries. Moreover, it can enhance interior protection of valuation contents of your building as well. Tinted windows can reject up to 99% of destructive UV light and solar heat which may cause fading of draperies, furniture, carpet and equipment. Therefore, your investments can be protected so they last longer, saved dollars can be turned into profits.
However, the cost of tint is expensive and the cost depends on the grade of tint. There are many types of tint available in the market.

Diagram 1

Diagram 1 shows the physical difference between tinted window and untinted windows.

Diagram 2
Diagram 2 shows the different degrees of tint on tinted window.

4. LIFTING SYSTEMS ( Nur Maisurah binti Abd Razak-A17BE0091 )

It is convenient as it can help people who have a problem to make a movement in a building . This system also provide comfort to the user because of the ventilation system also included with the lift. For example, transparent glass type of lift in a building. People can enjoy the outside view of a building.

In summary, lift planning is a complex business and there are plenty of opportunities for costly errors. Identify the type of tenant who will use your building, predict their lift usage and ensure you install the appropriate technology to manage their movements in the most efficient way possible. Consider carefully where amenities such as restaurants are placed, and don’t forget there are all manner of health and safety regulations to comply with. These things all need to be considered in the early stages of planning to ensure you get it right first time and avoid expensive mistakes. Think beyond the obvious and don’t assume somebody else is taking responsibility.

5. ELECTRONIC DOOR LOCK SYSTEMS (Ooi Yee Chien - A17BE0114)

The days of forgetting to lock the door can be a thing of the past since the creation of electronic door lock. The creation of electronic lock contributes to the current level of human comfort in a building. They able to manage human comfort because of its convenience, affordability and the matters of security.

Burglars mostly enter the home through an unlock door or window. Therefore, since the electronic door lock work without key and it is always locking by itself after people close the door, it will be the biggest deterrent against burglaries. Some electronic lock can open remotely via an app and this improve the protection of the building. This factors function in increasing the level of human comfort in a building.

Recently, wireless electronic lock had become more common in use. Therefore, requiring nothing more than a screwdriver and a few minutes of people time. People feel convenient in using electronic lock as the installation is simple and easy while they do not need to hire a trained technician. Generally, the price tag of electronic lock is around few hundred dollars which is affordable to most people from all work of life.

The electronic door locks which grace the front door are include Bluetooth, keypad, biometric or RFID.

Bluetooth-enabled lock used by sensing people smartphone’s Bluetooth ID and opening it while they approach the door.

Electric locks used keypad with a pin number for entry.

Biometric entry uses fingerprint identification to open the lock. People who will access the home can program their fingerprint, and the system knows this is an acceptable person to unlock for.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) locks use a key fob or card for entry. With RFID technology, people may not have to remove the key fob from pocket or purse.

CLASS REFLECTION - 21/02/2018 (WEEK2)

Amira Imanina binti Mawardi - A17BE0010

Based on what I've learned, I personally think that building services system is important in our life as it is very convenient and help users to feel more comfortable to work and live in. I've learned that human comfort can be achieved when the environment provide appropriate condition. Factors such as temperature, air humidity, air motion can affect human comfort. For example, for a place that have high humidity, all the houses and the buildings have air conditioning system to improve the air quality and reduces humidity. Although the technology have became more advanced, I hope that the system that we applied in building services will not affect the environment.

Eileen Khiu Xin Ying - A17BE0024

This lesson has conveyed the connectivity of building to every single moment of our daily life via building services. Buildings do not only provide us with shelter, we human beings therefore begin to think of means to control and manipulate variables surrounding us to provide us with the best range of requirement for human comfort, here comes all these building services we see today in terms of heating, lighting, power, communication etc. However, with more and more building service systems introduced, it is a fact that the buildings around the world contribute to almost 50% of carbon dioxide emission, this SHOULD be realized by the all people and begin taking action to reduce carbon footprint. Let's create a better tomorrow not only for us ourselves, but also our next generation.

Muhammad Alif Nazren bin Mohd Jamal - A17BE0057

From this lesson, I learned that how our environment relate to our surrounding temperature, humidity, and safety which in return will affect our level of comfort. Besides, I understand that the building not only shelter us from weather and danger, but also provide us with various building service. Building services are the systems installed in a building which make a building functional, safe, efficient and livable, including Building Operation System (BOS), Mechanical System and Electrical System.

Nur Maisurah binti Abd Razak - A17BE0091

In my opinion, from the learning on 21st February, building services give people the feeling of comfort, facilities in a building and aesthetic view. The services provided in the building can also introduce people to the advancement in technology nowadays, which gives us convenience anytime at anywhere. For example , lifting system that make easier for the people to make a movement from one place to another place. Besides that, i also learnt that the building services fulfill the current standard comfort for the people which is make people comfortable with the surroundings provide. At the same time, we need to think of the environment that need to be taken care from pollution, so the good building equally with nature need to be considered too.

Ooi Yee Chien - A17BE0114

Throughout the class, I've learned the relationship between building service system and our daily life. I know the importance of building service to our nature and human comfort. As a future member of construction industry, I know that we should advance the technology and skills to improve the standard of human comfort instead of maintaining it. Besides, I had learn a lot of essential needs of building services system such like it take roles as a framework. For example, people will go in and out the building through transportation system. Meanwhile, fire will spread through gas supply system but flow out through transportation system.