Abstract
Smart Buildings are currently, and will continue to be one of the most important trends in the built
environment and construction industries. While such buildings can bring many benefits to society,
the environment, owners, occupiers, and developers, they bring with them risks and barriers to
adoption. The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative research project is to identify the factors,
within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), that affect the growth of the Smart Buildings
industry in the context of the Irish commercial buildings sector. Semi-structured interviews with
some industry-leading experts in the fields of design, engineering, and facility management in
Ireland were used as the data gathering tool. The factors that were identified as limiting the growth
of the industry were, the usefulness of the technology, generally inadequate knowledge levels
amongst most of the key stakeholders, inappropriate procurement models in the Irish construction
industry, insufficient market understanding, perceived additional cost and cyber-security.
This research project provides valuable insights to many of the stakeholders involved in the Smart
Buildings industry in Ireland. Design consultants can gain a deeper understanding of the market
need and facility managers’ and occupant’s concerns. System integrators will come to see the areas
that they need to address to capitalise on market potential. All stakeholders on the other hand, will
identify a need to increase knowledge levels. Finally, the construction industry will see a need to
redefine its procurement models and the academic community can benefit from the insights
provided to support future research in this ever-growing area.
