The SPIRE Smart Building Program is an objective, comprehensive assessment and rating program for smart buildings. A first-of-its-kind program, SPIRE provides assessment of connected technologies within buildings and insights, benchmarks and direction to address costs and risks. In addition, it creates brand differentiation and enhances asset value.

The program was developed and launched in a partnership between UL, a global safety science company, and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which represents manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks.

Source: UL

SPIRE provides a structure for assessing smart building technologies in terms of the outcomes of their design as well as their adoption. The two main program components are the online SPIRE Self-Assessment and a UL Verified Assessment and Rating. Coming in the first quarter of 2021, the UL Verified Assessment and Rating provides users with initial insights into six criteria that make up the current condition of a smart building or space: life and property safety, health and well-being, connectivity, power and energy, cyber security and sustainability.

"The integration of all building systems is now technically possible and is becoming a necessity for success in a very competitive market," said David Stehlin, CEO of TIA. "Fully integrated systems are enabling advanced building automation that helps increase efficiency, optimize operations and enhance overall occupant productivity and wellbeing. By assessing, validating and rating key building elements that take into consideration the entirety of a smart building, SPIRE can simultaneously help improve asset performance, ROI and tenant relations."

A working group of over 60 industry leaders from commercial real estate, real estate investment trust (REIT), asset management, technology and telecommunications provided input to develop the assessment criteria. Additionally, Corning Optical Communications collaborated with TIA and UL over the past two years as SPIRE’s first pilot partner. According to Brian Davis, Corning’s director of global market development for in-building networks, TIA and UL helped the company evaluate and verify that performance levels of the six smart building criteria were met or exceeded at Corning’s new optical communications headquarters building in Charlotte, North Carolina. Specifically, the assessment looked at how the building’s power- and fiber-to-the-edge network and ubiquitous wireless coverage affected bandwidth availability and connectivity reliability, safe power and centralized backups, advanced safety surveillance, network cybersecurity and energy consumption.

As COVID-19 continues to impact building assets, the SPIRE Smart Building Program directly addresses the immediate concerns of commercial real estate companies, building owners, managers and tenants around operations efficiency, overall costs and risk mitigation of building portfolios.

"In these unprecedented times, those overseeing smart building assets are looking for guidance to help better align performance strategies, planning tactics and operational efficiencies," said Rachna Stegall, vice president and SPIRE Smart Building Program lead at UL. "The SPIRE Smart Building Program does just that by providing insight to smart building technologies and outcomes while helping to empower informed investment decisions about where to focus technology, building enhancements and business optimizations."

Visit UL.com/SPIRE for more information.