Brazil remains a pioneer in global proptech market

Opening this month, Platina 220 has forever changed the skyline of São Paulo, Brazil. When the 50th floor was completed last year, it became the tallest building in the city. Along with international awards for sustainability and other titles, the landmark mixed use building exemplifies smart buildings of the future, outfitted with smart home and smart building automation from top to bottom. 

Brazil-based Flex Automation was tasked by Porte Construtora to outfit the massive project with residential automation technology for 1,500 control zones of its apartments. Flex’s smart installations include automated smart lighting, smart access control, smart entertainment, smart shades, smart climate control, and more. Additionally, the building features water submetering, building management automation, and solar heating. In a prior project, Flex Automation installed over 3,000 Z-Wave devices in the city’s tallest residential building, Figueira Altos do Tatuapé.  

Flex pioneered Z-Wave technology in Brazil nearly 20 years ago so that today it epitomizes the complex, large-scale integrations that are transforming the design and development of urban properties across the globe. To take the convenience and simplicity of automation further, the company even designed Flex bridges with voice control support to deliver the experience of a building that is always listening for the user’s next command. 

Interpret research finds that Brazil has become one of the stronger markets for smart home technology with 35% of adults owning one or more devices. Smart lighting is popular in Brazil with 25% of adults owning smart light bulbs and 11% having smart light switches. In contrast, popular devices in the US and EU, such as smart security systems and smart thermostats, are some of the least popular devices in Brazil. The Brazilian popularity of Wi-Fi cameras suggests they are the solution of choice for security use cases. 

“Smart automation of commercial and multifamily residential spaces is rapidly becoming the de facto standard as it fulfills the value trifecta of operational savings, revenue enhancements, and consumer and enterprise demand,” said Interpret Vice President Brad Russell. “Innovative companies like Flex are leading developers to transition from traditional wired solutions to wireless sensors and applications that often can be delivered at half the budget and installation time required.” 

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