The purpose of a BMS is to control and monitor large energy consuming systems within a building, such as HVAC, lighting, fire and security systems. With advances in technology such systems are just as viable in smaller buildings as they are in larger ones. The benefits are to maintain occupant comfort and ensure occupant safety, all the while delivering energy efficiency and lower operating costs.

Many commercial and industrial facilities were built in an era when technology really came as an afterthought. That was attributable at that time to a lack of feasible technology options which could make managing a building simpler and more efficient. That has all changed. Fast-forward 40 years and the industry today features advanced solutions that, short of running a building on auto pilot, offer efficient, optimised and sustainable solutions that catapult facilities into a new era of sophistication.

Typically, sensors and control signals will be hardwired throughout a building at the time of construction for cost control purposes. Once a building is complete and in operation, retrofitting a BMS system is more costly and disruptive, not to mention putting a strain on the original system capacity. However, it is being done.

HOW IT WORKS
The methodology of BMS, whether addressing buildings old or new, is to measure, analyse and put in place systems of control. In the instance of an older building, the key factor is to measure how it uses its energy and how technology can help to optimise energy consumption through metering and monitoring, coupled with smart devices and analytic software. This is a fundamental part of a building’s journey to a digital strategy.

In a digitised building, each vital cog continuously provides the data required to obtain operational insight. That data in turn enables analysis for service providers to take advantage of best-in-class operation (OT) and IT solutions which unlock the performance of buildings and maintenance of their facilities remotely and proactively. This results in reduction in both energy use and unscheduled maintenance, as well as extends the life of assets.

Bruce Kinnear, BMS sales manager, iLED Building Automation, says: “Historically, the introduction of systems controls to a building looked initially at the HVAC system – it being the biggest consumer of energy. Later, installers realised the possibility of monitoring all other features of the building such as lighting, generators and more. This came to be known as third party integration. The controls industry does the air conditioning, but BMS has become the umbrella function while the driving force has changed to being primarily focused on energy efficiency. BMS, through systems integration, is what makes a building a smart building.”

i4 Group company iLED is a distributor for Distech Controls and fellow company ZUD is a distributor for Siemens, while the group also manufactures its own range called eZicontrols, which complements Distech and Siemens to form a holistic BMS system. Kinnear says: “We supply product, technology and training to the system integrators of BMS throughout the country. When we do a project, for instance, we take all the information from each unit and visualise it on the BMS. It integrates the generator, the lighting system and the HVAC system, and for instance adjusts the blinds so as to harvest natural light, douses the lighting so it’s mostly natural light, moves the air conditioning setpoint to allow for radiant heat, and more. It is all about saving energy and making the building space ‘green’.
“BMS is a simple Inputs-Outputs (IO) control – it reads temperature or light and increases or decreases the set point of each according to the set code and visualisation data. It provides real data to support the carbon footprint of a building for companies wanting a Green Certificate. All this data resides in the cloud being part of the Internet of Things, which is today being re-labelled the Internet of Everything as the technology expands,” he says.

Continue reading the full article, “Building Controls Morphs Into BMS,” compiled by Eamonn Ryan, in the RACA Journal – May 2023 here.