According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) buildings “account for nearly one-third of global final energy consumption and 55% of global electricity demand.” This demand has grown significantly since 2000, with buildings accounting for 60% of the overall growth of energy consumption. Buildings integrate multiple systems for controlling room temperature, supplying water, and other functions. Bringing these systems under one central control platform as a building management system (BMS) helps building managers achieve their aims more effectively.
Building managers and operators could save 10% of energy consumption by 2040 using digitalization strategies by installing smart building systems such as thermostats and lighting. Smart systems require a building management system to operate effectively. A BMS makes it easier to perform agile management decisions, set up automations, and optimize systems for comfort, health and safety, and energy efficiency outcomes.
What is a building management system?
The International Energy Agency describes a Building Management System (BMS) as “an electrical control and monitoring system that has the ability to control monitoring points and an operator terminal. The system can have attributes from all facets of building control and management functions such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) to lighting, fire alarm system, security, maintenance and energy management.”
Building management systems optimize building performance across three main aims:
- Comfortable and healthy spaces
- Safety of the occupants and owners
- Economical building operations through the optimization of energy and personnel
Given these aims, building management systems are used to coordinate multiple systems and functions, including:
- Energy and water consumption management
- Energy distribution and supply, for example, with rooftop solar energy resources and battery storage
- HVAC, lighting, and water controls and settings
- Elevators and escalators
- Security monitoring, locking, and alarm systems
- Daylighting and shading systems
- Appliances and plug-in equipment such as refrigerators, washing machines, and televisions
Smart technology in building management systems
In recent years, building technology has developed significantly, so multiple systems can be linked through connected IoT devices, controlled through a central building management system, and communicate with each other. One of the most important uses of connected smart building systems is to couple different building systems to operate efficiently together. This can be achieved with minimal effort through automation.
Smart building management systems both send and receive data to and from connected fixtures and systems around a building to perform system-wide decision-making. The building management system enables multiple systems to be coupled and aligned regarding aims and efficiency goals. It can also collect and analyze historical data and predict future energy, lighting, water, and other building operational needs from this data.
The technology used in building management systems is evolving to become more agile and responsive to data inputs through technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Building management systems have become smarter in terms of the optimization opportunities they can identify and more effective at shifting demand and supply-side energy requirements across connected buildings.
This helps building managers and operators save on energy and water costs, and more effectively improve efficiencies. Building management systems are also great for long-term planning requirements such as alignment with global decarbonization pathways like the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.
BMS advantages
By using a BMS, you can optimize various metrics that influence building performance to provide better conditions for occupants. In addition, a BMS can reduce energy and water costs through smart planning and efficiency improvements.
The key metrics where a BMS can make a significant impact are:
- Cost-effective energy and water efficiency
- Indoor air quality
- Optimized room temperature control for comfort
- Planning human resources and staffing
- Establishing emergency procedure protocols
- Achieving more precise maintenance goals
- Meeting green building certification requirements
- Tracking and monitoring energy data for meeting reporting requirements
BMS challenges
Implementing a BMS can bring some challenges that require forethought. While it may be easier to retrofit a building to include BMS than to overhaul its HVAC, as an initial energy efficiency strategy, retrofitting still requires careful design and planning decisions. It’s important to:
- Ensure installation costs don’t outweigh long-term cost reduction benefits
- Identify a skilled operator to manage the system
- An operator should have the decision-making authority is needed to implement changes identified in the BMS
- Cybersecurity can be an additional risk to manage, depending on the size of the system
When a BMS is needed
Building managers seeking to gain transparency into their building-wide activities and optimize building performance across a range of metrics will benefit from using a BMS. Without a BMS, the following processes become much more complicated:
- Cost reduction through operational efficiency
- Policy compliance for building energy benchmarking and performance standards
- Target setting for corporate sustainability management strategy
In addition, a BMS can provide added value for tenants and owners, as it enables stronger automation to meet their needs. Compared to other strategies for energy efficiency, such as equipment retrofits, digitalization strategies like building management systems don’t require business disruption. It is a good starting point for managing building KPIs without pausing operations. This is especially important for busy operations that cannot afford days or weeks off for construction.
Weighing BMS costs versus benefits
A cost analysis for implementing control systems in existing buildings from the National Renewable Energy Lab in 2021 shows a complete system installation averaged $7.76 per square foot, with a range in price from $5.20 to $14.18 per square foot. The variance can be explained by the differing complexity of control systems for linking to HVAC equipment.
Costs for different parts of installation can vary by building size and type. Here’s a sampling of different cost ratios from the same research, which shows how equipment costs and installation labor are the highest factors within the total cost to implement a BMS:
Companies should consider how energy efficiency savings can offset the costs. Research estimates show between 5% and 40% energy savings in buildings with a BMS compared to those without one.
Building management systems
BMS can act as the central control hub for smart building systems using connected IoT devices and sensors to unlock enhanced capabilities to automate controls. Considerations for building management systems include a cost/benefit analysis, goals for system applications, and staffing requirements for a skilled operator. With a wide range of uses from functional comfort, health, and safety performance to energy and resource management, a BMS is a powerful tool for building owners to invest in.
