What are the 7 Benefits of Building Automation? A BAS will deliver greater energy efficiency, lower operating and maintenance costs, better indoor air quality, greater occupant comfort, and productivity.

Maintaining control of large buildings can be a huge challenge. In addition to rising utility costs, some areas can be too hot, some too cold. Lighting levels are frequently inconsistent and misaligned with the work requirements of the area. Ventilation can be great in some areas — evident by alert, energetic workers, and lacking in others.

The solution to these challenges is a building automation system (BAS).

When done correctly, a building automation system will deliver greater energy efficiency, lower operating and maintenance costs, better indoor air quality, greater occupant comfort, and productivity.

What can be controlled?

• Lighting
• Chillers
• Boilers
• Air Handling Units (AHUs)
• Roof-top Units (RTUs)
• Fan Coil Units (FCUs)
• Heat Pump Units (HPUs)
• Variable Air Volume boxes (VAVs)

In Addition other systems that are often controlled and/or brought under a complete automation system include:

• Power monitoring
• Security
• Close circuit video (CCTV)
• Card and keypad access
• Fire alarm system
• Elevators/escalators
• Plumbing and water monitoring

Why your facility needs one?

Let’s go over some of the benefits a building automation system can provide:

Reduced utility costs

When used correctly, building automation systems will pay for themselves quite quickly through lower utility bills alone. Simply monitoring building occupancy and allowing the BAS to adjust HVAC use accordingly results in savings of 10% to 30%.  Reductions in peak load, TOU (time of use) and other energy use benefits reduce utility costs even further.

Improving you indoor environment

After decades of public health research, it has demonstrated that improved indoor environmental quality equates to healthier, happier occupants and employees. While it’s difficult to quantify, the impact of increased tenant comfort is critically important to building owners and managers. One of the most notable BAS benefits is temperature control. By powering up temperature control systems before occupants arrive and turning them down after everyone leaves, a BAS alleviates temperature swings in morning temperatures in the winter and warmer temperatures during the summer. A more comfortable building means fewer occupant complaints, happier employees, and a more productive business environment.

The increase in productivity

Improved ventilation and air quality boost greater employee productivity and reduce sick time.

Studies conducted by Harvard and SUNY Medical Centers found that doubling ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) minimum ventilation rates through energy efficient HVAC systems boosts cognitive function. Workers in well-ventilated, green-certified buildings scored 26.4% higher on cognitive function tests and had 30% fewer sick building symptoms than those in non-certified buildings.  In terms of dollars and cents, we can safely equate decreased sick days into a net impact of about $5.00/square foot and increased in productivity at a net impact of about $20.00/square foot. 

Companies worldwide are discovering that, in addition to energy savings, employee productivity increases when lighting is optimized to task and time of day. Research conducted by the American Society of Interior Design found that 68% of workers/employees complain about the lighting in their offices. Exposure to blue light has been found to decrease depression, improve mood, energy, alertness, and productivity. Tests at the Center for Chronobiology discovered that volunteers exposed to blue-based, LED-backlit computers for five hours in the evening “produced less melatonin, felt less tired, and performed better on tests of attention than those in front of a fluorescent-lit screen of the same size and brightness.”  The opposite is also true – high-intensity fluorescent and dim, poorly-lit spaces negatively affect people’s mood, health, and productivity.

Reducing maintenance costs

By reducing demand and start/stop stages, BAS reduce faitlure rates on a buildings energy infrastructure, reducing maintenance costs and extending equipment life. While its main function is to provide control of critical building systems, a BAS also monitors and optimizes its own performance and identifies any system or equipment issues. Depending on the issue, the system may attempt to automatically resolve a problem before getting a human involved (self healing). Random equipment breakdowns are costly business continuity. Emergency repairs when compared to regular scheduled maintenance are very expensive. Automation systems monitor equipment status and help you head-off unexpected issues.

Simplified building operation

BAS provides building management staff with the tools to control a building, but not all information required to properly manage a property is avaiable. Building automation systems are often partnered with metering or energy management software to detect resource use and other neccessary data. Automated IOT controls and real-time dashboards provide instant and ongoing data on everything that’s happening with the equipment in the building – without having to physically examine the equipment. Saving on costly problem determination visits, avoids business interruptions and simplifies operations.

With 24/7 access to all of your building’s systems allows for control and adjustment of systems from any internet-enabled device.

Higher property value

The value of most commercial buildings is tied to the net operating income. Using a BAS to reduce utility costs increases the net operating income on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Every $0.10/square foot saved in energy could increase the market value of the property by $0.80/square foot.  Reducing energy costs of a 100,000 square foot building by as little as $0.15/square foot could increase its value by as much as $120,000. Furthermore, buildings that include smart metering as part of their BAS can validate their energy usage for regulatory agencies. This opens to door to ENERGY STAR, Tenant Star, or LEED certifications. 

Earning revenue from energy flexibility

A BAS can be used to control your flexible energy assets to deliver revenue to your business in times of high grid demand. Through advanced, automated Demand Response programs, automation is used to making, solar, battery, generators available to the grid in short time increments offering more incentives back to your business. 

What’s in a BAS?

Sensors are the critical elements of all BAS. They detect resource use and track occupancy, temperature, humidity, ventilation, air quality, ambient light levels, security systems, etc. and transmit that data to the onsite controller. The more access a BAS has to data, the better it can fine-tune resource allocation in the building throughout the day.

Controllers purpose-built computers with both input and output capabilities acting as the “brain” of the BAS. It collects data on from input devices and then send commands to modules in the BAS like HVAC units, lighting systems, security alarms, and other connected systems.

Output Devices sends out a command, actuators and relays respond to implement the action required – such as increasing or decreasing the temperature in a particular part of the building, diming lights in unused areas, or turning on the air conditioning or heat before people come to work.

Dashboards are one of the most important components of the BAS system since building facility management can use it to access relevant data and identify system issues. Us

Before implementing a BAS

While there are many, many advantages to implementing an effective BAS, there are a couple of essential factors that building owners / operators should consider when implementing BAS in their properties.

Future-proof your BAS

Companies should safeguard their investment in energy efficiency by opting for a future-proof system that evolves with time and expands with their organization. The rate at which technology is changing means some systems may become obsolete within a decade after installation.  As such it’s critically important to work with a company that guarantees your system will remain fully optimized, with a  system that is expandable and scalable, adapting to new innovations and company growth.

Interested in finding out more about the 7 Benefits of Building Automation? Contact us today and speak to rep.