Editor’s choice
FROM ENERGY MONITORING TO INTELLIGENT
DECISION-MAKING: A SCALABLE BEMS ARCHITECTURE FOR SMART BUILDINGS POWERED BY NXP
I.MX 95
S
mart buildings that can think are no longer a future vision; they are becoming a reality. In the past, Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) were mainly used to read meters, record electricity usage and generate monthly reports. Their role was passive, focusing only on helping people understand how much energy they consumed. Recently, the situation has changed dramatically. Electricity costs continue to rise, and companies are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions. ESG is no longer optional; it has become a key business KPI. Governments are also introducing stricter regulations, requiring transparency and compliance in energy usage. As a result, BEMS has evolved from a simple monitoring tool into an intelligent system that can analyse, predict and make decisions in real time.
WHAT IS NEW IN MODERN BEMS Modern BEMS is no longer limited to tracking energy consumption. It now manages the entire energy ecosystem within a building.
It connects and controls systems such as air conditioning, lighting, energy storage and EV chargers. More importantly, it can make real-time decisions. It can determine when to turn on the air conditioning, when to prioritise stored energy and when to send excess power back to the grid. With AI and edge computing, the system can predict peak demand and respond instantly without relying on the cloud. Meanwhile, the cloud still plays an important role in managing multiple buildings or even entire communities. BEMS has become the ‘central nervous system’ of smart buildings, not only improving efficiency but also driving energy transformation.
CHALLENGES
While the vision of intelligent BEMS is clear, implementing it is not easy.
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Many systems, such as lighting, energy storage and EV charging, require a real-time response. Without sufficient computing performance, the system may become unstable or fail. At the same time, BEMS projects are long-term investments, often lasting more than ten years. This requires strong security, reliability and long product lifecycle support.
Scalability is another challenge. Some deployments are small, covering a single building, while others expand to entire communities. The system must be flexible enough to scale up or down. Traditionally, each project is developed from scratch. This leads to high development costs, long time to market and limited ability to replicate success across projects.
SOLUTIONS
To address these challenges, Advantech and its customers developed a scalable and reusable platform based on NXP
i.MX 95.
By combining Advantech’s SMARC module (AOM- 5521) and OSM module (AOM-2521), the system introduces a distributed intelligence architecture. The building operates with a ‘big brain’, while each device is equipped with its own ‘small brain’. This approach allows the entire system to work together efficiently while maintaining flexibility at the device level.
HOW IT WORKS
At the centre of the system is the SMARC module, which acts as the building’s brain. It manages energy usage, optimises power distribution and ensures that all systems operate efficiently. It runs Linux-based applications and connects to various subsystems through standard interfaces. At the edge, the OSM modules are embedded
September 2026 Instrumentation Monthly
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