FOCUS: SMART BUILDINGS


fewer operatives may be required to run the building. For example, both inside and outside known hours of building occupancy, some councils are employing offsite third-party companies to test whether systems are needed, so that plant can be switched off to save energy when it is not required.


One size is not for all


While BEMS delivers building operators precise control and enables them to realise valuable cost savings, it is important to remember that it cannot compensate for an inherently inefficient building design. One size doesn’t fit all, so if the design is poor then no amount of monitoring and control will result in significant energy savings. The same would also apply to thermal comfort, if this hasn’t been integrated into the original design. The BEMS specification should therefore be well thought out at the design stage, and a clear functional specification created, which considers all the necessary requirements. This will ensure that there is capacity within the system to respond to all functionality, so that energy consumption can be effectively monitored and understood. For example, you don’t want to get to the commissioning stage of a BEMS and realise that there aren’t enough points to connect all of the meters that will be used to monitor energy consumption throughout the building. The user-friendly nature of the system interface is also a very important consideration from the start - what will the programme look like and can users easily navigate through it?


To benefit fully from BEMS, there must first be some level of investment in regards to employing and training suitable and knowledgeable staff to operate it. At the point of system commissioning, a clear and concise handover to the building manager and team must also be actioned. To give staff the confidence and understanding that is necessary to optimise BEMS use and maximise the benefits of these complex systems, staff may require further or on-going training and support.


BSEE


uBEMS can be used to monitor mulple buildings across a campus


The ability for the BEMS to integrate with other new and existing/legacy hardware and software should also be considered. For example, if closed protocol systems are deployed the end-user will be tied to a single manufacturer and the system’s various components, both new and old, may not be able to communicate freely. This would be especially important on a campus where multiple buildings are being monitored, or where remote access is needed. For example, the ability to interrogate local outstations should be considered as this will enable local checking of functional integrity following maintenance when out working within the building plant rooms, and also deliver greater working flexibility to BEMS operatives.


Payback realisation


While the implementation of a BEMS may require a certain level of initial investment, in the long- term it will deliver significant payback by ensuring that a building operates at maximum levels of


efficiency by removing uneconomical energy usage and associated costs. This also addresses the concerns of end-users as they become increasingly conscious of their role in global energy consumption levels. Consequently, there is a growing demand for greener buildings amongst tenants. Such buildings also provide more effective control of the internal comfort conditions, delivering other positive impacts such as increased employee productivity. Building owners and operators must move beyond simple energy conservation efforts, towards practices that increase the efficiency of their energy usage and deliver utility savings. The industry is now also focusing on performance in use, by seeking ways to close the gap between regulated/predicted/designed energy consumption and what is actually being consumed. BEMS is the key to this goal as it is much more than just a tool for energy conservation and is being used increasingly as a strategy to reduce both energy consumption and overall operational costs.


www.tuv-sud.co.uk/uk-en/industry/real-estate-uk


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Building owners and operators must move beyond simple energy conservaon eorts, towards pracces that increases the eciency of their energy usage and deliver ulity savings


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Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2019 21


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