Building Management Systems
BMS system requirements and evaluation of proprietary product offerings
Introduction
A building management system is a computerised system which can help the user control and monitor the surrounding conditions within their property. The main benefits of having a building management system installed are that they operate at maximum levels of efficiency and economy, but new modern systems have the dual benefit of acting as an automatic monitoring and targeting system, monitoring, measuring and analysing consumption to aid with carbon reporting and controlling efficiency. This allows users to collect, evaluate and convert this data into important information, enabling them to monitor energy consumption, recognize waste, and emphasize areas for improvement and benchmark consumption against other similar buildings or organisations. This is achieved by sustaining the most favourable balance between energy usages, environmental surroundings and operating expectancy. The best building management systems could potentially decrease energy consumption by up to 25% to deliver fast payback on investment and reduce taxes on carbon emissions.
Question 1
Automatic stop-start:
One way a building management system could reduce the energy used and running costs for this particular building is by a function called automatic stop start. This saves energy and reduces running costs by turning equipment off at programmed times. This is also known as stop start optimization and this method takes into account the indoor and outdoor temperature to decide when the system should be started and when it should be stopped.
Another function is the ability of the system to change set points automatically in response to the conditions altering inside or outside of the building. An example of this would be the air side economizer cycle, which is where the temperature and humidity of the outdoor air is at a point
References: Ener-g. (2013). Available at: www.energ-group.com. (Accessed: 15/11/13) Automated buildings Facilities net. (2013). Available at: www.facilitiesnet.com. (Accessed: 16/11/13) Carbon Trust Johnson Controls. (2013). Available at: www.johnsoncontrols.co.uk. (Accessed: 16/11/13) Siemens WEMS. (2012). Available at: www.WEMS.co.uk. (Accessed: 17/11/13) Contents