There comes a time when it’s beneficial to update, upgrade, or replace older BAS equipment. All too often, building owners decide to entirely replace their BAS System without even considering the possibility of a legacy upgrade.
Legacy upgrades help building owners reap the benefits of newer technology without the high cost of replacing an entire BAS System. They can also help combat increasing energy demands for growing businesses.
If a Controls or HVAC system vendor tells you it’s time to replace your entire BAS system, first consider getting an estimate for a legacy upgrade. You might find more value than replacing the system entirely.
Read on to learn about the ten signs that indicate it’s time to upgrade your BAS equipment.
Signs It Might Be Time for a BAS Upgrade
An error here, a concern there—there are many different signs that indicate it’s time for a building automation upgrade.
Security Concerns
Over the past few years, there have been several news stories about hackers stealing customer data. In many cases, the hackers used the company BAS system as an entry point. Legacy BAS systems often utilize weaker security protocols that give bad actors easy access to the entire company network. An update to a more modern system will provide you with increased security—and peace of mind.
Read More: Security Risks With Old BAS Systems
Isolation on the IT Network
Thanks to several high-profile data breaches, building management systems are now under the proverbial microscope. If you’re connected to a building IT network, it may be isolated due to the system not being in compliance. There’s an extremely good chance the IT department will cut it off from the rest of the network if it can’t pass a compliance test.
Difficulty Displaying Data
Older BAS systems often have difficulty displaying data analytics that allows facility managers and building owners to make intelligent decisions. You can add a wide variety of data visualization upgrades to your legacy system. This will allow you to run in-depth reports while providing a far superior user experience.
Employees Not Comfortable
Inefficient legacy BAS systems can cause employees to take matters into their own hands during the hot summer or cold winter months. What results is a proverbial battle of two or more employees constantly adjusting the office thermostat one way or the other. This causes the heating or cooling bill to skyrocket and can lead to a decrease in employee productivity.
Higher Bills
Legacy BAS systems are often inefficient when it comes to energy management. This leads to higher bills. Furthermore, older systems cannot provide intelligent visualization insights that would otherwise allow the facility manager to optimize energy savings.
Poor performance
Your building systems have most likely undergone renovations, changes, and additions over the decades since your legacy BAS was first installed. If you haven’t updated it, there’s a very good chance that your systems and equipment are experiencing poor performance.
Obsolete programming language
Legacy BAS systems often run on a proprietary programming language. Once the manufacturer stops supporting the system, the language becomes deprecated. The number of service technicians who are qualified to work on it now suddenly becomes finite.
Insufficient Memory
When your system was first installed, it most likely had more than enough RAM for the time. When you add new equipment, the entire system can crash or come to a crawl as memory demands increase exponentially.
Lack of Support
When manufacturers stop supporting the system, it becomes increasingly challenging to find a qualified technician to perform service, maintenance, and repairs. Sourcing replacement parts for repairs also becomes much more difficult. You’ll have to rely on 2nd hand resellers who may or may not have what you need in stock.
Increased Facility or Operational Needs
Over time, your building has undergone changes that result in increased operational or facility needs. If your legacy BAS system performance is struggling to meet the new demands, it’s time to consider an upgrade.
Legacy Upgrade Possibilities
The most important benefit of upgrading a legacy system is that you’ll be able to preserve your initial BAS and EMCS investments. A legacy upgrade can also help you break ties with proprietary vendors.
This will provide you with various new, often less costly, service, and maintenance options. You may be surprised to learn that it’s even possible to upgrade a Trane BAS system to Tridium.
Upgrading with Tridium Equipment
Tridium has set itself apart by offering open platform solutions. They’re at the forefront of the technology curve with real-time analytics and 'internet of things' (IoT) integration for various commercial applications. To learn more about Tridium, watch this brief video:
At MACC, we utilize LEED energy efficiency standards in our practices. This allows us to provide you with the very best in upgrades, updates, and installs.
Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about upgrading your legacy building control equipment in a commercial or industrial building.
