Things are moving fast in building automation. Everywhere, building managers like you are scrambling to keep up with a rapidly evolving industry. And, while all that innovation is opening up an unprecedented opportunity to cut energy costs and improve tenant comfort, it also leads to a bit of an alphabet soup of emerging technologies.
Don’t know your BAS from your EMS? This is the article for you. Keep reading to discover the origin of terms like BAS, BMS, and EMS and how they’ve evolved.
What is a Building Energy Management System?
Building automation systems are redefining how we think about energy conservation, building systems optimization, and, indeed, buildings themselves. From simply automating the operation of stand-alone HVAC or lighting systems, we now deploy “smart” management systems that integrate the operation of almost all support systems, often across multiple facilities.
Unpacking the Terminology
Along the way, systems engineers and building managers have started using terms like BAS, BMS, and EMS to describe these increasingly complex installations. That can be puzzling for newcomers. Although technology has advanced rapidly, in practice all these terms mean roughly the same thing, and are largely interchangeable.
Let’s look at how this situation evolved:
BAS: Engineers began talking about “Building Automation Systems” as it became clear that increasingly advanced digital control systems would make it possible to manage multiple operations through a single system.
BMS: Over time, people working in the field began to use the term “Building Management System” to refer not only to the integrated systems themselves but also to the increasingly fine-grained control building managers now had over these systems.
EMS: More recently, “Energy Management Systems” emerged as the preferred term in the industry, highlighting how effective management of HVAC and lighting systems could optimize energy use, limit consumption and reduce a building’s total carbon emissions.
In the end, it’s more important to understand what we are speaking about when we use these terms. And, while we will be talking about Energy Management Systems (EMSs) for the rest of the article, don’t worry about being misunderstood if you use any of these three terms. They are still relevant and widely understood in the industry.
So, What is an Energy Management System (EMS)?
An EMS is any system that centralizes monitoring and control of energy-using building operations. This includes HVAC, lighting, and water systems. However, an EMS can also integrate other systems, like access control or fire suppression, which are not normally associated with significant energy use.
Your EMS collects data from sensors throughout the building and uses that information to make real-time adjustments that save energy and improve comfort. It also uses the same data to build a complete picture of your building’s energy consumption over time.
This information can be presented using visualization techniques like graphs and time plots to allow you to optimize energy usage. In some cases, built-in data analytics can spot ways to reduce energy usage and even implement these automatically.
How Does an EMS Work?
EMSs make use of complex networks of increasingly smart and autonomous devices to build a digital backbone connecting and integrating your building’s physical control systems. These digital systems have five main components:
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Key EMS Components |
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Sensors |
Sensors measure temperature, pressure, and humidity, monitor building access, and occupancy, as well as fire, smoke, and intrusion alarms, and send this information back to a controller. |
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Controllers |
Controllers use this data to manage physical systems like HVACs to regulate temperature. They also pass information back to a hub. |
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Actuators |
Actuators receive signals from controllers and use this to activate the switches, relays, and handlers that physically activate equipment. They also report on the state of equipment. |
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Hub |
A digital hub analyzes data to provide real-time and historical data about the entire system. It can also activate routines designed to manage and reduce energy consumption. |
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Interface |
EMSs display information about system state and performance over time to allow building managers to measure energy efficiency and manage systems as an integrated whole. |
EMSs are also increasingly powered by open-source communication protocols that allow equipment from different manufacturers as well as new and existing systems to work together. This interoperability is critical to improving the energy performance of both new and older buildings and facilities.
5 Benefits of an EMS
EMS’s ability to deliver fine-grained control of multiple systems and to integrate both new and older systems offers significant advantages for building managers, tenants, owners, and investors. These include:
1. Energy Savings
EMSs centralize the control of HVAC, lighting, shade, and water systems, enabling services to be provided when and where they are needed. It also allows consumption to be planned around low-demand periods when energy is cheaper. With control of up to 80% of your building’s energy consumption, EMSs can deliver large savings over time.
2. Lower Operating Costs
A properly implemented EMS reduces demand on your critical environmental control equipment, meaning systems run only when they need to. This helps to extend equipment life and reduces maintenance needs.
And, by monitoring your systems’ performance in real-time, your EMS is also able to spot minor issues before they become major problems, saving you money on repairs and replacements.
3. Increased Control and Comfort
EMSs give building managers full control over all systems from a single platform. That lets you customize schedules, adjust settings to meet extreme conditions, and address issues quickly. The result: Happier clients, lower turnover, and possibly increased revenue per square foot.
4. Backwards Compatibility
Non-proprietary communication protocols and backward-compatible equipment also make it possible to keep older equipment in use longer while still delivering efficiency gains. That means more return on your initial investment.
5. Sustainability
By reducing energy consumption, optimizing the use of water, and reducing carbon emissions both onsite and offsite, EMSs allow for more sustainable operation of your building. That can make it possible to qualify for environmental certifications like LEED, as well as government incentives and tax breaks. You’ll also add value to your own and your clients’ brands.
MACC: Your EMS Integration Experts
Whether you call it an EMS, BMS, or BAS, you can expect the same level of expertise and service from MACC. As a leading supplier of leading open-source brands for EMSs, we have the tools and experience to help you boost your building’s performance and be able to keep existing, multi-vendor equipment in place.
Struggling to control energy costs in an older building or across multiple facilities? We can help you plan, build, and operate a flexible, scalable EMS with our full range of design, installation, upgrading, and ongoing maintenance services.
Click below now to schedule a free consultation with our expert building systems integration specialists.
