BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: Top BMS Software and Companies In 2023

building management systems
Image source: JLL

Building Management Systems (BMS) are responsible for controlling 9% of the world’s energy, but the truth is that the majority of buildings, especially those of a smaller or medium size, still need to make significant financial investments in order to retrofit or install a BMS. When it comes to management and making a building more hospitable, useful, efficient, and secure, nothing beats the systems and software developed for “intelligent buildings.” Some companies’ manual switches, timers, and sensors (thermostats, motion detectors, etc.) are all examples of simple methods that can be used to govern lighting, while intelligent building management systems can handle even finer granularity of control.

What Is Meant by a Building Management System?

A building management system is a computer-based system that is installed in buildings to manage and monitor equipment like ventilation, lighting, power systems, security devices, IoT sensors, and gas and energy meters. A BMS integrates the HVAC and various building components so they can operate as a single, integrated unit. They should, ideally, centralize processes and improve data visualization through a user interface or console.

Furthermore, BMS has developed into a collection of incompatible parts and uncrackable structures. Due to their high cost and complexity, they are only found in about 15% of large, premium buildings, despite the fact that their proper use can save 30% of the energy expenditure.

What Are the Benefits of Systems?

Your business can save a lot of money on running expenses by using a building management system, which also offers protection for your resources, assets, and building occupants. However, we have been developing BMS systems since 1987 for businesses looking to increase their sustainability and energy efficiency. For your business, our specialists can plan and construct an intelligent building system that will offer a wide range of exceptional advantages. Here are some instances of how BMS functions.

  • BMS can cut down on both energy utilization and garbage production. Using detecting devices improves system efficiency and reduces the time and resources spent on fixing errors. New technologies will increase the longevity of your systems and equipment while cutting your running costs by around 15% annually. This will result in greater financial savings and fewer inconveniences.
  • A BMS is adaptable and has the ability to work with new equipment as your business grows. Adding in new technologies and connecting to external platforms is possible with the right setup. The value of your business and property will rise thanks to a BMS system.
  • BMS protects building occupants, property, and IT data. A BMS controls elevators and other areas. Managers can limit building visitors. This prevents breaches. A well-managed security system may prevent staff theft and tampering and deter crime, damage, and loss.
  • BMS manages heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, ensuring a safe and comfortable indoor environment. Your BMS monitors air quality and hazardous gases. In a fire, the HVAC system and smoke detectors vent the smoke outside. For the health and comfort of all, we have set a no-smoking policy. BMS protects both persons and property.

Do All Buildings Have Bms?

According to studies4, fewer than 10% of buildings have BMS, which can result in an avoidable waste of up to 25% of a building’s total energy use. This results in a staggering 750 trillion Btus worth of trash every single year, and that’s just in the United States!

Building Management Systems Software

Businesses can manage the many technological and safety installations within their buildings with the help of software for building management systems.These installations include lighting, HVAC, electricity meters, elevators and escalators, fire panels, intrusion, access control, CCTV, etc.The building management software that you have is the optimal solution for managing the systems in your building. In addition, all systems have comfort.

Furthermore, the final result is a reduction in the building’s annual operational cost through better energy monitoring and control, faster identification and resolution of technical problems, and increased resident comfort and safety. We can achieve this by keeping a close eye on and regulating power usage.

The Features of the Building Management System Software

With the help of software for building management systems, you can carry out a wide range of tasks. These functions will all be accessible through the user interface, giving you a comprehensive view of your systems. Here are some of the features

  1. Management Systems: Maintain a constant guard over the condition of your various comfort systems.
  2. Alarm handling: Use the alarm manager to find and fix any problems with your system’s alarms.
  3. User management: Manage the rights of your users and decide on the actions of each one
  4. Report and statistics: Generate reports and statistics on your incidents but also on your systems

What Are the Benefits of Using Building Management Systems Software?

The use of building management software has many advantages. Indeed, not only will you be able to enjoy greater ease and convenience within your infrastructure, but you’ll also reap direct benefits for your business. Here are some of the benefits.

#1. Cost Reduction

Building management software’s graphical user interface makes adjusting and improving HVAC and lighting parameters easy. It’s also possible to make reports and dashboards.

#2. Optimize Maintenance

The operating hours of equipment, such as lights, pumps, and so on, can be collected using the building management software, which allows for the planning of preventative maintenance based on the actual operating hours of the equipment.

#3. Incident Management

The building management software user can set the whole sequence of activities needed to successfully answer technical and security warnings.

#4. Cost Control

It is simple to pinpoint which building systems are responsible for the majority of your monthly bills. Therefore, schedule lighting and cooling systems, reduce fresh air intake in the winter, free-cool in the evenings in the summer, etc.

#5. Simple to Trace and Solve

Building management systems software with a graphical user interface makes it simple to diagnose and fix problems precisely. In the event that the technical staff receives a complaint that the office is too cold, for instance, they can use the graphical interface to pinpoint the source of the problem by browsing between floor layouts and technical drawings of air handling equipment, distribution circuits, boilers, etc.

How Many Types of Bms Are There?

Control BMSs and monitoring BMSs are the two main types of building management systems. As a means of monitoring the BMS Humidifiers, thermostats, lights, and fans, among other devices, will all have various sensors to them to create a smart home environment. The software will then inquire about a controller about which controller is linked to these sensors.

Which Software Is Used for Bms?

Optergy BMS is a piece of software that lets you keep tabs on and manage your building’s systems. High levels of comfort for all occupants of the building are simple to attain with an effective BMS. Additionally, it will help cut down on operational costs like those associated with labor and energy usage.

Building Management Systems Companies

The automation of services is contributing to the improvement of people’s living conditions all across the world. Increasingly, technical developments are being employed to beef up security measures. In this vein, providers of building management systems companies are being pushed to tackle difficult issues head-on and develop novel approaches to fixing them.

Moreover, it is evident that efficient building management systems are not an exception in companies. In response to a growing need for the integration of smart automation systems with contemporary infrastructure, a plethora of BMS providers throughout the world have begun providing cutting-edge products and services to meet the needs of a wide range of target demographics.

More consumer awareness and education, an increase in smart devices, and better consumer spending power are boosting the BMS market. Companies specializing in building management systems provide E&M&E (electrical, mechanical, and electromechanical) building monitoring and management services. These are the top building management systems companies.

#1. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric was founded in 1836 in France. The company’s products and services include building automation, switches and sockets, industrial safety systems, home automation, electric power distribution, Smart grids, and essential power & cooling for data centers. Schneider Electric introduced the next-generation EcoStruxure Building in April 2018. 

Furthermore, it’s one of the first open innovation platforms for buildings with an end-to-end IP architecture to quickly link IoT devices to boost building value. The company has strategic agreements with other companies to ensure high-quality products. 

#2. Siemens

Siemens began in 1847. The company offers power generation technology, engineering and construction services, industrial and building automation, water treatment systems, and automation and control software. The company has developed the Desigo, Synco, and GAMMA building automation systems. They also promote innovative technology integration to fulfill consumer needs. Desigo Control Point simplifies HVAC, lighting, and shading in small to medium-sized buildings.

#3. Cisco

The main office for Cisco is in San Jose, California. It was launched in 1984 by Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack. Currently, Chuck Robbins serves as CEO of Cisco. To put it simply, Cisco is a multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes networking gear, software, telecommunications devices, and other technological goods and services.

Cisco is the American company with the most firsts. The established order on the global stage has been shaken up by this. The market for building management systems is crowded, but it stands out with its world-class products and services.

#4. Honeywell

The US-based corporation has been making commercial and consumer goods since 1906. Honeywell’s primary business sectors include aerospace, home and building technologies, safety, and Productivity Solutions, and Performance Materials and Technologies.

However, the company offers to build automation systems, software and controls, construction and maintenance services and solutions, commercial combustion controls, and security and fire prevention services for building management systems. Honeywell introduced Vector Space Sense in June 2018 to track how building spaces are utilized. The application analyzes building data to help facility managers use, manage, and prioritize building areas.

Intelligent Building Management Systems

Modern buildings’ technological components are typically managed by intelligent building management systems (IBMS). IBMS is an improvement on traditional building management systems that makes use of the web and other forms of IT infrastructure. The IBMS uses an IP network to connect to all of the other management systems in a building.

What Are Intelligent Building Management Systems?

An intelligent management system is the central point of control for the many disparate elements of a smart facility. A facilities manager is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the building’s many systems. As buildings become more sophisticated, the number of systems that need to be managed also increases. Historically, this has included security, HVAC, electrical power, lighting, and building access. The Internet, Wi-Fi, and entertainment systems are modern necessities that must also be provided.

An intelligent building management system consolidates all of these configuration options into a single location, eliminating the need for manual adjustment of each. Integrating them into the Internet of Things (IoT) is the job of an IBMS, which integrates many smart building platforms under a single set of controls.

Additionally, with intelligent building management systems, you can add technologies like smart data sensors, Internet of Things-connected office gadgets, and video conferencing, and yet manage them all from a single location.

What Is the Difference Between BMS and IBMs?

Some of the acronyms used in BMS have similar-sounding names but different meanings, which can lead to some confusion. Many of the tasks involved in managing a building can be automated and controlled by a system known variously as a Building Management System (BMS) or a Building Automation System (BAS). 

However, the “I” in IBMS stands for intelligence, and it denotes a new possible level of complexity that is beyond the reach of both BMS and BAS in their more simplistic forms. Unlike a BMS, which could simply set a schedule for turning on the heat and lights each morning, an IBMS can employ complicated logic to accomplish far finer levels of control. When a designated employee enters the building, the IBMS can activate the heating and lighting systems and set them to their ideal settings.

What Are the Advantages of a Bms System?

An automated control of energy efficiency and occupant comfort is provided by a building management system (BMS) through a single digital interface. Electrical and mechanical services, including as lighting and HVAC, are monitored and managed by BMS.

What is a Smart Building?

A smart building is one that has machine-to-machine communication between its vital components and assets, such as air handlers, chillers, boilers, lighting, etc. To regulate and improve every component, a complex management system is in place.

A smart building attempts to provide practical services that improve tenants’ safety and productivity at the lowest possible cost. A smart building may run on clean energy and optimizes and reduces energy use. It prioritizes the safety and quality of life of the occupants. In addition to physical security measures like interconnected fire suppression and alarm systems, these priorities also include health security measures like access to clean air and water.

Are BMS and DCIM Interchangeable?

No, is the easy reply. They are complementary technological solutions simply by virtue of the fact that integrated data center management (IDCM) resulted from the merger of building management and data center management systems.

Data center management does include some facility-related issues, and there are some BMS overlaps as well. Similar to a BMS, DCIM tracks the power used by various power chain components, computes the data center’s PUE, keeps tabs on temperatures and hot spots, sends warnings when a defined threshold is crossed, etc.

What are BMS Limitations?

Due to the fact that most building management systems do not have the ability to control smaller equipment, there will be significant blind spots. Most properties with a BMS only have it put on the larger loads, including massive HVAC equipment and lighting, due to how expensive it is to install, maintain, and use.

Which Failure Can Occur in BMS?

Hardware issues or firmware flaws may cause thermal runaways in the event of a BMS malfunction. For instance, the balancer may perpetually overcharge a cell if a stop order was forgotten. Even identifying the issue and blowing a fuse won’t halt the cell discharge in such a situation.

Does BMS Prevent Overcharge?

BMS assists in preventing the battery from being overcharged or overdischarged. The BMS keeps the charging level between the battery’s maximum and minimum permitted charging and discharging capacities. In other words, BMS is a very important device for both user and battery safety.

Conclusion

When a company uses a building management system, they absolutely have to prioritize the safety of their employees and the comfort of those who work in the environment in which the system is installed. This frame of thinking is essential since the people living in the building are the first to be impacted by any occurrence that takes place inside the structure.

Building Management Systems FAQs

What is open source BMS?

Open BMS is an open source and open hardware project that aims to provide a high-quality, robust, and dependable BMS (Battery Management System) for lithium-ion batteries easily accessible to anybody.

How much energy does a BMS save?

A BMS can control 60-80% of your building’s energy consumption.

What is the main component of BMS system?

cables to link actuators and sensors to the DDC. Human-machine interface (HMI) display. Server for the large database’s storage.

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Reference

1 comment
  1. I appreciate your clarifying that a building management system is a computer-based system placed in buildings to manage and monitor components including ventilation, lighting, power systems, security equipment, IoT sensors, and gas and energy meters. My mother wants to install the system so that the HVAC and different building elements may work together as a single, integrated unit. I’ll advise her to contact a building management systems specialist.

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