From HVAC to Data: Why your Building’s Intelligence Begins with Integration

Buildings are becoming more intelligent, more sustainable and more energy efficient. Smart buildings require less occupant intervention, with the technology and systems installed being adaptive and self-managed (Apanavičienė & Shahrabani, 2023). Systems are therefore needing to be integrated and communicative with one another, for the next generation of buildings to be smart–enabled. 

All building systems were traditionally siloed with inefficient communication, requiring manual intervention and reactive maintenance management. Systems quite often may have had duplicated hardware and conflicting controls, contributing to inefficient performance of the overall building systems, wasting money and requiring expensive replacements.   

Integration, alongside the advancements in technology and systems, has therefore been fundamental in reducing costs, increasing efficiency and improving comfort levels for occupants. The building’s systems all connect to one another to utilise the data gathered via the Master Systems Integrator (MSI), communicating quickly between sensors, controllers and dashboards to trigger an automated reaction to how each system operates, meeting tenant expectations. An example being a HVAC system can adjust based on real-time insight from occupancy sensor data. 

How does the MSI interact and enhance the building’s systems that we at Lloret install? 

• The MSI oversees the integration and sharing of data between building systems, from BMS to AV. 

• The BMS collects all the data gathered from sensors and smart meters to automate a response through the HVAC and lighting systems. 

• An EMS utilises energy data from smart meters, BMS and systems alike to report, analyse efficiency and optimise performance to meet the sustainability goals set. 

• CNS provides the digital infrastructure that all systems are connected to, facilitating the data exchange. 

Our integration utilises open protocols such as BACnet and MQTT to ensure secure connections and real-time data is exchanged seamlessly across systems for automated control.  

A key benefit to the end-users and FM Team, who will be gathering all of the building systems data, is the ability for fault detection and for predictive maintenance to be carried out. Through the centralised dashboard, it provides completeness of data with root-cause analysis being conducted faster, reducing unnecessary downtime or preventable emergency callouts. 

Integration is part of the building’s infrastructure, all starting with systems talking to each other and bringing all elements together to form what we now know as a smart building today. We have worked across London delivering MSI as a single package or within our BMS and ELVS packages. If you are looking for an integrator for your smart building, please get in contact with our team.

References:

Apanavičienė, R.; Shahrabani, M.M.N. Key Factors Affecting Smart Building Integration into Smart City: Technological Aspects. Smart Cities 2023, 6, 1832-1857. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities6040085