What Is A Building Management System – BMS System

What is a bms system or Building Management System, in fact bms is a microprocessor & computer based control system which is now installed in most of the buildings in order to control and monitor the installed equipment including all mechanical and electrical equipment and systems like HVAC, lighting, power, water supply and filtration system and also integrated with other systems like life and safety systems such as fire alarm, fire fighting and fire suppression systems.As a typical example BMS system consists of both software and hardware components. There are many bms software programs available which are configured in a hierarchical manner typically. There are some proprietary software or protocols such as C-bus and Profibus etc. Majority of Vendors are also producing BMS system software that are having ability of integration with internet protocols and open standards like DeviceNet, SOAP, XML, BACnet, LonWorks and Modbus etc.

Building Management Systems are most commonly implemented in large projects with extensive mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Systems linked to a BMS typically represent 40% of a building’s energy usage; if lighting is included, this number approaches 70%. BMS systems are a critical component to managing energy demand. Improperly configured BMS systems are believed to account for 20% of building energy usage, or approximately 8% of total energy usage in the United States.

In addition to controlling the building’s internal environment, BMS systems are sometimes linked to access control (turnstiles and access doors controlling who is allowed access and egress to the building) or other security systems such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) and motion detectors. Fire alarm systems and elevators are also sometimes linked to a BMS, for monitoring. In case a fire is detected then only the fire alarm panel could shut off dampers in the ventilation system to stop smoke spreading and send all the elevators to the ground floor and park them to prevent people from using them in the event of a fire.

building systems integrated with bms include:

• Illumination (lighting) control
• Electric power control
• Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC)
• Security and observation
• Access control
• Fire alarm system
• Lifts, elevators etc.
• Plumbing
• Trace Heating
• Closed-circuit television (CCTV)
• Other engineering systems

Benefits / advantages of BMS System

For Building tenant/occupants some of the benefits include:

• Good control of internal comfort conditions
• Possibility of individual room control
• Increased staff productivity
• Effective monitoring and targeting of energy consumption
• Improved plant reliability and life
• Effective response to HVAC-related complaints
• Save time and money during the maintenance

BMS System For Building owner

• Higher rental value
• Flexibility on change of building use
• Individual tenant billing for services facilities manager
• Central or remote control and monitoring of building
• Increased level of comfort and time saving
• Remote Monitoring of the plants (such as AHU’s, Fire pumps, plumbing pumps, Electrical supply, STP, WTP etc.)

BMS For Maintenance Companies

• Ease of information availability problem
• Computerized maintenance scheduling
• Effective use of maintenance staff
• Early detection of problems
• More satisfied occupants

The importance of building management system has evolved from last few years with the evolution of green building concept. In many countries governments are making it mandatory to follow the LEED (Leadership in Environment & Energy Design by USGBC) requirements for which energy and efficiency monitoring is essential. In addition to conservation of energy, re-use of water and recycling of wastes is now taking priority for building design companies. In that scenario the role of bms system becomes central while choosing and selecting the equipment’s for a project or a building at the beginning stages i.e. from design stages.

References: Wikipedia