Many buildings will already have a BEMS in place, and a useful first step on taking a proactive approach to building energy management through controls is to evluate the existing system to decide if it meets your present and future needs for the operation of your building or buldings.
Much of this depends on the type and age of the system, and the current state of its operability. It is important to consider if upgrading is possible, or if replacement is a more sensible route for the long-term.
There are key questions to ask during the evaluation. These include high-level questions about the overall state of the system, and more focused The list below is a good start:
- What are the energy management requirements of the building? Does the existing system meet those requirements?
- Will our energy management requirements change over the next few years? For example, is our corporate strategy focused on reducing energy waste? Will the current BEMS meet those requirements?
- Explore the capabilities of the BEMS. Are they being appropriately and fully utilised? Is everyone who uses the syetem fully trained? Can additional training be organised?
- Do you have a full service record for the BEMS? When was it last serviced? Is your software up-to-date? The maintenance log will be an important source of information for this evaluation.
