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New Tricks For Old Buildings

Darryl Gregory, UK Sales Leader for BMS at Honeywell, explores how smart technology enhancements can help to breathe new life into older buildings, subsequently making them much more productive, without the need for expensive structural works to be required.

Becoming ‘Smart’ Using Existing Foundations…

There are lots of words being written about smart buildings at the moment and for a good reason; they are of growing importance to our built environment, especially in the commercial sector. Yet, for most building managers, and occupants as well, their day-to-day experience of ‘smart’ won’t be a newly built temple to technology; it’ll be yesterday’s ‘modern’ office block, upgraded with contemporary systems.

First let’s start out by defining what ‘smart’ might actually mean in terms of building management and then let’s take a look at some of the issues that need to be addressed to allow tomorrow’s building occupants to benefit from today’s investments.

Investing In Existing Stock

The simple truth is that a lot of buildings aren’t performing as well as they could, most commonly because of their age. After all, there was no concept of what ‘smart’ might be when the majority of the existing stock of office blocks and warehouses were designed and constructed. As a result, energy is often wasted on maintaining the environment in empty rooms, temperatures can fluctuate and lighting levels may be less than optimal. The result: avoidable costs and a far from ideal working environment that could negatively impact productivity.

Addressing these issues can appear daunting as many older buildings might not seem suited for a full smart makeover. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. A modern building management system (BMS) can provide the foundations of some highly beneficial ‘smart’ enhancements without the need for structural work.

Moving In The Right Direction

For example, movement and occupancy sensors can help a building manager make adjustments to create a more optimal environment for areas with high occupancy levels while turning down systems in rooms or across floors that are not being used. Simple measures like this can be the first step towards creating a more integrated set of smart controls. Also, your building might not need every bell and whistle – it’s not smart to spend money where it’s not needed; smart is getting what you need to fix your problems.

In fact, tomorrow’s smart buildings are already a dominant part of our skyline – often these legacy structures can be cost-effectively enhanced to deliver a modern, controlled environment that can adapt to the variable occupancy levels that are increasingly common now that hybrid working is a common practise.

Overcoming Obstacles

Older buildings may simply not be able to accommodate the extensive routing of new cabling. For practical reasons, it might also be difficult to retrofit sensors in their optimum position, which raises concerns regarding what can physically be installed as against what is desirable. Fortunately, the current generation of wireless sensors negate the need for complex cable runs and additional trunking. The latest wireless sensors require minimal Bluetooth energy and low bandwidth as they share small pockets of data along the network. This makes them more accessible for older buildings with thicker walls and complicated layouts.

There are also concerns about air quality control in older buildings, which are wholly understandable given the ongoing global health crisis. Here again, the addition of a sensor can provide data about efficiency of HVAC filters ahead of them becoming ineffective. The inclusion of PM2.5 detection may also be desirable if building managers want to progress beyond simple CO2 monitoring, a potentially popular enhancement given the growing demand amongst occupants for information about the health of their working environment.

Bringing It All Together

One of the main issues is defining what’s needed from a BMS, rather than what’s potentially available. The focus should be on extracting the right data, not the most data. Also, many building managers don’t have the time or the necessary skills to extract and analyse the information that can help them reduce energy consumption and optimise the occupant experience. It’s therefore essential that when a BMS is upgraded the right technology partner is chosen.

The need to be able to integrate old and new infrastructure to create a fully functional solution is paramount. Potential suppliers should therefore be asked to demonstrate what their technology can usefully provide and its benefits, ideally supported by case studies. There should also be an explicit upgrade path so that any investment in a new BMS is futureproofed. With older buildings, comprehensive site visits are necessary for suppliers to understand the layout of the building and any challenges which may occur.

The smart money is on a system that’s tailored to meet your building’s requirements – or even better, one that can adjust to external factors such as time of day and weather. The smart buildings of the future are already here; all that’s needed to bring into operation is a little expertise and the right technology.

About Trend Control Systems:

With a worldwide distribution and support network covering over 50 countries, Trend Control Systems is a major international supplier of building energy management solutions (BEMS). The vast majority of Trend’s control systems are supplied, engineered and commissioned by approved systems integrators. Trend Control Systems is part of Honeywell Building Technologies.

Learn more by visiting: https://buildings.honeywell.com/gb/en/brands/our-brands/trend-controls