Building Management

Systems (BMS)

The Basics Explained

 Seminar 1 – The Basics Explained
1) What is a BMS?
2) What Does it Do?
3) Benefits
4) Operational Considerations

Seminar 2 - Advanced Management and Improvement Opportunities

5) BMS System Architecture
6) BMS Programming
7) Extended BMS Functionality
8) Upgrades and Retrofits
 1. What is a BMS?
 Industry jargon, Terminology and acronyms
 What is a Building Management and Controls System
 BMS suppliers and integrators
 Typical System Components
 Typical User Interface Options
 Industry Jargon, Terminology and Acronyms
• Building Management Systems (BMS) also known as Building Automation
Systems (BAS), Building Management and Control System (BMCS), Direct
Digital Controls (DDC) and Building Controls

• Other terms associated with Control Systems include:

– Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
– Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
– Energy Management System (EMS)
– Data gathering panels (DGP)
– Modbus, Lonworks, and Bacnet – All refer to communications protocols
– ‘Front End’ – legacy term used to refer to the BMS Operator Workstation

• Most Common Current industry term –

– Building Management System (BMS) or
– Building Management and Control Systems (BMCS)
 What is a Building Management System?
• BMS systems are “Intelligent” microprocessor based controller networks
installed to monitor and control a buildings technical systems and services
such as air conditioning, ventilation, lighting and hydraulics.

• More specifically they link the functionality of individual pieces of building

equipment so that they operate as one complete integrated system.

• Now installed in every major building or facility with the availability of

direct integration into all other building services such as security, access
control, CCTV, fire, Lifts and other life and safety systems.

• Current generation BMS systems are now based on open communications

protocols and are WEB enabled allowing integration of systems from
multiple system vendors and access from anywhere in the world.
 What Does Intelligent Microprocessor Control Mean?
NETWORK

INPUTS

OUTPUTS
 What Does Intelligent Microprocessor Control Mean?
NETWORK

OUTPUTS

INPUTS
 BMS Suppliers and Integrators
• Procured as a complete system that includes, engineering, supply,
installation, programming and commissioning.

• Specialist Integrators that are either directly associated with the

manufacturer or are approved re-sellers.

• All Integrators should have full factory technical support

• Need to work closely with Mechanical Services, Mechanical Electrical and

other contractors.

• For new construction BMS is usually included within the mechanical

services package.

• ‘Tier 1 Company’ only refers to a direct factory association and not to the
quality of products or services…
 Typical System Components – BMS Hardware
High Point Counts
Range to Suit Applications

Operator Workstations

Built In Displays

Limited Features

Small Point Counts

Application Specific
 Typical System Components – Field Devices
Variable Speed Air Flows
Damper Pressures
Actuators Drives (VSD)
Voltages
Currents
Valve Water Flows
Pumps
Actuators Pressures
Fans
Motors
Chillers / Boilers Temperature
Cooling Towers Relative Humidity
CO2

Low Level and

High Level (HLI)
Connections
Typical System Components - Networks
 Typical User Interface Options
 Can be a basic LCD display through to
full Graphic Operator Workstations.

 The Graphic Interface must be

intuitive to use and not require an
Engineering degree to interpret

 They must provide sufficient level of

detail to enable the operator to
determine what is happening and
what is going to happen next

 Graphics need to provide access to

parameters for tuning and seasonal
information needs to be built into the
system
 BMS Simple User Interfaces – Built in Display
 User defined menus.
 Built into the BMS controller or a
remote device
 Password protected
 Monitor and control field points,
operating setpoints, time schedules,
alarm management, even trend data
 BMS Simple User Interfaces – WEB Server
 WEB Server built into a BMS network
controller
 User defined menus and graphic
pages
 Password protected, multiple access
levels
 Monitor and control field points,
operating setpoints, time schedules,
alarm management, even trend data
BMS Workstation - AHU Graphic Display Sample
BMS Workstation - Chiller Graphic Display Sample
 2. What Does a BMS Do?
 The role of the BMS in day to day building operation
 Building Control Applications
 Measuring and Monitoring building performance
 Interaction with other building systems
 The Day to Day Role of the BMS…
• The most common primary function of
the BMS is the control of a buildings
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Systems (HVAC) including;

– Air Handling Units

– Chilled Water Plant
– Cooling Towers
– Tenant Condenser Water
– Heating Water Plant
– Exhaust Systems
– Zone Controls
– Computer Room AC
 The Day to Day Role of the BMS…
• Control of Building Systems and Services
• Graphic User Interface (GUI)
• Real Time Monitoring of Building Operation and Performance
• Trending and Logging of Building Operation and Performance
• Time Scheduling of Building Systems
• Fault Management and Alarming
• Control Application Programming
• User Event Management
• Energy Management and Reporting (NABERS)
 Building Control Applications
• Building control applications include for following:
– Zone temperature monitoring and control
– Zone Variable Air Volume (VAV) control to zones
– Zone CO2 monitoring and control (Air Quality)
– Air handling unit supply air temperature control
– Air handling unit supply air flow / pressure control
– Main Plant Chiller and Boiler sequencing
– Toilet, car park, kitchen and general exhaust fan control
– After Hours Building Control
 Measuring and Monitoring Building Performance
• Operator Interfaces including Graphical
User Interface (GUI) for monitoring and
adjustments

• Trend data is important when

determining the stability of control
algorithms and when tuning the
system.

• Reports are pivotal when

demonstrating building performance
against sustainability targets such as
NABERS.

• Equipment alarm and fault notification,

reduces down time and consequential
impact
Interaction With Other Building Systems
 3. Benefits of Having a BMS
 The advantages of a BMS versus stand alone control
 Improved Tenant comfort conditions
 Energy Management and reduced operational costs
 Management of building ratings such as NABERS
 Advantages of BMS vs Stand Alone Control
• Reduced installation costs
• Flexibility and ease of change
• Customised control strategies
• Scalability
• Operator interaction,
feedback and control
• Integration with other
building services
 Improved Tenant Comfort Conditions
• Real time monitoring of tenant conditions
• Greater load based control strategies
• Trend data of performance, improved fault finding
• Air quality management (CO2)
• After hours operational requests, tenant billing
• Alarm notifications of faults reduce downtime
• Automated change over of failed equipment
 Energy Management and Reduce Operational Costs
• Optimal start and stop of plant
• Building warm up and cool down cycles
• Night purge
• Automatic Seasonal plant sequence selection
• Seasonal temperature setting adjustments
• Load based control strategies
• Economy cycle control including CO2
• Equipment runtime monitoring and duty cycling
• Occupancy control and control setback
 Management of Building Ratings - NABERS
• Can be integrated with Energy Management System (EMS)
• Real time monitoring of energy performance
• Proactive adjustment not retrospective catch up
• Measurement against load profile targets
• Separation of tenant and base building loads
• Historical trend data for NABERS management
• Energy demand and consumption dashboards

• EMS is a dedicated software packed for the monitoring and management of electrical,
water, gas and thermal energy metering systems.
Management of Building Ratings - NABERS
 4. Operational Considerations
 Tuning and optimisation
 Importance of System Documentation
 System Maintenance, what, how often and by whom
 Life cycle expectations and considerations
 Control Loop Tuning
• BMS Tuning and Optimisation are not
the same thing….

• BMS Tuning or control loop tuning

ensures that the equipment operates
in a stable, predictable and repeatable
manner.

• Optimisation focuses on operating the

equipment in the most energy efficient
manner without impacting on the
controlled variable

• The first stage of optimisation includes

BMS loop tuning.
 Control Loop Optimisation
Outside Air Temp 17C

Zone Temp 22C

VAV Damper 15% Open

Supply Air Temp 14C
Chiller Running
Static Pressure 350pa
VSD Running at 95%

Zone Temp 22C

55% Open
VAV Damper 85%

Chiller Stopped Supply Air Temp 18C

Static Pressure 200pa
VSD Running at 75%
 Importance of System Documentation
• Functional Description (FD)
– Details the configuration of the BMS
– Overview of the building services
– Describes in detail each of the BMS control strategies and sequences of
operation
– Documents interaction between each part of the system

• Point Schedules
– Detail all connected devices and their point type
– Critical for planning and system engineering

• Control System Drawings

– Should include a network architecture drawing
– Detail the physical wiring connections to controllers
– Useful for fault finding and establishing spare capacity
 Importance of System Documentation
Point Description DI DO AI AO HLI Comments  DI – Digital Inputs
Chiller HLI 2 Modbus Connection to Chiller  DO – Digital Outputs
Chiller enable 2
Chiller run status 2  AI – Analogue Input
Chiller fault status 2
CHW Pump start / stop 2 At MSSB  AO – Analogue Output
CHW Pump run status 2
CHW Pump speed control 2 Direct to VSDs  HLI – High Level Interface
CHW Flow temperature 2
CHW return temperature 1
CHW system pressure 1
CHW bypass valve 1

Tenant Cooling Tower Fans Start / Stop 2

Tenant Cooling Tower Fans Status 2
Tenant Cooling Tower Fans Speed 2
Tenant Cooling Tower Spray Start / Stop 2
Tenant Cooling Tower Spray Status 2
Tenant CCW System Pressure 1
Tenant CCW Pump start / stop 2
Tenant CCW Pump run status 2
Tenant CCW Pump speed control 2
Tenant CCW Flow temperature 1
Tenant CCW return temperature 1

Totals 12 10 7 7 2

 BMS Drawings show

device details and wiring
connections
 System Maintenance
• The BMS belongs to the building owner who should act as its
administrator managing BMS access rights
• The BMS should be maintained with an appropriate level of servicing
• As with any software driven system, data and files should be backed up on
a regular basis
• Critical components should be identified and checked at regular intervals
• BMS functions such as trend data, reports and alarms can be used to
perform maintenance by exception
• Maintenance should be approached as the performance of the controlled
system not individual components, i.e. AHU or Chiller Plant
• While the BMS equipment vendor should be utilised to maintain the
critical components, other suitably qualified technicians can be utilised for
field equipment
 BMS Lifecycle Considerations
• Considerations:
– Check equipment production cycle status
– Select hardware with proven record (avoid beta)
– Check for level of software and hardware support
– Check for forward compatibility policy

• Equipment Lifecycle:
– BMS field controllers – 15 to 20 years
– Field devices – 15 to 20 years
– BMS computer hardware – 3 to 5 years
– BMS software – Major releases 3 to 5 years
 BMS The Basics Explained – Recap…
• BMS systems are “Intelligent” microprocessor based controller networks
installed to monitor and control a buildings technical systems and services
such as air conditioning, ventilation, lighting and hydraulics.

• Scalable from just one device to thousands of devices

• Link the functionality of individual pieces of building equipment so that

they operate as one complete integrated system.

• Provide the building owners and operators with the tools to manage the
performance and energy efficiency of their buildings

• Can be integrated into all other building services such as security, access
control, CCTV, fire, Lifts and other life and safety systems.