How Building Management Systems are changing due to Smart Building automation
Problems and limitations of traditional BMSs
A conventional BMS is a wire-driven platform with a limited number of inputs. Expanding this scope of functionality is difficult due to both cost and system complexity. This presents a scalability issue, while also limiting the effective functionality of the system. A modern BMS that is digitally integrated into your facility can provide accurate, dynamic insights into a wide range of metrics courtesy of an expanded number of inputs and greater integration.
Next Gen BMSs via Smart Building automation
One of the most significant recent developments in BMS has been the advances in Smart Building automation. Smart Building automation means that, through a combination of sensors and control units, it is possible to optimize BMS in response to real-time information.
For Smart Building automation, a crucial piece of information that helps determine a certain system’s usage is the current level of building occupancy. As part of a Smart Building automation network, this information can be retrieved using people counting monitors or footfall counters. These sensors can be used to anonymously track how many individuals are leaving or entering an area.
Applications of Smart Building automation
The ability to acquire reliable data from multiple touch points across a facility is an extremely attractive prospect, allowing users to augment building functionality and key protocols.
Occupancy monitoring, for instance, has been a hot-button issue during the pandemic, and it is a valuable process looking beyond implementing COVID-19 prevention measures. With Smart Building automation, users can gain a new understanding of room occupancy levels both in real-time and over the long-term. This can help to make data-driven decisions on staff and resource redeployment to maximize the efficiency of your collateral.
HVAC management is a common objective for traditional BMS. Smart Building automation can revolutionize the process. The same occupancy data that can enhance facility management from an occupational perspective can improve HVAC automation. Comfortable indoor temperatures can be maintained automatically, using sensing platforms which monitor real-time ambient temperature and adjust the controllers accordingly. Modern BMS can take this further with the addition of air quality monitoring. Integrated gas sensors can sample the air in a given space to ensure that oxygen levels not only meet regulatory requirements, but that they are conducive to a safe and comfortable living and working environment.
Facility managers can also reap the benefits of improved facility management and reduced real estate expenditure through space consolidation. Occupancy and footfall monitoring offers a keen insight into the effective use of a given space. This can offer the chance for innovation, not only through automated energy management and predictive staffing, but through physical utilization of space.
Terabee Smart Building automation solutions
For people counting as part of Smart Building automation, Terabee offers an outstanding range of 3D Time-of-Flight based sensors. These sensors can be used to count the number of people passing a certain point (e.g. calculating how many people leave and enter for building occupancy) or to have data on how long a given number of people have spent in a certain area.
One of the key advantages of Terabee’s 3D Time-of-Flight systems for Smart Building automation is their high (95%+) accuracy when counting people without ever needing to record any personal or identifiable information. This GDPR-compliant approach to Smart Building automation is very efficient and gives reliable data because the online algorithms are capable of filtering out static objects and recognizing multiple people at once, as well as identifying what direction they are heading in.
The counting devices for Smart Building automation are extremely compact (<130 mm in diameter), so they can be discreetly installed on a ceiling. They will operate even in low light conditions. For very wide entrances, multiple devices can be linked to give full coverage.
To ensure that your Smart Building automation application can take advantage of this information for analysis and optimization of your resources, there is an easy-to-use web interface GUI to interact with and configure the device as part of the smart building automation network.
For Smart Building automation, Terabee offers both the People Counting L-XL and the People Counting M depending on the size of the area that needs to be monitored. Both can be interfaced into smart building automation networks via Ethernet connections and use a PoE 802.3af interface as the power supply. They also come with two simple diagnostic LEDs for troubleshooting.
Find out today how Terabee’s innovative Time-of-Flight technologies can benefit your Smart Building automation systems.
