How Building Management Systems Work: Components, Data, and Control

Finding the right balance is not easy. As a society that constantly pushes for eco-friendly practices while expecting everything to stay within a limited budget, the pressure on facility managers is real.

Most facility managers struggle to fit everything into one bucket like providing a comfortable environment for tenants, reducing electricity and water consumption, optimizing HVAC systems, and still making operations sustainable and budget-friendly.

The Empire State Building, for example, saves $741,000 every year on electricity bills by deploying a Building Management System (BMS) across the entire building.

If you’re looking for a helping hand, something like a computerized maintenance system to manage not just one but multiple facilities, this blog gives you an overview of everything you need to know about integrating a Building Management System.

What is a Building management system?

A Building Management System (BMS) or building automation systems is a solution installed in buildings to monitor and control HVAC, lighting, energy usage, fire systems, and security systems. Deploying a BMS helps reduce operational expenses while offering centralized control for all building maintenance needs.   

A BMS encompasses sensors and various hardware components placed throughout a building to collect data and display insights through a cloud-based dashboard, enabling facility managers to manage both electrical and mechanical systems with ease.

By using a BMS, facility managers can also remotely monitor and control environmental parameters such as lighting levels, indoor air quality, temperature, and humidity improving tenant comfort while meeting sustainability goals.

For example, if the temperature in an office building crosses set comfort levels, the BMS alerts the facility manager, who can remotely adjust airflow levels or assign maintenance if the issue is critical.

How does a Building management system work?

Ever wondered how we get a centralized view of a building’s overall operations? Here are the building blocks that come together to create a meaningful dashboard.

Real-time data collection

Sensors are deployed throughout the building gathering real-time data on temperature, humidity, light usage, water usage and energy usage. Based on the information provided by the sensors the control units and actuators modifies the building's operations ensuring a healthy and comfortable ambiance to the occupants.

Controllers

The controller acts as a central hub where a facility manager can monitor the entire building operations in real-time, for example you can manually control the AHU fan to low to high if the occupants in the room increases. Controllers allows for a seamless communication with the buildings HVAC, chillers, lighting offering real-time control over ongoing building operations.

To get started, take a look at how Zoho IoT lets you command and control your devices by predefining what and when they should perform.

Communication protocols

Communication protocols enable the seamless transmission of information between sensors, actuators, and controllers, allowing building systems to act and respond in real time.

BACnet, LonWorks, and KNX are some of the commonly used communication protocols in IoT building automation system.

By enabling smooth data exchange and coordinated control, these protocols help buildings achieve and maintain desired environmental conditions efficiently.

Software  

The software layer in a Building maintenance management system provides a real-time view by gathering data from sensors, actuators, and controllers. Data sourced from various building systems is presented in a structured and meaningful way through dashboards.

These dashboards enable real-time monitoring, support data-driven decision-making, and help automate building systems to maintain optimal environmental conditions.

To get a clearer understanding of how data from different building systems can be visualized, take a look here.

Benefits of building management system

Having a centralized control of your building operations gives you a 360 degree view of your entire building operations letting you modify and adjust the ambient conditions which offers sustainability and comfort, lets see the various ways in which a building facility management software lets you achieve it:

Reduced Operational Costs
Reduce maintenance costs by receiving alerts before major equipment failures occur, enabling preventive maintenance and extending asset lifespan.

Improved Occupant Comfort
Deploying a building facility management system enables automatic regulation of heating, ventilation, lighting, and air quality, keeping the indoor environment healthy and comfortable for occupants.

Improved Energy Efficiency
A building facility management system ensures that building systems such as lighting, heating, and cooling operate only based on occupancy needs, reducing energy consumption and costs. It also allows you to analyze energy usage over time, leading to optimized operations and lower energy bills.

Increased Building Safety
By maintaining appropriate environmental conditions and alerting maintenance teams about potential failures, a building facility management system helps ensure building safety and enhances occupant satisfaction.

Enhanced Building Maintenance
Real-time monitoring of building assets allows maintenance teams to address issues before occupants file complaints, ensuring building systems are well maintained and improving asset longevity.

Is BMS and BAS the same?

Zoho IoT for Smart Buildings

To make managing commercial, residential, or industrial buildings easier, Zoho IoT seamlessly integrates with existing building systems, offering multi-device, protocol, and network compatibility. Even if you’re starting from scratch, we’ve got you covered.

Zoho IoT provides a low-code IoT platform that lets you build solutions based on your buildings requirements, such as:

• Device and Sensor Management - Onboard and monitor sensors, controllers, and meters from a single platform.
• Integration and Interoperability - Integrate with third-party applications, Zoho’s suite of apps like CRM, and protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and MQTT.
• Commands and Controls - Remotely send commands to building assets to perform specific actions.
• Alarms and Notifications - Configure alerts based on defined conditions and get notified when thresholds are crossed.
• Analytics and Reports - Customize reports and metrics based on building needs to enable data-driven decisions.

Zoho IoT also offers Smart Buildings solutions that enable:

• Energy Management - Monitor energy usage across buildings, track consumption, and reduce energy bills.
• Water Management - Monitor water quality, leaks, and usage per building or unit in real time to reduce wastage.
• Smart HVAC Management - Control humidity, ventilation, and temperature based on occupancy and weather conditions.
• Predictive Maintenance - Detect equipment faults early to prevent breakdowns and extend asset lifespan.
• Asset and Equipment Tracking - Monitor critical assets such as chillers, pumps, generators, and HVAC units in real time.

Before you exit

If you’re still exploring how to get started with building management or would like a quick demo of how this could work for your buildings, schedule a demo or reach out to us at evaluation@zohoiot.com