What is Building Automation ?
Building automation refers to the automated central control of a building’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), electrical, lighting, shading, access control, and security systems via a Building Management System (BMS) or Building Automation System (BAS). Building automation aims to improve occupant comfort, the efficiency of building systems, the reduction of energy consumption, the reduction of operating and maintenance costs, the increase of security, the documentation of historical performance, remote access/control/operation, and the extension of the life cycle of equipment and related utilities.
Building automation is an illustration of a distributed control system – the computer networking of electronic devices used to monitor and control building operations.
Introduction of Global Commercial Building Automation Market
Commercial building automation is the centralized control system that is mechanized and which regulates operations like air conditioning, lightning, heating, ventilation, and various other systems of buildings with the help of building automation technology. Furthermore, the main goal of deploying these commercial building automation systems is proficient functioning of the fitted system of the constructions & structures along with the need for mitigating the operational costs. In addition to this, growing requirement for energy conservation, need for addressing occupant’s comfort, and requirement for enhancing the lifespan of utilities will upsurge the market demand over the forthcoming years.
BAS basic functionality maintains the building’s temperature within a given range, lights rooms according to an occupancy schedule (in the absence of overt switches to the contrary), monitors system performance and device failures, and notifies building maintenance workers of malfunctions. In comparison to an uncontrolled building, a BAS should result in lower energy and maintenance expenses. The majority of commercial, institutional, and industrial structures constructed after 2000 incorporate a BAS. Numerous older buildings have been retrofitted with a modern BAS, which is often subsidised by energy and insurance savings, as well as additional savings from preventive maintenance and problem detection.
A building controlled by a BAS is frequently referred to as an intelligent building, a “smart building,” or a “smart house” (if it is a residence). Historically, commercial and industrial buildings relied on robust established protocols (such as BACnet), while houses relied on proprietary protocols (such as X-10). QIVICON has established a standards-based framework for heterogeneous networking of several devices across multiple physical networks for a variety of applications, as well as suitable quality of service and failover guarantees for human health and safety. As a result, commercial, industrial, military, and other institutional users now use systems that are primarily larger in scope than home systems. More information about entry-level systems, nVoy, 1905.1, and the major proprietary suppliers who implement or resist this trend toward standards integration may be found at home automation.
Almost all multi-story green buildings incorporate a BAS for energy, air, and water saving. A BAS’s common functions include electrical device demand response, as well as the more sophisticated ventilation and humidity monitoring required in “tight” insulated buildings. Additionally, the majority of green buildings make use of as many low-power DC equipment as possible. Even a passive house designed to consume no net energy would often require a building automation system (BAS) to handle heat capture, shading and venting, and scheduling device use.
From 2020 to 2026, the global Commercial Building Automation market is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 4.9 percent. On a global and regional basis, the study assesses and analyses the Commercial Building Automation market. The research provides a thorough examination of market competition, restrictions, sales forecasts, opportunities, changing trends, and industry-validated data. The research includes historical data from 2017 to 2019 as well as a revenue prediction from 2020 to 2026. (USD Billion).
What is Room automation? is it subset of building automation?
Room automation is a subset of building automation and serves a similar objective; it is the consolidation of one or more systems under centralised management, but in a single room.
The most common application of room automation is in corporate boardrooms, presentation suites, and lecture halls, where manually operating the large number of devices that define the room’s function (such as videoconferencing equipment, video projectors, lighting control systems, and public address systems) would be extremely complex. A touchscreen is frequently used as the primary control method for room automation systems.
Driver: Rise in adoption of automated security systems in buildings
Building automation systems help in automating the security of a building using video surveillance and biometric systems. A video surveillance system monitors and records the behavior and activities of people. Surveillance systems are deployed at airports, schools, office buildings, and so on. Several governments have made it mandatory to install these systems for the protection of public places and critical infrastructure owing to the growing focus on security issues due to increasing terrorist attacks and criminal activities.
Restraints: False notion about high installation costs of building automation systems
Building automation systems help in saving energy and reducing operating and maintenance costs. However, end users and building owners hesitate to implement building automation systems due to their false perception that the installation costs of these systems are high. Similarly, they are unaware of the fact that the cost is primarily dependent on the complexity of integration pertaining to a specific application. End users demand affordable building automation systems but fail to realize the extent of the energy savings and the associated benefits of long-term cost savings.
Opportunities: Favorable government initiatives and incentives
Several governments play a crucial role in energy savings and supporting initiatives toward reducing carbon emissions. Several governments have formulated regulations and policies to improve energy efficiency and reduce a building’s footprint. This is a significant factor encouraging the installation of BAS.
Challenges: Presence of different communication protocols
The power of building automation systems lies in synchronization and communication among various equipment used in the overall system. Communication protocols play a vital role in ensuring the proper integration of various devices and equipment for the smooth functioning of BAS. However, the lack of common open communication protocols may lead to the use of different protocols by these devices.
