Each month in this column, we talk about the benefits of control systems and BAS. It might lead the reader to believe that these systems are highly optimized and result in comfortable, efficient buildings. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of control systems are operating at less than optimal performance, providing less than optimal operation, and are not regularly used by the building operations team. While this sounds dire, it is not a difficult task to recommission or tune up an existing control system to improve efficiency. The following is a brief summary of some of the key issues we look at when evaluating existing systems.
Generally, the first thing we do when evaluating an existing BAS is to sit down with the building engineer at the user interface and view the major building systems. Here are some key items to look for.