Facilities become intelligent only to the extent that their operators collect, analyze, and learn from the massive amounts of information flowing from building systems and equipment. HVAC data is fundamental, given that the system typically accounts for 44% of a commercial building’s energy consumption and is central to occupant comfort and, for many manufacturers, product quality. And that makes connecting the HVAC system to a cloud-based data center a crucial aspect of creating a smart facility.

Simply optimizing an HVAC system can yield substantial savings, reducing its energy usage and resulting costs by 20%-50% (30% is typical). But without ongoing monitoring, those results will start to degrade after about a year or so. A two-way data flow between a facility’s HVAC equipment and BAS and an optimization provider’s network operations center enables real-time monitoring, analysis, maintenance, and fine-tuning of the HVAC system. It’s the only way to maintain the efficiencies gained through an HVAC system upgrade and to gain ongoing insights into a facility’s performance.