Digital Transformation through BMS
BMS and home automation are becoming increasingly widespread for controlling, programming and automating tasks in buildings, and forthcoming legislation could accelerate the digital transformation of buildings.
Why include BMS in construction and renovation projects?
Would you conceive of constructing or renovating a residential, commercial, sports, commercial or artisanal building without integrating a software solution for technical management of comfort functions? Equipped with heating, ventilation, lighting and solar protection systems, these buildings enable operators and users to effectively control two crucial aspects:
Indoor quality of life: management of set temperatures, air renewal, and artificial and natural lighting to ensure occupant comfort.
Maintaining technical performance: real-time monitoring of technical, thermal and energy performance, with particular attention paid to controlling energy consumption, thus guaranteeing the long-term durability and operational efficiency of our facilities.
Complementary BMS applications
Other energy-intensive applications are commonly integrated into building management systems, such as access control and escalators. Hydraulic equipment, such as sanitary water boosters and lift pumps, plays an essential role in safety, comfort, hygiene and billing services.
Home automation or BMS?
Should we talk about home automation or BMS? Building Management System (BMS) is distinguished by its application to a wider range of environments than domotics, which is primarily concerned with residential applications. BMS encompasses a broader spectrum of applications, guaranteeing centralized, technical building management.
GTB deployment and benefits
With 1ᵉʳ January 2025 approaching, the key date for the mandatory installation of advanced technical management systems in new non-residential buildings, BMS is poised to play a leading role. This system enables centralized monitoring and management of buildings, offering substantial energy savings and improving occupant comfort through precise, adaptable control of building systems.BMS is not just a software solution; it represents a set of integrated technical management systems, designed to meet the evolving needs of commercial buildings and other structures. It not only promotes economy and efficiency, but also the adaptability of spaces to respond rapidly to new needs, such as the conversion of offices into housing, or the rapid reconfiguration of workspaces.
setting up gtb with practical gtb software
The building nervous system: gtb software
The BMS functions like a building's nervous system. The architecture of this home automation system centralizes all the information essential to building operation and transmits it to data analysis software.
In turn, this gtb software issues commands that adjust heating, ventilation and lighting, affecting equipment such as boilers, air-conditioning units, central ventilation units, hydraulic valves, light sources and blind motors. The result is the expected level of comfort.
Unlike a conventional control network, where control is directly linked to the power supply, a BMS system separates the power supply to appliances (such as lighting and heating) from the control circuit. The latter uses a digital link via a bus with a specific protocol. This offers several advantages:
Savings: Significant reduction in the length of cabling required.
Organization: Communication between equipment and the control system is managed by software, making modifications and plant configuration quick and easy.
Electrical installation design tools, such as those from Stabicad, enable home automation controls to be created in parallel with traditional wiring diagrams, boosting the efficiency and flexibility of building management systems.
How is GTB structured?
A plant is generally made up of three interconnected levels:
1. The "field" level
The "field" level includes sensors and action controls, such as temperature, lighting or air quality sensors, buttons and presence detectors.
2. The "regulation" level
The "control" level includes programmable, communicating PLCs that receive and process information to control each family of technical equipment (heating, ventilation, lighting, etc.) according to scenarios and without human action.
3. Supervision level
The supervision level, also known as the home automation control unit, receives information from all the control devices in the previous level, in order to program and control complex functions.
This supervision station measures consumption, and monitors and records all actions. It also highlights all alarms and malfunctions, such as over-consumption of heating or lighting.
The advantage of technical management is to ensure that buildings are controlled globally, continuously, optimally and reliably, with the greatest possible economy of resources given their size and the complexity of the technical installations.
From GTB to BACS: Evolution of technical management systems
The transformation of BMS into BACS (Building Automation and Control Systems) is confirmed by the European directive on the energy performance of buildings 2018/844, published on June 19, 2018, which now recognizes these systems as essential for the technical management of tertiary buildings. From 1ᵉʳ January 2025, all non-residential buildings, whether new or existing, equipped with energy systems rated at more than 290 kW, will have to be fitted with these advanced automation and control systems, optimizing energy savings and occupant comfort.
What are the essential functions of BMS systems?
The European text defines several critical capabilities for centralized building management systems:
Real-time monitoring: Systems must be able to continuously monitor, record and analyze energy consumption, enabling dynamic adjustments to improve energy efficiency.
Efficiency assessment: This equipment must also assess the building's energy efficiency against reference values, helping to detect anomalies and organize preventive maintenance.
Interoperability: The directive stresses the importance of interoperability, requiring regulatory communication systems to operate compatibly with devices from different technologies and manufacturers.
Open protocol for maximum interoperability
This last point is crucial, as it requires designers to select an equipment exchange protocol that is compatible with as many suppliers as possible. For several decades, three standards have been used in buildings: BACnet, LonWorks and KNX. The latter offers numerous advantages. KNX is the world's only open protocol: its technical data structure is accessible for interoperability purposes. Developed over the past 30 years, it has established itself internationally, and now brings together some 340 manufacturers from 37 countries. And, since 2016, its specifications have been provided free of charge to members of the KNX Association: manufacturers, installation companies, training centers. This makes it the most attractive communication protocol for designers and installers.
Conclusion
The widespread use of BMS embodies the digital transformation of buildings, improving energy management, safety and occupant comfort. With its centralized technical management systems, BMS enables significant energy savings and real-time supervision. It also facilitates the reorganization of spaces, such as transforming commercial premises into homes, thanks to its flexible software solutions and advanced IT systems.
