muilding management systems can save on energy costs
While energy prices might go down from the exceptional highs we have seen recently, energy efficiency continues to be important. 
 
In an efficiency-conscious environment a building management system (BMS) coordinates fire alarms, controls for timers, thermostats, fans and lights. 
Most importantly a BMS can save energy. 
 
Building energy management is now catching up with LED lighting as the most popular way for businesses to reduce energy costs. 
 
While around two thirds of the businesses introducing energy management systems have 1000 employees or more, there’s still scope for smaller organisations to make significant savings. 
 

Why use a BMS? 

One of the big benefits of a BMS is the ability to control all aspects of your building from a central point. A well-designed BMS could include motion-sensors so that lights are only turned on when they are needed. Information can be collected about patterns of energy use, making it easier to spot inefficiencies. 
 
Using the internet, it’s possible to have remote control of the functions in your building, including: 
lighting 
heating, humidity and CO2 levels 
CCTV 
area access 
IT and telecoms 
fire and sprinkler systems 
power systems. 
 

The Internet of Things 

The Internet of Things (IoT) means many new buildings now have integrated wired and wireless IoT facilities for easy connectivity. 
 
It’s estimated that there are currently 14.4billion IoT devices around the world. By 2025 the figure is expected to be 27billion. 
 
It won’t be long before BMSs can include electric vehicle charging and new levels of performance analytics. Artificial intelligence can also be used to automatically maintain cost-effective and comfortable environments, even down to your own workstation. 
 

BMS for small businesses 

If you own a small business you might not be able to commission a whole new IoT-ready building. However, you can still benefit from BMS. Heating can be automatically reduced when all or part of your building is unoccupied. Lights and heating can be timed to come on only when needed. In cold weather you can set heating to automatically switch on at a certain temperature. In hot weather you can manage cooling. You can also keep an eye on energy use or security issues from your mobile phone. 
 
We’ll be happy to discuss energy saving options for your business and the return on investment you could achieve. 
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