PEOPLE

Factsheet
PRACTICES

SYSTEMS
Building Management Systems

The HVAC and common area lighting systems of a 45 year old In high performing buildings, achieving and maintaining a good
5,400m² commercial office building in Canberra (Figure 1) NABERS Energy rating is now integral to retaining a building’s
were upgraded in 2010, resulting in a NABERS Energy Rating rental income and asset value. A BMS is an essential tool for
improvement from 2 to 4.5 stars. This resulted in a reduction in diagnostic purposes should building performance drop.
annual energy usage saving $120,000, a 70% reduction in annual
The BMS also assists with a number of other HVAC functions:
greenhouse gas emissions, and an increase in occupant comfort.
One facet of the retrofit included an update of the BMS; other ` providing useful data for scheduling service visits by
components of the retrofit are detailed in companion factsheets. maintenance contractors
` providing data for on-charging occupants for after-hours
Figure 1: Street view of 4 Mort Street, Canberra, ACT use and for energy consumption where the tenancy power
supplies are provided by the landlord
` ensuring NABERS Energy targets are met
` providing diagnostic capabilities to proactively improve any
non-performance.

Some BMS Basics

The BMS in most buildings have a number of direct digital control
(DDC) systems located with the separate HVAC equipment or in
plant rooms. These controllers are linked together using a local
area network that is connected to a head end (or supervisor)
station which typically provides the user interface for monitoring
and altering control settings.

BMS use communication protocols, which are rules that electronic

What is a Building Management System? components or microprocessors use when communicating
with one another1. There are several types of communication
Building Management Systems (BMS) control and monitor the
protocols, and it is important to specify an open standard protocol
large energy consuming systems within a building, such as HVAC,
rather than a propriety or closed protocol2.
lighting, fire and security systems. The aim of a BMS is to maintain
occupant comfort and ensure occupant safety, whilst delivering The specification of ‘open standard protocols’ for BMS offer
energy efficiency and lower operating costs. The correct interoperability across different building services systems
operation of a BMS is essential for optimal building performance with advantages to operational, energy and water efficiency.
and offers the most cost effective option to achieve energy Open standard protocols also simplify the integration between
savings in typical buildings. components and between systems such as HVAC, lighting
controls, security/access and elevators with provisions for
HVAC systems are made up of various items of equipment
future planning.
including boilers for heating, chillers for cooling, air handling
systems for air-conditioning and a range of ancillary components
such as pumps and fans. The BMS controls the operation of the
various HVAC elements based on information received from
sensors which monitor key parameters such as temperature,
relative humidity, carbon dioxide levels (as a measure of indoor
air quality), system pressure and occupancy.

1
BACnet, LONtalk and Modbus are examples of protocols used by typical building services equipment in office buildings.
2
A proprietary or closed protocol is one which the manufacturer of the equipment does not share or publish openly.

HVAC HESS Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning High Efficiency Systems Strategy 1
Building Management Systems

When to Replace a BMS When producing a functional description, it is important that the
requirements of all potential users of the BMS are considered,
Factors for consideration when deciding whether to upgrade an including the HVAC Maintenance Contractor who is in the key
existing system include: position to deliver reliability and energy efficiency.
` how old is the system? BMS systems older than 10 years are During the early stages of construction of a project, it is important
likely to be obsolete3 and would benefit from replacement that the BMS contractor meet with all stakeholders to determine
` are the software versions and the controllers still supported the functional description, before commencing engineering on the
by the vendor? BMS and programming.
` is the vendor able to restore the system in the event of a
software crash and able to either replace or repair controllers? Figure 2: The BMS interface in the plant room at
` are the sensors and actuators sufficient and in good condition 4 Mort Street, Canberra

` can the BMS be configured for web access to provide remote

monitoring and diagnostic capability?
` does the BMS give you the ability to communicate with
equipment such as chillers and energy meters using high level
interfaces (including wireless technologies), which enable
information to be exchanged without a multitude of cables?
` does your BMS have the ability to collect and store data for
the purposes of energy monitoring and active optimisation of
HVAC equipment?

Developing Specifications for a BMS

The replacement of a BMS is an ideal opportunity to consider
features for the optimisation of HVAC and other systems, Monitoring, Reporting and Exception Reporting
including energy monitoring capabilities and interfaces (such as
intuitive graphics, exception reports and trending capabilities). Monitoring, reporting and exception reporting are important
functions for a Facility Manager. Any functionality which identifies
To enable optimal functionality, BMS specifications should include and highlights problems with HVAC operation as they develop is
the following: beneficial to Facility Managers who do not have time to undertake
` a comprehensive functional description including an accurate detailed monitoring or negotiate arduous control routines and
points list of all items diagnostic functions. The storage of data for purposes, including
` monitoring, reporting and exception reporting functions NABERS assessments, is also important and means data backup
must be considered.
` commissioning and fine tuning over a period of at least
12 months
Commissioning and Fine Tuning
` training of end users on how to operate and optimise
the system. BMS systems often perform badly due to poor commissioning.
This is largely due to inadequate resource allocation by
These areas are explained in more detail below.
contractors to reduce costs in order to be competitive.
Specifications should include comprehensive and structured
Functional Description
commissioning and fine tuning over a period of at least 12 months.
A functional description details control sequences and The specification should detail the requirement for the BMS
optimisation strategies to be programmed by the BMS specialist. contractor to periodically carry out diagnostic functions, set up
A points list details these requirements in table form, as inputs trends and to report on key system parameters, Key Performance
and outputs to be connected to the BMS from various sensors, Indicators and tracking of targeted NABERS ratings.
actuators and equipment (these are referred to as ‘field items’).

3
This is due to a number of factors including increased functionality with newer technology, increasing cost with decreasing availability of
replacement parts, and being able to open up to the market.

4
Building Management Systems

Training of End Users The BMS should be serviced and kept in good working order.
Sensors need to be calibrated at least annually and it is important
Training should ideally be provided in stages, over a period of
to check that sensors are not affected by extraneous factors
several months. The training should cover:
including solar gain, heat output from office equipment and air
` navigation of the BMS system leakage through unsealed cable entries. Very few maintenance
` field items installed specifications comprehensively detail the servicing requirements
` basic control loops used for BMS, and this issue needs to be addressed if buildings are to
deliver and maintain high performance.
` establishing trending functions
` alteration of basic system parameters within pre-established
limits as agreed by the Client.
4 Mort Street Retrofit
In order to ensure the building achieved the targeted 4.5 star
It is also essential that end users have access to a help line during
NABERS Energy Rating, the engineers adopted a ‘belt and
the warranty period and beyond.
braces’ approach with the controls strategies. This involved the
installation of specific field items which would enable alternative
Operation and Maintenance of BMS control strategies to be sequenced if the design strategy did not
It is essential for end users of BMS including the Facilities perform satisfactorily. Examples include:
Manager and Maintenance Contractors to be familiar with the ` installation of velocity probes (pitot tubes) into the air supply
capabilities and operational parameters of the BMS. Where branches to measure supply air
necessary, the services of a BMS specialist should be engaged ` installation of flow meters to monitor the thermal energy
to update information in operating and maintenance manuals. and water flow rates through the chilled and heating hot
The services of a BMS specialist will also need to be engaged for water circuits
the optimisation of control algorithms, re-programming, setting
` installation of twin sensors for controlling important functions
up reporting functions (such as for NABERS) and setting up
such as the economy cycle
monitoring and diagnostic screens.
` temperature, RH and CO2 sensors were configured to monitor
It is important that diagnostic screens are set up for the the readings against one another and to raise an alarm
verification of key HVAC system functions including: should readings differ by a set amount, thus indicating a need
` optimised operation of economy cycles for re-calibration
` correct operation of variable air volume terminals (with the ` energy meters were also set to monitor the chilled and
goal of eliminating wasteful re-heating) heating water system efficiencies.
` modulation of fans and pumps through variable speed drives During an early part of the construction stage, a workshop
` chiller and boiler operation including the re-setting of flow session was held with important stakeholders (including the
temperatures, and the detection of leaking control valves such Facilities Manager, Design Engineer, BMS Contractor, Main
as in re-heater batteries. Contractor, and Commissioning Contractor) to provide an
opportunity for all parties to contribute ideas prior to updating
Occupancy times and control settings for space temperature and
the functional description and finalising the engineering
relative humidity (RH) must be selected to avoid over conditioning.
design and programming. This avoided unnecessary work
Some considerations in setting the BMS include:
and re-programming.
` public holidays should be programmed to eliminate
Another key to the project’s success was the inclusion within the
wasteful operation
consulting engineer’s scope of work to monitor the BMS remotely
` after-hours operation should be restricted to those areas and track the NABERS performance for 12 months following
requiring operation project completion (Figure 3). This enabled the fine tuning of
` in consultation with the end users temperatures for winter the HVAC system in a structured manner, allowing problems to
operation should be set at 20-21°C, and 24-25°C for summer be addressed proactively before they had a major impact on
` RH can vary from 35-60%, without significant impact on energy consumption or occupant comfort. The engineers and the
occupant comfort contractor avoided ‘quick fix’ solutions, where occupant comfort
issues are resolved at the expense of energy consumption.
` transient areas where occupants spend relatively short
periods of time can typically tolerate wide temperature
deviations of 17°C-26°C.

4
Building Management Systems

Figure 3: GHD engineer remotely monitoring the

4 Mort Street Canberra BMS

HVAC HESS
The Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning High Efficiency
Systems Strategy (HVAC HESS) is a ten year strategy under
the National Strategy on Energy Efficiency that aims to drive
long term improvements in energy efficiency of HVAC systems
Australia wide.

The Strategy takes a whole of life perspective in targeting HVAC

efficiency improvement, encompassing the design, manufacture,
installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance stages
of the HVAC lifecycle. The Strategy consists of a number of
complementary measures that fall under the three broad
initiatives - People, Practices and Systems. This BMS factsheet
specifically relates to Systems. It is one of a suite of factsheets
developed to provide a quick overview and reference to inform,
educate, and encourage energy efficiency in the HVAC industry.

Acknowledgements
The Commercial Buildings Committee wishes to thank Lasath
Lecamwasam, Building Services Group Manager GHD Canberra,
for his contribution to the suite of 4 Mort Street Factsheets.

This and other HVAC HESS factsheets can be found on

the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
website at:

www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/hvac-hess