Could commercial building automation be the key to driving down energy consumption?

With ABB’s Cylon Building Management System, you can track how every building feature is performing to increase efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

A major development in commercial building automation is the move towards integrating different building functions, such as HVAC, lighting and energy management, into one single platform.

Having a detailed and data-driven view of a building’s features through a Building Management System (BMS) such as ABB’s Cylon BMS can result in benefits like greater control, increased operational efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.

“The whole automation industry is heading towards using energy-efficient and scalable solutions,” says Matthew Doley, National Market Development Manager, Electrification – Smart Building Division at ABB. “Our product caters to exactly that need.”

Driving home the benefits of ABB’s Cylon BMS

ABB’s Cylon BMS has already gained significant traction in the UK, US and Asia, and in the one-year period that it’s been available in Australia, ABB Cylon has been rolled out in a number of commercial towers, hospitals and police stations with great success. It will be officially launched in Australia early next month.

One key contributor to the success of the Cylon BMS is its scalability.

It can meet the needs of buildings of any size and work across multiple buildings.  

“Cylon BMS can operate in any environment whether that’s a commercial building, retail environment, hospital, data centres or another setting entirely,” says Doley.

“Its integration capabilities are also up there with the best of them. That makes it easy to connect different features to the BMS and bring third-party pieces of equipment into the system, creating a seamless experience for facility managers when using the product throughout.”

Its scalability doesn’t just end at the BMS.

“A BMS generally just controls HVAC, but we’ve now moved past that and reached the point where we’re able to create integration on every level. The more data we can bring into the BMS, the more powerful the system can become. That’s the scalability of ABB Cylon.”

Through a cloud-based platform, building owners can gain remote access and view analytics across numerous buildings.

“Energy management analytic tools allow us to display the performance of each building feature,” says Doley.

“A property owner with multiple buildings probably doesn’t want to roll out a number of different systems for each of their buildings. They want one BMS that’s scalable and that allows them to see their whole portfolio. If you’re looking at your buildings in silos, then you’re not getting a wholesome picture of how your whole portfolio is performing.”

Having a granular view of each feature’s performance makes it possible to then implement changes with the aim of enhancing overall efficiency.

“Most of our system integrators can provide feedback on the reports generated by the system. That will entail recommendations to improve energy management – for example, by putting in an optimisation program or tweaking the way the building operates, whether it be occupancy, security systems, the lighting control system or something else entirely.”

ABB Cylon BMS also uses open protocols which makes it compatible with a range of devices and systems, and its encryption authentication features ensure data in the BMS is safe and secure.

Getting the right BMS for your needs

When selecting a BMS that’s suitable to your company’s requirements, there are some key factors to keep in mind. Doley recommends asking:

• Do you need to put in additional gateways, energy meters or other energy measuring devices so that the BMS can gather reliable energy consumption data from the field?
• Is the BMS IOT ready to enable continual energy management and building optimisation? 
• Are there AI optimisation and energy management cloud software solutions offered within the BMS solution?
• Is the BMS scalable to enable you to view all your systems in real-time?
• Is the BMS cybersecure?

“They’re the main points to consider,” says Doley. “Building owners are striving to reach net zero targets and an integrated BMS is essential in helping them get there.”