Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

A quality building environment (QBE) is efficient, productive, comfortable, safe, and healthy, and supports the business needs of the occupants. Building owners and managers face several challenges in establishing optimum levels for each of these components of QBE. Building owners invest in buildin...

A quality building environment (QBE) is efficient, productive, comfortable, safe, and healthy, and supports the business needs of the occupants. Building owners and managers face several challenges in establishing optimum levels for each of these components of QBE. Building owners invest in building automation system(s) (BAS) to automate their buildings. However, empirical evidence suggests that over 90 percent of the BAS are under-utilized. Many BAS are used as glorified time clocks or digital windows to the mechanical equipment in the building. A BAS is capable of much more. A well-utilized BAS helps operate a building at optimum efficiency, lowers operating costs, enhances comfort levels, increases productivity, improves code compliance, and maintains a QBE. This article discusses how the utilization of a BAS can be enhanced from being a monitoring station to a seamlessly integrated platform that can be used to create and maintain a QBE. The topics presented discuss how a BAS can have a positive impact on each component of QBE.