Sustainability In India – How Can Building Management Systems Do It?
Published on : Monday 09-10-2023
Learn how Building Management Systems can help achieve a sustainable environment in this comprehensive report by Industrial Automation.
Today, the world is looking for solutions to lower carbon footprints and build a sustainable environment for the next generation. As it has become indispensible for not only countries but also businesses, a Building Management System (BMS) has emerged as one of the critical solutions for a sustainable building. If you are looking for how BMS can contribute towards a sustainable environment, we have brought you this comprehensive report. In this report, we will explore the significance and relevance of BMS in India, its benefits and efforts toward decarbonisation and a sustainable built environment and real-world case studies.
A building management system or building automation system helps improve reporting and information management while enhancing energy savings and overall building environment. Looking at the market aspect, the BMS market holds crucial growth potential. The Verified Market Research report estimates the global Building Management System market to reach US$48.79 Billion by 2030 from US$14.33 Billion in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 14.64% during the projected duration.
The relevance of building management system
"Building Management System," refers to a computer-based system installed to centrally monitor and manage every aspect of a building. It incorporates technologies to reduce waste, increase productivity, and support sustainability objectives. Building managers and owners can use BMS to optimise temperature, airflow, and ventilation in real time, ensuring occupant comfort while consuming less energy.
Building Management System (BMS) or building automation system (BAS) plays a crucial role in achieving the Paris Agreement's climate change goals and the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 by reducing carbon emissions in buildings. In a World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in September 2021, buildings account for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions, including 28% from operational emissions and 11% from building materials and construction.
This is where BMS can assist businesses in reducing energy, carbon, and costs while also operating their facilities in a more sustainable manner. Often referred to as a Building Automation System (BAS) or Energy Management System (EMS), the BMS monitors and manages a building's mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical systems. These systems include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, security, and fire safety, among others. BMS uses sensors, controllers, and software to gather information, make choices, and enhance building performance.
The role of building management systems
BMS encompasses a wider range of tasks, such as renewable energy integration, HVAC control, and lighting management. Building Automation and Management Systems' intelligent lighting control features contribute to sustainability. By enabling automatic dimming, occupancy-based lighting, and daylight harvesting, these systems make it possible to use lighting effectively, leading to significant energy savings and diminished environmental impact.
Integration of renewable energy is another area where BMS is crucial. These systems efficiently manage production, storage, and consumption by integrating with solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy sources. BAS and BMS promote a sustainable energy ecosystem by maximising the use of renewable energy sources, which lessens reliance on fossil fuels.
According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from 2014, buildings present the most practical means of cutting emissions across all sectors.
A building management system (BMS) has several important components, including:
• Boiler controls that regulate temperature and turn boilers on and off at predetermined intervals.
• HVAC regulates fans, dampers, air handling units, and fan coil units to keep the air at a specific temperature and humidity level.
• Lighting control, which follows a predetermined schedule to turn lights on and off.
• Electric power control manages and observes the main mechanical and electrical apparatus.
• Heating maintains a predetermined temperature by scheduling system on and off times.
• Ventilation, which is changed in accordance with occupancy controls.
• Security and observation include access control, surveillance, and intrusion detection.
• Fire alarm system that works as a smoke control system; active alarm locations.
• Elevators have an elevator video display and a status system.
• Plumbing and water monitoring detects hydraulic flows, automatically opens and closes valves, and monitors/observes temperature deviations.
In addition to these components, numerous building management systems also include other features and capabilities. Some may even be created especially for the building. For monitoring and management, these kinds of systems typically employ a mix of hardware and software, including a central server or servers, supervising stations (for systems administrators), remote sensors, and software that enables user interaction.
Building Automation System in India
According to the Ministry of Power, Government of India, the building sector in the country consumes more than 30% of the total electricity consumed annually. The industry is also the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the industrial sector. This is where the need for a building management system (BMS) or building automation system (BAS) becomes of the utmost importance.
As India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the building automation and control systems markets are witnessing a significant rise. In 2022, the market recorded US$1.98 billion, with an estimated CAGR of over 11% during the project timeframe between 2023 - 2028. It is said that the rising inclination towards smart cities and smart homes is powering the market growth of building automation and control systems. Moreover, various government initiatives like the Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, are further likely pushing the demand for building automation and control systems across the country.
Previously, smart building solutions were significantly focused on capabilities and efforts to minimise energy consumption and cost savings. While these capabilities or aspects are still crucial, the concept of a smart building these days has evolved comprising a spectrum of requirements. This ranges from smart zone-based cooling solutions, reduced exposure to contaminants, and improved indoor air quality to carbon emissions management, remote monitoring, OT cyber security, and real-time data monitoring.
Let us move towards a few building automation systems or building management systems examples.
Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, New Delhi
The Indira Paryavaran Bhawan (IPB), India’s green-rated building houses the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in New Delhi, India. IPB is a net-zero energy building (NZEB), meaning that it produces as much energy as it consumes. One of the key features of the IPB's NZEB design is its Building Automation System (BAS).
The IPB's BAS is integrated with all of the building's systems from HVAC to lighting, and renewable energy. This allows the BAS to optimise the building's energy performance and ensure that it is operating as efficiently as possible. The BAS can control the building's renewable energy systems, such as its solar PV system and geothermal heat exchange system. The IPB's BAS has helped to accomplish significant energy savings. In its first year of operation, the Indira Paryavaran Bhawan consumed 30% less energy than a conventional building of the same size.
Indira Paryavaran Bhawan has become India’s highest green-rated building and the project has received GRIHA 5 Star and LEED Platinum. It has already received awards such as the Adarsh/GRIHA of MNRE for exemplary demonstration of Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies.
TotalEnvironment Villas/Apartments, Bengaluru
TotalEnvironment Villas and Apartments is a smart home and building automation project in Bengaluru implemented by Venbatech India. The project spread across 4.000-9.000 square feet is armed with BAS (Building Automation System). Technologies used for this smart project are Z-Wave for lighting, smart lock, and shades; Philips Hue Lights; DSC alarm system; IP Intercom; AV system integration with Global Caché network; Modbus for AC temperature control.
This smart project has been designed with professional expertise using cutting-edge technology to build a living space that will provide the highest level of comfort for the client. The whole system of the project is centrally managed by Colibri Z-wave Hub. A fully customised bOS GUI makes this project unique. The customisation includes GUI navigation, a custom-made icon package, specific button colors, specific background colors, and photos of the actual villa interior as background for some panels. The best part of this smart project, which is a large one and comprises various systems, is that it took only one week to be completely configured.
Delhi International Airport, New Delhi
The Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, transports millions of passengers every year. 80 per cent of the terminal's structure is made of glass, but the airport's lighting system is huge. In such an airport building, the lighting required to be switched on 24 hours a day. However, the airport management requested energy-conserving lighting management as brightness can be lessened, and automatic dimming/ switching can follow patterns of demand. It is possible to make maximum use of daylight, and systems can be automated using timing and occupation programs.
The solution used for this challenge was the KNX system. The major benefits of the system include its flexibility, connectivity with other standards and the option of combining decentralised functions into one central building management hub. IP routers, KNXnet/IP and Ethernet networks are used to support the KNX system and perform this function. This allows central control of the lighting system and connection of error messaging via interfaces with the Building Management System (BMS).
Furthermore, the KNX system has integrated with the Building Management System (BMS) of Honeywell, the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system of ETA, the fire alarm system (Fire CMS) of Minimax, a Network Management System, the Energy Management System (Electrical CMS) of ABB and the visualisation software to provide the basis for complex applications involving energy conservation, safety and comfort. These building automation systems helped in improving the efficiency and safety of the airport while reducing energy consumption and water consumption.
Flipkart, India
Flipkart is an online retail Indian company headquartered in Bangalore. The company was facing inconsistent hot and cold spots across the office spaces in its buildings. It also lacked the scheduling of the AHUs while there was no building management system (BMS) in place. As the office building was managed by a small thermostat to control the valve, with all of their 60 AHUs manually controlled, the company wanted a solution to save energy costs and improve the energy efficiency of the HVAC operations.
Flipkart approached 75F, an IoT-based BMS solutions provider, which provided DAB, DCWB, and IAQ applications to all three blocks in Flipkart’s ETV campus to save energy, eliminate thermal discomfort, deliver end-to-end automation, and complete customisable energy dashboards.
With the 75F solutions, Flipkart’s facility management witnessed reduced energy consumption with superior ambient air quality. Furthermore, Flipkart saw a reduction in the hot and cold spot complaints from facility occupants within a short span of the project commissioning.
Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai, India
Hiranandani Hospital is a private hospital in Powai, Mumbai, India. The hospital was looking for future-ready energy-saving solutions to lessen its energy consumption and bring down operating costs. The hospital’s HVAC assets were dated and unable to operate at optimum levels. Hiranandani Hospital approached 75F, which has conducted an on-site survey. This enabled the 75F team to deliver proprietary IoT-based BMS solutions to assist Hiranandani Hospital in accomplishing its energy efficiency goals.
There was a key challenge that Hiranandani Hospital has a critical-care environment which could not shut down HVAC systems owing to the sensitive nature of its operations. For this, the 75F team executed the necessary solutions utilising the most appropriate configurations allowing the hospital facility team to access customised dashboards displaying key data on energy consumption, emissions, and spending. 75F’s solutions serve many areas of the facility including the reception, lobby, outpatient department, laboratories, and patient rooms.
After a detailed analysis of the requirements and critical infrastructure systems of Hiranandani Hospital, the 75F team implemented several customised solutions. With solutions implemented by 75F, the hospital facility witnessed a total energy savings of 57,369 kWh in energy units across Hiranandani Hospital’s chiller plant and AHU operations.
Hyderabad Metro Rail
To address the city's growing demand for public transportation and increasing traffic, the Hyderabad government sought to establish a well-planned public transportation infrastructure through the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project. L&T was given the task of implementing this important national project. It included three high-density Metro corridors totalling 71.16 km in length, as well as 66 ultra-modern station buildings, state-of-the-art depots, and complete infrastructure.
L&T Electrical & Automation's Control & Automation (C&A) Business Unit collaborated with HMRL to deliver an Integrated Building Management System (IBMS) at all 66 stations, the Admin Operation Control Centre (OCC), and two depots to assist the railways in meeting their technological needs.
At 66 ultra-modern stations and 3 depots, C&A was in charge of designing, engineering, supplying, installing, testing, commissioning, and supporting the life cycle of the Integrated Building Management System (IBMS), which included establishing an OCC and backup Control Centre (BCC). For monitoring and controlling various station building parameters, C&A has installed its cutting-edge iVision max SCADA suite at each of the stations and depots, along with RTUs set up in redundant architecture. At OCC and BCC, the I Vision Max SCADA suite is deployed in a redundant architecture alongside an Oracle RDBMS-based Historian in a disaster recovery configuration.
A total of 63000+ I/Os, 321 control panels, and 1600+ instruments across all stations are controlled and monitored by C&A's iVision max IBMS solution. The infrastructure and expansion needs of the Hyderabad Metro Rail are perfectly met by the system architecture.
It provided significant benefits such as ease of operation and improved reliability; total system integration with a single interface; enhanced service delivery; better utilisation of power and human resources; and effective incident management in the event of accidents or emergencies. Additionally, the solution provided a clear understanding and control over energy consumption, which aids in cost reduction.
Other benefits include:
1. Convenience for operators and passengers, resulting in customer satisfaction
2. Improved operation and maintenance thanks to centralised visualisation of all station parameters and data, and
3. Enhanced performance and control, resulting in operational synergies and reduced complexity across the Metro facility's lifecycle.
As there are a lot of business case studies, it is apparent that building automation systems or building management systems have the potential to revolutionise every business across different domains. The major benefits building automation systems can offer for buildings in India are energy efficiency, comfort, convenience, safety, water consumption, and waste management, among others. As building automation systems gain more popularity in India, they will offer various significant benefits for buildings and occupants.
References
https://www.gbrionline.org/building-management-system/
https://nzeb.in/case-studies/nzebs-in-india/nzebs-in-india-case-studies-list/ipb-case-study/
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2699767
https://buildings.honeywell.com/us/en/brands/our-brands/bms/resources/case_study_library
https://www.lntebg.com/CANVAS/canvas/LT-CA-Integrated-Building-Management-System-for-Hyderabad-Metro-Rail.aspx