About Building Controls

Building operation seeks to ensure comfortable conditions for occupants, maintain healthy indoor air quality, and minimize energy and cost expenditures. Buildings contain many active components and systems to achieve these goals, including HVAC systems, hot-water systems, conveyance systems, and lighting systems among numerous other electrical and fuel-fired appliances and devices. Building controls are the intelligent nervous system of a building and provide integrated management of these systems and components.

The history of building control predates that of computing. Early central HVAC systems in large commercial buildings maintained indoor temperature using thermostats and pneumatic actuators. These gradually gave way to electro-mechanical actuators. With the advent of computing, the building automation industry developed custom hardware solutions. These early systems used ladder logic programmed by manual switches and connected it to devices using custom wiring. As computer hardware became more powerful and generalized, switchboard programming was replaced by software and automation expanded to integrate other building systems such as central lighting and conveyance. The transition to software also enabled more complex control logic, including logic that targeted energy use and monitored equipment for faults. Simple packaged HVAC equipment for homes and small commercial buildings used thermostat control. 

As general-purpose processing became commoditized, digital control became cost effective for a larger set of systems in additional classes of buildings and applications. The growth of general-purpose networking, including inter-networking and wireless networking, enabled new applications, including remote monitoring and control, and led to a proliferation of sensing and “smart” components and devices. Today, new control systems use standard networking protocols like TCP/IP with building-specific application-level protocols like BACnet while control hardware uses commodity microprocessors. Building control is also being developed with the same type of software architecture seen in general purpose computing with common communication and data layers that support multiple applications. 

In commercial buildings, high-performance control sequences can deliver, on-average, 30% annual HVAC energy savings for a range of building types with similar reductions in peak HVAC demand. Larger savings may be possible with more advanced control techniques such as predictive control with physics-based or machine learning models. If these strategies were deployed universally, the savings would correspond to an absolute reduction of >3% of total U.S. energy consumption, roughly equivalent to the energy produced by all U.S. solar power and hydro power combined in 2021. The energy savings potential of controls in homes and small commercial buildings has not been quantified, nor has the savings potential of integrated control of multiple systems including HVAC, lighting, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage for multiple buildings in a campus or district.

The greatest opportunity for high-performance building control exists in large commercial buildings. However, the integration of building controls often involves multiple vendors, each with its own proprietary hardware and software with different protocols, interfaces, and communication methods. The lack of system and device interoperability leads to unique, unconnected data silos and fragmentation of building operations. Building operators need to be trained in multiple systems and technologies, which can be costly and time-consuming. A design engineer may use simulation to select and tune a high-performance control strategy for the building, but then communicate to the control engineer or system integrator using a document that the latter must interpret. 

The three most crucial obstacles that hinder the widespread adoption of control technology throughout the building sector are discussed below.

1. Cost. Installation and commissioning costs, the expenses associated with the initial setup, can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars depending on system size and complexity. Most EMCS require specialized expertise to design, install, and commission the system, including mechanical and electrical engineers, HVAC specialists, software programmers, systems engineers, and electrical technicians. Another significant obstacle to the penetration of EMCS is the lack of standardized, interoperable hardware and software that can interconnect across multiple vendors, equipment types, system types, and buildings. This results in a lack of economies of scale for future installations, further increasing the cost of EMCS technology adoption. In addition to direct costs, there are also indirect costs associated with installation and commissioning. For example, buildings may need to be temporarily shut down to allow for the installation and commissioning process, which leads to lost revenue. Building owners may also need to invest in training operations staff and building occupants on proper use of the new systems, further increasing the total costs.

2. Return on investment. While EMCS technology can provide significant benefits such as reducing energy costs, improving tenant comfort, and enhancing building performance, many building owners and managers are hesitant to invest in them due to a perceived lack of a return on investment. There is a need for more rigorous quantification and articulation of the financial and non-financial benefits of advanced energy management and controls beyond energy and cost savings. EMCS technology allows advanced capabilities such as remote monitoring and automated fault diagnostics, which can reduce maintenance and operating costs, extend equipment life, and reduce unplanned downtime. These technologies can also enhance building operations to improve occupant comfort, productivity, and health, providing additional value streams to building owners and managers. Considering these benefits in addition to cost and energy savings can help persuade decision-makers to adopt advanced EMCS technology and potentially justify high upfront costs and longer paybacks. There is also a lack of standardization in the industry, which can make it difficult for building owners and managers to compare different EMCS technology offerings and make informed decisions about which system or systems to invest in. 

3. Education and training. EMCS technologies require a well-trained and knowledgeable workforce. The EMCS workforce includes building managers, engineers, technicians, and system integrators each responsible for different aspects of the design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of the system. There is a critical need for more technical/trade school and undergraduate college students to choose the EMCS field as their profession. Additionally, many workers are not trained in the latest technologies and innovations. The pace of technological advancement in this field is rapid, which means that even those who are technically proficient in the field may not have the latest knowledge and experience necessary to effectively implement and maintain an EMCS. Further, the lack of standardization in EMCS technology makes it challenging to develop and implement industry-wide training programs and certification processes, which can deter interest from potential new entrants to the field.