Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS): Making best use of them
Abstract
The control of energy in buildings is generally poor, despite the availability of a range of tried and tested systems. Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) are commonplace in larger buildings and are rapidly becoming standard. This has been recognised by the industry, culminating in the publication of BS EN 15232:2012 (Energy performance of buildings — Impact of building automation, controls and building management). This European Standard is aimed at the design of the systems and not at how to maintain and operate them. The impact, in practical terms, is that the design of such systems is generally very good and commissioning is acceptable. However, the understanding and operation of such systems at the user level is generally poor. As a result, the need to maintain these systems to realise the ongoing saving potential is not generally recognised by the end user and/or the engineering services provider, which often means that the systems are not maintained to the level required. In addition, the settings are not reconsidered and revised when significant changes occur to either the building or how it is used.1
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Author's Biography
Andy Lewry DIC, CEng, CSci, FIMMM, CEnv, MSocEnv, FEMA has 19 years’ varied technical, marketing and management experience within the carbon and energy management industry, preceded by a further 10 years’ similar experience within various parts of the environmental and construction sectors. Andy is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of both the Institute of Materials (IOM3) and the Energy Managers’ Association, as well as a Prince 2 qualified project manager. He is currently the principal technical consultant for the BREEAM Existing Buildings Team in BRE Global. Andy has authored and published best practice publications on energy management, energy audits, building control and building energy management systems. Recently he produced guidance on ‘Bridging the performance gap: Understanding predicted and actual energy use of buildings’, Journal of Building Survey, Appraisal & Valuation, Vol. 3, No. 4, and ‘Producing the business case for investment in energy efficiency’, Journal of Building Survey, Appraisal & Valuation, Vol. 4, No. 1. He was also part of the UK Green Building Council’s task group that produced the ‘Delivering Building Performance’ report on 11th May, 2016, which lays out the success factors and steps required to tackle the gap between building design and building performance.
Citation
Lewry, Andy (2014, November 1). Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS): Making best use of them. In the Journal of Building Survey, Appraisal & Valuation, Volume 3, Issue 3. https://doi.org/10.69554/WKWV6354.
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