BSRIA is delighted to have launched a brand new publication Building Services Analytics – BG 75/2018. It raises awareness and provides guidance to building owners and all those involved in the design, construction and operation of buildings and building services on how the correct capture and analysis of data can be used to drive improvement in building performance. It was written by BSRIA member & Energy Consultant at Layng Energy Solutions, Mitch Layng.
Building services can generate vast amounts of data. Connected devices are changing people’s lives like never before and this change is being led by the consumer environment. The built environment is changing rapidly too and this is leading to innovative processes in building services and associated sectors.
It is becoming increasingly important for building owners, operators and service providers to start making use of big data and analytics. BG 75/2018 highlights what’s involved with this complex and growing management process and what considerations should be given to implementing building services analytics.
One of the key drivers to implementing analytics in buildings and particularly building services, is energy performance. Data analytics related to energy meters has been in existence far longer than it has for other building services. Sadly, metering is often incorrectly specified, designed, installed and operated, resulting in many problems in terms of data validation and accuracy.
BG 75/2018 should assist in ensuring the correct metering strategy is designed and implemented, resulting in better-performing buildings. It also provides information and references on analytics for the whole building services industry: from designers, installers and building operators, to occupiers and customers. This will result in financial savings from energy efficiencies and will deliver a better, safe and more productive environment for the occupant.
Mitch said:
“The leisure and retail sectors in particular are becoming aware that the analysis and reporting of big data creates opportunities to ensure the correct environment is maintained, and the right facilities are available, creating a better experience for the customer.
The value of big data in the built environment is only just beginning to be realised by the industry as a whole. The range of sensors that are linked to, or part of, plant and equipment is becoming greater. Wearables and mobile devices are ubiquitous and all of these devices are becoming more and more affordable.
The usefulness of these interconnected devices can be tremendous and ranges from enhancing life safety and security to building automation control and reporting. But many building operators lack convenient ways to turn the flood of data into information they can use to prioritise and act.”
Many components of building services are now capable of communicating valuable data about their environment and operation. The Internet of Things (IoT) is drastically changing many industries, including the building services sector. Access to this data opens up new opportunities for businesses, building owners and building operators to improve the operation of their systems. The key drivers for this are to:
- Reduce costs.
- Optimise energy consumption.
- Streamline and improve maintenance strategies.
- Reduce carbon emissions.
- Improve occupants’ health and wellbeing.
- Maximise productivity.
- Improve customer experience.
- Ensure compliance with regulations.
- Demonstrate corporate and social responsibility.
- Attract investors.
- Improve reliability of business-critical systems.
- Validate investments in energy savings measures and system upgrades.
BG 75/2018 can be purchased in pdf and hard copy from www.bsria.co.uk. BSRIA members can download the pdf for free. For further information – or to provide feedback – contact BSRIA’s Publications Manager, David Bleicher – david.bleicher@bsria.co.uk – 01344 465 589.
Building Services Analytics (BG 75/2018)
Big data is a term for data sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing software is inadequate to deal with them. Big data is measured in terabytes (1,000 gigabytes), petabytes (1 million gigabytes) and even zettabytes (1 trillion gigabytes). There are many definitions used, but essentially big data can be described by the following characteristics:
- Volume: the quantity of generated and stored data.
- Variety: the type and nature of data.
- Velocity: the speed at which the data is generated and processed.
- Variability: the inconsistency of the data.
- Quality: the relevance and accuracy of the data.