3.7 Advantages of BAS

• In terms of user comfort, the most predictable benefit from a BAS is temperature regulation. By automating HVAC systems, an automation system can help to avoid cool mornings in the winter and uncomfortably hot morning in the summer, by activating temperature control systems right before anybody arrives and turning them off when everyone leaves. • Automation Systems are sometimes also used to control the amount of fresh air that is allowed into a space or to maximize the ratio of natural-to-electric light. • Increased user comfort is an important aspect of modern automation systems. Building engineers know that a correctly programmed automation system can clearly understand the difference between a quiet morning and a morning disturbed by calls from the temperature of a troubled user. • The amount of fresh air entering inside a building is also important. Everyone gets a drowsy feeling during afternoon meetings, because chances are high that the room is full of carbon dioxide. The automated sensors can clearly detect such changes in the air quality and stimulate mixing of fresh air into the interiors.

3.7.2 Financial Advantages

• A correctly used BAS will generally pay for itself over time in the long run in lower utility bills alone. According to one approximate, allowing the BAS to adjust HVAC use based on simply monitoring occupancy alone can results in savings between 10% to 30%. • A building automation system can also help to make effective use of heavy pieces of equipment, increasing their lifespans and providing more indirect savings. • Large commercial spaces often employ light sensors to detect the level of sunlight entering from rooftop windows, allowing their systems to adjust their interior lighting accordingly. Offices may connect simple sensors like motion sensors to their systems to trace when a room is not occupied and conserve energy by turning off the lights. • It is also important factor that the property value increases. Properly managed smart buildings are more comfortable and more environmentally friendly, making them more desirable for certain real estate clients. This may result in a bounce in property value that excel the increase from low operating costs.

3.7.3 Environmental Advantages

• When it is being used properly, a smart building is less expensive and more user friendly to operate than a regular building. • While environmental advantages don’t generally benefit the building owner directly, as noted above, they can serve to make a property more desirable. Many building owners also have a very personal interest in keeping a portfolio of buildings that are energy efficient. • Buildings operating a Building Automation System tends to have considerably smaller carbon footprints. A building that also uses smart metering along with its automation systems can also use that information to validate its energy consumption. This paves way to certifications like Tenant Star, ENERGY STAR, or LEED.