If you are like most system owners, your building automation system (BAS) is in a state of semi-automated status once it hits its fifth birthday. You, as the system owner or operator, have had to make certain adjustments based upon the original system’s design not fully meeting your expectations and on-going needs. You have had to put some of the “automated” functions “in-hand” or manually enable or disable certain sequences or equipment based upon the actual conditions in your now fully loaded or occupied building.
Even if the “out of the box” system attained all of your greatest expectations, after a period of about three to five years, the system itself, despite not generating the complaints from the building occupants that it used to, is probably not working optimally. There is a long list of things that happen over time to the system. No single item may be a huge problem, but their cumulative effect is a substantial degradation of the system’s performance. Sensors drift, linkages on dampers break, weather patterns change, or points get locked out and building occupants learn to cope with being uncomfortable.