Over the years, buildings have become more complex and dynamic with multiple disparate systems and devices supporting a range of standards. Such complexity can lead to inefficiencies. When systems do not “talk” to one another, they operate in silos, and facility staff are unable to get a holistic view of building performance. This is one of the reasons why building energy management systems (BEMS) emerged to integrate a multitude of disparate systems and functions. However, while presenting a holistic view of operations helps organizations cut utility costs by making better strategic decisions around energy use, many of these early systems were not predictive. Instead these systems simply ran diagnostics and sent alerts after finding a problem.
