Many technical systems work side by side in a building: lighting, sun protection, heating, ventilation, cooling, access control and, increasingly, photovoltaics or charging stations. Without automation, each of these trades regulates itself. Building automation brings them together, so that, for example, the shading lowers in strong sunlight before the cooling kicks in, or rooms are not fully heated outside of usage times.
Building automation therefore influences a building's comfort, energy consumption and operating effort over many years. The higher-level operating and monitoring layer is often called the building management system (BMS), in German Gebäudeleittechnik (GLT).
How building automation is structured
Technically, building automation is usually described in three levels:
- Field level: Sensors measure temperature, brightness, presence, wind or consumption. Actuators switch lights, move blinds or open valves.
- Automation level: Controllers process the measured values according to defined rules, schedules and scenes.
- Management level: visualization, operation, alerting and analysis for operations and users, on a panel, in the browser or via an app.
The components communicate via bus systems and protocols. Widespread vendor-independent standards include KNX, BACnet, Modbus, DALI for lighting or EnOcean for wireless, alongside proprietary systems such as Loxone.
Typical examples
- Presence detectors switch lighting and ventilation in meeting rooms only when they are occupied.
- The shading responds to the position of the sun and to wind, and moves to a safe position during storms.
- Heating and cooling follow usage times instead of running continuously.
- Consumption is measured and made visible, and self-generated electricity is preferably used for controllable loads.
- A fault in the ventilation system automatically triggers a notification to building services.
What companies should keep in mind
- Requirements before technology: Clarify which functions are needed, who operates what and which manual interventions remain possible.
- Define responsibilities: Planning, programming, hardware, commissioning, maintenance, and electrical and building services work are often handled by different specialist firms and are defined for each project.
- Check openness: Documented interfaces and standards make later extensions and a change of service provider easier.
- Plan for security: Building technology is part of OT security. It should be separated from the office network, and remote access should be secured.
- Secure the handover: After commissioning, programming, addresses and credentials are handed over to the operator with complete documentation.
How it differs
Smart home usually refers to the automation of apartments and single-family houses, often with individual retrofit products. Building automation in the narrower sense is planned together with the technical building equipment and covers more trades. The smart office is a use case that combines building automation with digital workflows.
How TOMORIS relates
TOMORIS NEXT describes possible application scenarios on the page Building automation. Electrical and building services work is carried out by the responsible specialist firms.
View building automation at TOMORIS