Warehouses are essential infrastructures where large volume of goods and products are stored. Owing to their large square feet area and functionality to store goods and products in safe conditions, it is imperative that warehouses are managed efficiently. Because of their purpose of use, warehouse also happens to be big on energy consumption. In today’s technological era, having a building automation system for warehouse can greatly boost efficiency and reduce costs. The key benefits of BAS for warehouses include commercial HVAC controls and energy management system. Building Automation System is also an energy management system that reduces costs by efficiently controlling air conditioning and heating as well increases system performance and enhances occupancy comfort.
Building Automation System
Building automation system refers to the central control of a building’s several systems mainly the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) as well as lighting, security system, access control, and other interrelated systems through a Building Management System (BMS) or Building Automation System (BAS). The BAS offers a centralized platform or interface which allows you to modify the control settings, monitor the system status, and identify any possible issues associated to building system performance and take preventive measures.
Having a building automation system includes several benefits such as improved occupancy comfort, efficient operation of building systems, lowering of energy consumption, reduced operational costs, enhanced security, remote access, control and operation of building systems as well increased sustainable use of resources and equipment.
Building Automation System Integration for HVAC Controls System
Many large commercials including warehouses have central HVAC system in order to provide heating and cooling to the entire facility. They can also have multiple HVAC plants depending on building size and use. Building automation system allows integration of all these multiple systems on a unified interface, thereby providing better control, reducing inefficiencies, and lowering energy consumption.
How can warehouses benefit from Building Automation System?
The major areas where warehouse uses energy include lighting, temperature control such as humidity levels, refrigeration, heated casings and so on. Regulation of accurate temperature is vital as different products and goods require varying storage conditions.
Then there are also seasonal warehouses that operate only during certain parts of the year. For example, agro-based warehouses are operational only during the season of its yield. However, the warehouse facility needs to be maintained throughout the year to ensure its functionality. Introducing an efficient building automation system to your warehouse will give you better control on energy consumption as you can track and regulate building variables easily with integrated IoT solutions. IoT solutions can help you remotely access, regulate and operate building systems of your warehouse.
Building automation system helps you cut your warehouse energy costs by giving you valuable insights and data pertaining to your warehouse. Some of these are:
- Are you heating your warehouse when it is not necessary?
- Are you heating your warehouse in areas it is not needed?
- Is your HVAC energy efficient?
- Is your lighting energy efficient?
- Are you lighting your warehouse when it is not required?
If your warehouse is still relying on traditional ways for its operation, chances are that you have no way of having all these data, all of which can translate into enhanced warehouse efficiency and reduced costs.
With building automation system you can have a better understanding of energy use in your warehouse,
identify opportunities when you can cut energy use and set benchmark on how much energy you want spent in your warehouse.
You might feel that with building automation system, you will be handing over control to automated system but think of it like a puppet with strings- the system is the puppet but you are the one pulling the strings as you have full control over the system right at your fingertips.
In addition, having automated building system for your warehouse does not only mean that you are improving efficiency of your warehouse but also increasing your productivity and ROI. For example building automation system and control uses intuitive technology that autocorrects if there is any error in the system, so if you require warehouse temperature at a certain degree to store goods, it will auto-set it and prevent damage to the goods which you may not even be aware of if you were the one overseeing these variables.
The integration of building automation system combined with data analytics, gives you easy access to a plethora of valuable insights into the working environment of your warehouse. You can easily find out heating and cooling temperatures, HVAC monitoring, indoor air quality monitoring, and lighting besides other functional aspect of your warehouse to ensure everything is in working order.
Another way building automation system enhances your warehouse productivity is by ensuring a safe workplace for your employees. Employees not only have boosted morale to work productively but also health risks with air quality monitoring and regulated temperatures are minimized. This in turn results in greater productivity and increased net profitability for your warehouse.
Running a warehouse is a massive task and you might be inclined to thinking that having an automation system is just a superfluous addition which your business does not require, when in fact it could actually help you reduce unnecessary energy costs and grow your net profitability.
A-TECH Engineering Ltd. – a leading building automation system provider in Toronto as well as other major cities in Canada can provide custom building automation and control system tailored for your warehouse requirements, which will result in better performance, reduced costs and greater comfort of occupants. Contact our team today to find out how we can help your warehouse business become more sustainable.