How Integrating Access Control with Building Management System Can Reduce Energy Consumption

More and more green energy solutions are introduced every year across various industries. From saving money on biodegradable packaging to more eco-friendly shipping costs, companies have many ways to reduce their energy consumption, save money, and help reduce the strain on our planet.

Green business isn’t going anywhere, and it’s time for all companies to learn how to reduce their consumption when possible. Not only does this help the environment, but it can also help a company’s bottom line. 

One often overlooked way of reducing energy usage is by integrating access control systems with your overall building management system for more nuanced analysis, control, and energy use reduction. Did you know that this change in programming and overall building security organization can make such a big difference?

Take a closer look to learn how this integration might make sense for your business.

1. Utilizing Space to Improve Efficiency

One of the most essential things that can be accomplished by integrating access control with a building management system is the optimization of how space is used.

Every building, commercial or otherwise, uses spaces to various degrees. High-use areas see a lot of action, while low-use areas are only accessed every so often. Due to this intense variation, it can be difficult to manage the lighting, heating, and other facility control of these areas effectively.

However, high-quality commercial security solution options can be integrated with the building control system to better understand how and when areas are accessed. The trends of when the areas are used and how that relates to the environment, weather, storage, seasonality, and other important factors can be more easily analyzed through an integrated system.

Space management can also be improved through integrated access control systems by using the system to identify areas that are only accessed for one reason or at one specific time. Occupancy sensors and other access control systems will help to gather this data.

This space optimization is often done most successfully whenever building security and integrated access control systems are considered during the design process, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot remodel or reshape how spaces are used to improve energy consumption.

2. Reducing Energy Consumption with HVAC Automation

In order to take advantage of the many massive benefits of switching to green and renewable energy sources when possible, automating HVAC systems to run according to occupancy data is one of the best routes to take.

Once HVAC and related facility management devices are integrated into access control, there are a number of ways that energy consumption can be rapidly reduced:

• Implement system control activation
  This type of system links card access with lighting, HVAC, and other facility systems. The building’s systems can be set to turn to low when the building is not occupied during business off-hours. If an approved card is used to access the facility off-hours, the integrated system will start necessary facility appliances during accessible spaces for a set period. This prevents excessive energy consumption.
  
  During normal work periods, the building’s integrated system can work out patterns of access to specific spaces to reduce HVAC operations and lighting when it is not needed in particular areas through automated systems.
  
• Event management
  Another benefit of integrated systems is better management of the facility’s energy consumption for meetings, conferences, and other on-site events. Integrating meeting scheduling via access control into the management system ensures that the rooms are ready to go for any scheduled events. Afterward, occupancy sensors will tell the system to idle in those areas.

Integrating smart sensors, access control systems, and other facility sensors into the building’s management system is a sure way to reduce energy costs, as well as keep the commercial building more secure. 

3. Expanding Building Management with IoT Sensors

Finally, many sites are considering integrating more IoT sensors into their access control and building management systems to reduce energy consumption. Smart sensors collect data that can be analyzed to create the best plan for each site. Once you have the ability to tell the system what sensors to pay attention to and what to do when those areas are no longer being used, you can create serious energy savings for heating, cooling, lighting, and more.

Easy integration of these systems (IoT, access control, HVAC, etc.) is becoming more common. It makes both ecological and economic sense to invest in bringing this technology on-site as soon as possible.

For example, consider that more than 50% of a building’s energy usage is often directly linked to temperature control and lighting. When the core infrastructure of the building management system is better linked to the access control system, those systems can be better optimized to reduce energy consumption without reducing productivity using occupancy and building data.

IoT, also known as Internet of Things, is a highly advanced sensor system that can be incorporated into your building management and access control system with great success. To make a real difference in energy consumption, it’s time to start looking into these modern solutions that utilize IoT devices. 

Integrate Building Management for Better Business.

Whether your company is building a new site with the latest technology or you are considering retrofitting a site with better building management solutions, it’s time to take the potential to save money by reducing energy consumption more seriously. Not only will this save your business money, but it will also do the environment at large a favor.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that nearly 30% of the electricity used in US commercial buildings is wasted. Additionally, nearly 40% of the electricity used in the U.S. is used in commercial spaces. If every business did a better job of reducing energy consumption, these numbers could reach more responsible levels.

Integrating a site’s access control system with the broader building management system makes sense in the modern world, and it is easy to customize exactly how this will work for any business.