Automating HVAC, lighting and fire protection for office buildings

Automated MEP systems are increasingly interconnected in new and retrofitted office buildings.

By Consulting-Specifying Engineer January 29, 2025
The DC Water Authority headquarters demonstrates modern design features that appeal to tenants and building owners. Courtesy: SmithGroup

Automation insights:

  • Building management systems help design engineers and building owners understand the increasingly complex automation systems.
  • Many engineers are using building information modeling to ensure that all the systems will work correctly in the early stages of design.

Respondents: 

  • Jarron Gass, PE, CFPS, Fire Protection Discipline Leader, CDM Smith, Pittsburgh
  • Danielle Passaglia, PE, LEED GA, Mechanical engineer, SmithGroup, Chicago
  • John Yoon, PE, LEED AP, Principal, McGuire Engineers, Inc., Chicago

What mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) or fire protection systems within office buildings require specialized automation or controls that previously might not have?

Jarron Gass: Modern office buildings are incorporating advanced automation and controls across MEP and fire protection systems to enhance efficiency, comfort and safety. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems utilize Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, demand-controlled ventilation and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems to optimize energy consumption. Lighting systems feature smart controls for occupancy, daylight harvesting and even circadian rhythm adjustments. Plumbing systems are equipped with automated water-saving measures, leak detection and greywater recycling. Electrical systems include smart meters and energy management, with potential integration for solar power and battery storage. Fire protection systems incorporate smart alarms, automated sprinklers and centralized control panels. Security systems leverage automated access control and artificial intelligence (AI)-based surveillance. Elevators now use destination dispatch and predictive maintenance for improved efficiency. Building management systems (BMS) seamlessly integrate and optimize all systems for sustainability and performance.

Danielle Passaglia: Improvements in standards like ASHRAE Guideline 36: High Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC Systems allow for more detailed controls by engineers. Guideline 36 enables engineers to specify the intent for system operability in greater detail, which helps streamline construction and operational issues. With more information documented, including demand control ventilation, setpoints and setbacks, tenant facilities are less likely to override systems because of comfort or complaint issues that could have been addressed during the design or commissioning phases. This leads to more efficient operation. Additionally, offices may experience more variation in metering information due to different tenants occupying a building.

Are you seeing automation and control features on these types of projects that you wouldn’t on other facilities?

Jarron Gass: The types of automation and controls may vary slightly between different occupancies. However, in today’s hyperconnected world, breakthroughs and advancements are rapidly shared across various facility types or adapted from one occupancy type to another. This is especially true in mixed-use occupancies, such as live-work or residential and commercial spaces within the same structure, often with integrated parking. These types of buildings can present a mix of subterranean structures and high-rise elements, which add significant life safety and fire protection challenges.

What smart or internet-enabled technologies are you being asked to specify to improve working conditions?

Jarron Gass: In the realm of fire protection, particularly fire alarm systems, users increasingly request remote access for these systems, either through a web portal or smartphone app. Additionally, integrating fire alarm systems with other BMS can enhance safety capabilities and automate emergency functions, improving both fire and physical safety. This integration can be achieved through automation platforms like SCADA or other connected systems, enabling various safety systems to respond appropriately in the event of an abnormal situation.

Danielle Passaglia: We are getting more requests for room comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) sensors that can be shared via the cloud. Sensors that track temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds that indicate the IAQ in any given space.

John Yoon: One of the more frequent requests is for mobile access to BAS, fire alarm and lighting control functions. Building operators are being pressured to reduce operational costs, which often results in reduced headcount for the operations staff. Because of this, building technicians and engineers need to be as efficient as possible when troubleshooting operational issues with equipment. Having access and the ability to adjust BAS parameters from a phone or tablet while standing in front of the equipment can save them a significant amount of time.

How have your engineers worked with building owners and facility managers to implement integrated technology in these structures?

Jarron Gass: Engineers collaborate with owners and managers to integrate technology into buildings by ensuring early planning, scalable solutions and seamless integration. During the design phase, engineers assess needs and incorporate systems such as smart HVAC, lighting and security into the building. They select flexible and, as much as possible, future-proof technologies like IoT sensors or BMS that enhance efficiency and performance.

Facility managers are trained on the operation and maintenance of these systems, ensuring smoother day-to-day operations and data-driven decision-making. Engineers also implement predictive maintenance strategies and continuous monitoring to optimize system performance, reduce life cycle costs and ensure compliance with local regulations and safety standards.

Danielle Passaglia: Our engineers bring in both the building owners and facility managers at the beginning of a project to determine how sophisticated the designed system should be. The initial meetings are intended to benchmark any existing facility maintenance procedures and improve current issues seen by the facilities team. Having a clear and concise direction that all parties are privy to greatly increases the chances of successfully implementing any integrated technology.

What types of system integration and/or interoperability issues have you overcome for these projects and how did you do so?

Jarron Gass: Compatibility issues often arise when integrating new technologies with legacy systems, frequently necessitating costly upgrades. BMS can overwhelm facility managers with the vast amount of data and complex configurations they generate. High upfront costs and ongoing maintenance expenses can present budget challenges, while cybersecurity risks increase as more devices are connected to the network. Coordination among stakeholders can be difficult, especially with differing priorities and resistance to change. Ensuring systems are scalable and adaptable to future technologies, like AI or 5G, is another significant challenge. Balancing operational efficiency with tenant comfort can be tricky, particularly when automated systems limit individual control. Lastly, compliance with evolving regulations and managing standardization issues further complicate the integration of advanced systems. Overcoming these challenges requires careful planning, collaboration and alignment of priorities among all stakeholders.

Danielle Passaglia: Integrating a tenant system with a base building automation system creates challenges in any given project. It requires early coordination with the base building and tenant to understand what data can be shared, what data must be separated and what access both parties are allotted.

John Yoon: Interoperability issues are not limited to technical items. Because of trade jurisdiction on large projects, the various contractors that ‘own’ the systems often don’t play nice together. Right or wrong, it can be perceived that a contractor might be giving up installation work that he is ‘entitled’ to. On the flip side, there can be gaps in scope where the required interfaces and programming are omitted from the contractor’s scope because he thought that someone else was responsible for it. These types of issues can be overcome by increased communication and collaboration between the various parties to identify potential gaps and assign responsibilities for them at the start of the project. In more contentious labor environments, making a single party responsible for a turnkey installation and having that same party subcontract all associated integration work is also a possibility.

Is your team using building information modeling (BIM) in conjunction with the architects, trades and owners to design a project?

Jarron Gass: Yes, our policy is to use BIM whenever possible on design projects, unless dictated otherwise by a specific client need or the availability of legacy information in other formats. The use of BIM offers numerous benefits in design, including enhanced collaboration across disciplines, real-time data access and increased accuracy through tools like clash detection and 3D visualization. BIM can lead to time and cost savings when implemented effectively, supporting faster and more informed decision-making from stakeholders. Additionally, BIM can be valuable during the transition from design to maintenance by providing as-built information, detailed product data, and initial operation and maintenance requirements for various systems. These advantages can help reduce risk, increase compliance and improve overall efficiency and quality.

Danielle Passaglia: Yes. BIM is a crucial element in designing coordinated and functional buildings across the design team. 3D models capture elements from all disciplines and are an early vetting process to make sure all items can fit and be coordinated in the space. It mitigates issues down the road in construction, allowing the team to optimize the space for the client. Currently, we are using live-linked models via BIM360 allows for real-time coordination between the architect and engineer during the design process.

What security and data privacy measures are integrated into the automation and control systems for office buildings?

Jarron Gass: Security and data privacy measures in office building automation systems include network protection through firewalls, intrusion detection and encryption to safeguard data. Multi-factor authentication ensures that only authorized personnel can access critical systems. Data privacy is maintained through encryption, data masking and secure cloud storage.

Regular software updates, vulnerability scanning and automated patch management help defend against cyberattacks. IoT devices are authenticated and segmented to prevent breaches. Backup plans are in place to ensure data recovery in the event of a breach. Compliance with regulations and industry standards ensures the proper handling of sensitive data. Finally, physical security measures protect control systems and data centers from unauthorized access.

Danielle Passaglia: This will depend on tenants’ and building owners’ data privacy requirements. Most MEP systems speak via a standardized communication protocol that sends and receives data to a central BAS. Depending on the system control architecture, tenants will have their own BAS that can speak with the base building. This allows tenants to be able to override their equipment that they “own.” Owners and tenants may have readability into the other systems. However, that is typically detailed in their lease agreements and can be different for every project.

How are cybersecurity concerns being addressed with building automation systems? What steps are you following with the building owner and operations team?

Jarron Gass: Key measures to address cybersecurity concerns in BAS include conducting risk assessments, penetration testing and vulnerability scanning. Network security and secure device authentication protect critical systems, while encryption ensures the security of data in transit. Regular software updates and automated patch management help maintain system integrity.

Continuous monitoring, real-time incident detection and the development of an appropriate standard operating procedure are essential for mitigating threats. Employee training and adherence to industry standards, such as the International Organization for Standardization, ensure cybersecurity awareness across the organization. Collaboration with building owners and operations teams ensures that security measures align with operational needs. Finally, redundant systems and data backups enhance system resilience and support recovery in case of breaches or failures.

John Yoon: BAS is often the forgotten stepchild of the information technology (IT) world. Since they are usually under the control of the facility management staff and not a company’s IT department, they are often overlooked with it comes to maintaining security.  Traditionally, we have specified that they are isolated on dedicated networks to address these issues.  However, with continuing convergence with other systems and the client’s need for remote access, this often is not possible anymore. While we can specify a wide range of multi-tiered cyber defense features such as data encryption, two-factor authentication or public key infrastructure integration, new security vulnerabilities are uncovered all the time. Ultimately, having up-to-date software that incorporates all available security patches is the most effective way to address this.