Your BAS Needs an Upgrade. Now What?

In the technology world, 20 years is a lifetime. Smartphones have only been around 18 years. 5G is only about five years old. But your BAS is one technology that goes the distance. 

Most BAS are engineered for a 20-year lifespan. And based on our experience, between 40% and 50% of companies have BAS that haven’t been upgraded for more than 15 years.

That may be about to change. Today’s BAS are more like IT systems. This means IP-based networks. Remote access. Cybersecurity risks. And more frequent system updates. 

Given this technology transformation, how is the facilities team to know that the system needs an upgrade and what planning is necessary to keep the system vital and up to date.

Five Indicators That It’s Time For a BAS Upgrade

There are a number of indicators that alert facilities managers to a system that needs an upgrade. These include:

1. Increase in service calls: The rock-solid nature of a BAS has the side benefit of not needing a lot of service. So, when that changes and the number of truck rolls increases, something is wrong. In our experience, this increase in service calls is the number one indicator that it’s time for an upgrade.
2. Controller can’t support changes: Buildings do evolve over time. So, it’s important that your controller can support new requirements. A good example is ASHRAE Guideline 36. This 2024 standard specifies HVAC control sequences to reduce energy consumption, cost, and system downtime. If your controller can’t support the complexity of new features or standards it’s at the end of its useful life.
3. Fewer trained technicians: As BAS get older, the number of trained technicians dwindles. Companies instead assign resources to newer systems with increasing market shares. Shrinking support options and longer waits for onsite repairs is a definite sign that it’s time to upgrade.
4. Constant system reboots: An increase in mysterious system freezes or malfunctions that require a reboot is another sign. This indicates that something in your software is not compatible. Only an upgrade or update can offer a permanent fix.
5. End-of-life (EOL) software: The industry is going through a significant EOL event now involving Windows 10 (see our blog post on the topic). An OS is typically in market for seven years. This means you might facilitate up to three OS EOL events during the lifetime of your BAS. EOL events have the possibility of triggering updates for both the server hardware and the BAS application. An EOL event can’t be ignored because it’s the end of patches and updates that keep the system secure.

 An upgrade is triggered by an issue that needs fixing. A system audit can ensure the problem is fixed and the features and performance are appropriate for the current state of the facility. 

This audit should be done with your BAS partner. Specify that your account contact should be joined by a trusted service technician. This resource can help to fully scope the need and provide a “boots on the ground” system evaluation. Working with the IT team on the audit to ensure cybersecurity requirements are met is also essential.

Don’t Forget Mechanical Equipment

HVAC systems also have a 20-year lifespan. An audit of these systems ensures that your mechanical equipment is up to speed. These systems have changed dramatically in recent years. A rooftop unit 20 years ago had two stages of fixed Direct Expansion (DX) cooling. A modern day rooftop unit has variable speed compressors and hot gas reheating. This evaluation will impact ongoing building management expenses and tenant comfort.

Put Together a Wish List

If your facility has evolved at all, a like-for-like replacement may not be future focused enough.

New systems collect more data and control additional variables. These changes enable managing humidity in certain rooms, for example. Or adding a discharge air sensor on every VAV to monitor the reheat coil to optimize operation and avoid failure. Or implementing high-precision environmental control required by data centers, production lines, laboratories and other critical environments.

Now is the time to make changes that provide the functionality you need and to get a system price with those changes in mind.

Start budgeting like IT

The BAS has more in common with IT equipment than ever before. This means budgeting for replacements should be more like budgeting for IT gear than the “set-and-forget” budgeting that is typical today. Facility managers must move to true asset management. This requires tracking the BAS so that when the system is EOL there’s a fund for replacement.

Conclusion

In the past, if the timing was right, it was possible to work almost an entire facilities management career and not be part of a BAS upgrade. Those days are over. Many BAS elements use IT systems. And now they are subject to more frequent upgrades. Your BAS will alert you to the signs of a need for an upgrade. When you see them it’s time to gather information on system features and capabilities to make an informed choice. Taking it one step further, facility teams can push for an asset management model that can fund future upgrades, which simplifies the process significantly.