Assessing bems systems

Building owners and design offices wish to be provided with relevant and objective data on the quality of BEMS systems (Building Energy Management Systems) available on the market. As for BEMS manufacturers, they would like to have their products recognised in terms of quality. To reach this twofold objective, CSTB and EDF (French Electricity Board) have developed a procedure for assessing these systems. This procedure is based on tests performed on CSTBs SIMulator for Buildings And Devices (called SIMBAD). The main functions of BEMS systems (heating or air conditioning control, programming, load shedding, alarms, monitoring...) are being assessed taking account of the point of view of a future user. After analysing the main criteria necessary for high-quality BEMS installations, this paper describes the procedure, then the first results obtained by testing two types of BEMS. The assessment report, which is an actual information tool on the systems, is then presented.