BAS Problem Solvers Series: The Golden Handcuffs

You are a building owner and you have just bought a new Building Automation system for your building. Promises of energy savings, higher efficiency and lower maintenance costs were a major factor in your decision to upgrade your building. You have seen the studies and reviewed the data extensively and are confident that you made the right decision. All you can think about is how much money you will save on your energy bill due to your recent purchase.

While all of these claims are accurate and there is definitely tremendous value when investing in an automation system there is one caviot that building owners often overlook. While most prudent business owners will factor in the cost of maintenance and service, they often discount the lack of flexibility this new relationship offers or are completely unaware of what waits around the corner.

For many years controls contractors used what is called a proprietary protocol. Before Bacnet and Lonworks and even still today, each company had their own communication protocol that made it impossible for anyone else to service the system. You HAD to use the company that installed the system. This meant that the owner was now at the mercy of the installing contractor. You need a $10 part replaced? Sure that will be $2,000 for us to come replace it. You need a $200 board replaced? No problem – that will be $4,500. And let’s not forget the blistering speed of technology. You need a software upgrade – a function that literally takes a technician a couple clicks of the mouse and 10 minutes to execute – that will be $5,500.

The great deal that you got on your new Building Automation system that, according to the smooth talking salesman, “pays itself off within 3 years and lowers your electric bill and makes your building run more efficiently” is now costing you an arm and a leg to maintain and service. Not to mention you can’t get a technician to come fix anything in a timely manner. “We have you in the Q and we will dispatch a tech as soon as one comes available” is what they tell you. So not only do you have to pay outrageous service fees but you have to limp along until someone can actually come fix the problem.

This scenario is all too familiar to many building owners across not only Texas, but the entire country. We call this “The Golden Handcuffs”, and when you get Golden Handcuffs put on you they are very hard to take off.

HTS has heard your cries for help and we have a solution that puts the power back in your hands. The days of being a victim of your building automation system are over. We offer a completely open protocol system that not only matches up to the proprietary lines but far exceeds their functionality and flexibility. The Tridium Niagara front end gives the luxury of choice back to the customer and with over 300 drivers available we can seamlessly integrate any system. The days of paying $2,000 for a sensor are over. No matter how tight they may have put the golden handcuffs on you, we can take them off.

So give HTS a call because we have the key to the “Golden Handcuffs”!

-Shane Ray, North Texas BAS Manager