6 January 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
BSRIA research has found that the traditional Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) market has continued to grow steadily over many years, especially in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries.
But the research also reveals that new technologies, innovations, and innovative business models are already disrupting the traditional BACS business.
The BACS market continues to be led by a few dominant global players, while others are strong in certain regions, or in niche segments.
However, the business of all of these could be significantly affected by tech giants such as Google, Apple, Microsoft - as they are already 'players' in the market.
Jeremy Towler, BSRIA's manager for energy and smart technologies, said: "A new connected, smart, LED lighting market is beginning to emerge which will see a change in the balance of 'power' within the building, moving from a building controls-centric to a lighting-centric form of building automation. The new generation of lighting controls will offer increased support for mobile access and personalised control solutions that will drive the building to respond to the individual.
"This is in stark contrast to the classic experience where individuals have been forced to adapt themselves within the limited scope of the 'traditional' building automation systems. Not only does it signal a move away from the mechanical 'wet channel' towards the electrical 'dry channel' as the route to market, but it also means that an increasing proportion of the controls will arrive on site as part of a 'packaged' pre-tested solution."
Traditionally, BACS has mainly been applied to larger, more prestigious buildings and the mid-scale market has represented a missed opportunity. Now, several suppliers are offering scalable solutions that are typically based around mesh networks and offer easy scalability.
BACS are applied to a wide range of solutions and equipment, including air-conditioning, heating, and renewables. These are substantial markets offering growth and there are more opportunities for companies capable of expanding into these sectors.
The information is sourced from BSRIA’s Market Briefing ‘hot topic’ studies.