The phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" was never more dangerous than when it is applied to your BEMS system.
In this blog we talk about the importance of upgrading or replacing existing BEMS systems before the equipment or software becomes ‘unsupported’. Collectively know as 'migration'.
All products have a finite working lifetime after which they need to be replaced by newer versions, with new features and ongoing support. In addition to physical products such as controllers and other hardware, this also applies to software such as the BEMS, and PC operating systems. Once a manufacturer declares a product to be unsupported, a range of issues arise.
Old equipment is more likely to fail as time goes on. The manufacturer will no longer maintain supplies of spare parts and the number of engineers who are familiar with the product will diminish.
When the operating system on the BEMS PC is no longer supported, there will be no more Windows security updates, therefore the system becomes vulnerable to viruses, spyware, and other forms of cyber attack.
The manufacturer will not provide assistance or training for unsupported software. No new functionality or patches will be available. If updates to the operating system are made, they may render the BEMS software inoperable.
If any part of an old BEMS system or software were to fail, what would be the consequences for your organisation’s operations?
There are a range of options to consider for financing migration.
There may be funds available through planned IT programmes.
if the planned migration includes increasing energy efficiency, the cost of the migration and more can be recovered in a reasonable time.
SSE Energy Solutions can finance the cost of migrations within a multi-year support contract.
Working with your team we will:- Propose and agree on the best solution to ensure that your BEMS is upgraded, with cyber-security as a priority.
We would recommend more frequent BEMS upgrades than the CIBSE recommended 15 years. This has the advantages of both saving money during the building life and, by implementing smaller, more frequent, upgrades, there is less disruption caused to the organisation than there would be if implementing major infrequent replacements.