For today’s building management systems, understanding and enhancing occupant comfort has taken center stage. At the June 2024 Lunch & Learn event, hosted by Tim Vogel, VP of Connected Solutions at KMC Controls, industry leaders gathered to discuss this critical aspect of building management.

Defining Comfort in Building Systems

Jason Nefs, LONG Building Technologies

The term “comfort management systems” was examined by Jason Nefs, President, and CEO of LONG Building Technologies. He noted, “Our client base is quite sophisticated, and we often simplify the term to talk more about controlling the building environments like temperature, humidity, and lighting.” This reflects a shift towards directly addressing occupant needs without relying on potentially outdated terminology.

Stuart Feilden, Siemens

Stuart Feilden, Strategic Growth Leader at Siemens, shared his perspective: “One of the trends post-COVID has been focusing on the human experience. Healthy buildings and smart building standards are increasingly important.” He shared that twenty years ago, he was given a dark, cramped office with little fresh air or thought for how comfort would affect his work output. Nowadays we have an “explosion of healthy buildings and smart building rating systems.”

Especially since COVID, we have seen concern for occupant comfort ramp up. Certainly, since then we have seen an increase in safety related to humidity, air quality and circulation, for instance. But the increase in comfort needs is interesting. This focus has emphasized the occupants’ experience, leading to innovations in how comfort is managed.

The Evolving Role of Analytics

Analytics has transformed how we approach comfort in buildings. Jason emphasized the role of predictive analytics, saying,

“The promise of predicting when systems will fail before they do has long been made, and we’re getting closer to fulfilling it.”

This shift aims to enhance system reliability and, consequently, occupant comfort by diagnosing and addressing issues proactively. Jason discussed the increasing importance of “The ability to look into the future and make some kind of prediction on what could be happening rather than waiting for it to break.”

Stuart stated that to determine what the comfort guidelines should be, some owners will use a workplace survey while others rely on sensor technology.

Regrettably, some building users will attempt to bypass the BAS server and hijack the BAS network; those networks were not designed for that kind of traffic, so it starts to create problems from a data perspective. It creates multiple sets of data and make it difficult to determine what the correct settings ought to be. Analytics and having a deep understanding of the equipment and its usage are vital as we grow towards these ideals.

Industry Insights on Comfort Prioritization

“HVAC in buildings is for comfort, to make people feel safe and comfortable to do their work…so the very first thing we do for building on a mission is provide comfort,” said Clifford Milligan, then KMC’s VP of Sales and now the Director of Automation at McMillan James Equipment Co. Jesse Shoemaker, VP of Business Development at KMC, pointed out the variety of ASHRAE codes related to comfort and they all seem to come back to energy efficiency or indoor air quality in the built environment.

Clifford Milligan, McMillan James

Comfort levels vary significantly across industries. While schools now prioritize comprehensive HVAC systems to enhance learning environments, agriculture sectors like tomato ripening facilities prioritize environmental control over human comfort, showcasing unique use cases within buildings. Jason pointed out the interesting trends towards comfort in school systems. Schools that previously might have only had heat and are now getting bond money to add cooling; many consider it a travesty if they don’t have both. However, decades ago they did not have these kinds of luxuries. Because of the change in public opinion regarding comfort, we are seeing increasing demand for retrofits to buildings that were never designed with comfort in mind. It’s also interesting to think about in laboratories or agricultural buildings that house animals; testing or observation of those animals could be affected by the animals’ comfort levels.

Jesse Shoemaker, KMC Controls

There is certainly a difference between comfort controls and environmental controls, even though they both deal with similar things like temperature, humidity, and air pressure; it depends on the main function and priority of the space. In an art museum, for instance, the priority is to set the environmental controls at optimum levels to protect the art installations. Comfort of the human occupants is a secondary concern.

It’s not just comfort, though; health and safety are hugely important. Stuart mentioned a TED talk by Jessica Green that contained a fantastic analysis of the bacteria and viruses we can find in buildings and how they are affected by differing ventilation. And of course, this is related to comfort – sick occupants are not comfortable occupants.

Outside of the US, however, comfort level does not seem to be as high of a priority. It is not uncommon for schools overseas to have little to no digital control settings to maintain comfort, depending on factors like the weather in that location and the funding available to that school.

Future of Comfort Management

Tim Vogel, KMC Controls

Tim Vogel shared that “the best HVAC system is the one you forget is there. That means it is doing its job.”

As the industry progresses, the discussion touched on the potential for eliminating traditional building graphics in favor of more data-driven, predictive models. “As machines get better at diagnosing problems, do we really need traditional building graphics?” Stuart posed, questioning long-standing practices in system design. Innovations could also include the ability to use sensor technology to measure microbial organisms. In the future we can expect to see attention to comfort at the micro-level.

In summary, the June 2024 Lunch & Learn session provided valuable insights into the dynamics of comfort management in modern buildings. By embracing technologies and methodologies that prioritize both occupant well-being and system efficiency, the building management industry continues to evolve, promising a future where the term “comfort” becomes more comprehensive and data-informed. As emphasized by the experts, understanding comfort’s role is fundamental in creating efficient, occupant-focused building environments.

Attendees left the webinar with a deeper appreciation for the nuances involved in comfort management and its broader implications on both occupant satisfaction and operational efficacy.

See the full episode here: