Supporting infrastructures boost European BAS market

Among these supporting infrastructures, building analytics, the cloud and smart grids are likely to play the most important role in strengthening the BAS market over the next four years. The analysis, "Enhancing Building Automation in Europe: Role of Supporting Infrastructures", finds that the market earned revenues of $1.84bn (USD) in 2013 and expects this to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5% until 2018.

In addition, some vendors are turning to cloud services and acquiring smart metering capabilities to integrate buildings with smart grids. They are also looking to integrate BAS with control systems for vertical farms by 2016 in order to enhance energy, water and waste management efficiency in buildings. One of the main concerns of market participants, however, is the lack of awareness among some end users on the advantages of investing in BAS.

Krishna Raman, Research Analyst, Industrial Automation & Process Control, Frost & Sullivan, comments: “BAS that use wireless control devices are gaining traction across Europe as they enable end users to easily reach remote and previously inaccessible parts of buildings as well as boost safety in hazardous industrial environments. BAS that are integrated with building analytics are also becoming popular especially in the education and public sector due to the ability of these solutions to track and predict energy consumption patterns, pinpoint defective modules, and measure compliance to building efficiency standards. BAS manufacturers should offer consulting and predictive maintenance services to increase customer satisfaction and boost revenues. They must also expand their competencies through mergers and acquisitions to retain customers in the European building automation market."