Why BACS audits matter in the UAE.
In the UAE, HVAC alone typically accounts for 60 to 75% of a commercial building's electricity bill. The Building Automation & Control System (BACS) — sometimes referred to as BMS — is therefore the single most influential lever on operating performance. And yet, in the vast majority of assets we audit, the BACS is significantly under-utilized: control sequences are left in factory defaults, set-points have drifted, and once-tuned schedules have been overridden by occupants and FM operators years ago.
Netz Energy's BACS audit is a structured, vendor-neutral diagnostic of your control system as it operates today versus its design intent and best-in-class benchmarks. We do not sell BMS hardware, software or integration services — our recommendations are built around your asset's interest, not a vendor catalog.
What we audit.
- Control architecture — topology, communication protocols (BACnet, Modbus, KNX), redundancy, cybersecurity exposure.
- Set-points & sequences — supply air temperatures, chiller plant logic, free-cooling, demand-controlled ventilation, night set-back, optimum start/stop.
- Sensor reliability — drift, calibration, redundancy, placement; identification of "ghost" sensors influencing control loops.
- Schedules & overrides — actual operating hours vs occupancy, accumulation of manual overrides, holiday calendars, after-hours operation.
- Alarms & trends — quality of alarm hierarchy, fault detection & diagnostics, trend logs and data integrity.
- Energy KPIs & meters — sub-metering coverage, EUI computation, baseline integrity.
Methodology.
Phase 1 — Off-site preparation
Document review (BMS schematics, points list, original commissioning records, recent utility bills), preliminary BACS class self-assessment using ISO 52120 grids, and definition of the audit grid for this specific asset.
Phase 2 — On-site assessment
2 to 5 days on-site depending on size. Live BMS console review, walk-through of plant rooms and AHUs, sensor spot-checks against handheld instruments, interviews with FM and operations team, extraction of trend data over a representative period.
Phase 3 — Data analysis & quantification
Trend data is analyzed against operational baselines and best-practice envelopes. Each finding is translated into kWh, AED and CO₂ figures with associated payback. We do not rely on rule-of-thumb savings — every figure is grounded in your asset's actual data.
Phase 4 — Reporting & roadmap
Written report (typically 40–70 pages), executive summary, prioritized re-tuning roadmap, and de-briefing with the operations and asset management teams. Optional follow-up: assistance to specify and oversee the BMS contractor's re-tuning work.
What you get.
Typical assets we audit.
Office towers, retail malls, hospitality assets, healthcare facilities, logistics and distribution centers, light industrial sites, mixed-use developments, government and semi-government real estate portfolios. Each sector has its own BACS challenges — we tailor the audit grid accordingly.