Industry Survey Reveals Rampant Market Confusion, and More

The results are in from our industry-wide survey of 800 building professionals, and one thing is paradoxically clear: There's rampant confusion in the alphabet soup of building and energy management. Although there is confusion surrounding the actual features distinguishing energy management systems from building management systems, there is no mistaking the growing need among building professionals to reduce energy costs. Given the proven track record of Energy Management Software (EMS) in reducing energy expenditures, it stands to reason that we are approaching the tipping point of the demand for EMS.

MACH's White Paper published the findings from a national survey of property managers, facility managers, building engineers, etc. who maintain properties that are mostly over 50,000 square feet from multiple building categories. Just under half of respondents reported that their property had installed an EMS, but in reality, 70% of these had erroneously listed a building automation system (BAS) or building management system (BMS) rather than a standalone EMS, which demonstrates the confusion regarding the two unique systems.

The White Paper shows that although many building professionals desire the advantages made possible by EMS, there is a knowledge gap that needs to be bridged in order for EMS to make sense to many potential customers. The results of EMS speak for themselves. For example, there was a clear relation between less time spent on energy management activities and the adoption of EMS.