Commercial Building Management System Installation & Replacement in Southern California and Arizona

What is building management system installation and replacement?

Building management system work happens at the head end, which collects data from each unit controller, sends back schedules and setpoints, and raises alarms. Installation puts that layer in place; replacement swaps out, extends, or migrates one that exists.

A building management system (BMS) is the part of controls that works at the building and portfolio level. Our BMS scope also covers new controls installed with new equipment, zone systems, VAV (variable air volume) dampers, and ducted fire dampers, completed to local city and state codes. For troubleshooting and repair of the thermostats, sensors, and controllers already on individual units, see HVAC controls repair and service.

Who leads BMS work at REE Mechanical?

Eric Choi, our Field Service Manager, is our controls lead, and BMS work runs through Eric. A head end is only useful when what it reports matches what the equipment on the roof is actually doing.

REE Mechanical Inc. is licensed, bonded and insured, and we work on systems we did not originally install. Work is scheduled around trading hours and reported through your IVR or work-order system.

Why plan new controls with the equipment order?

A new unit or tenant improvement is the cheapest moment to get controls right. Planning sensors, schedules, and head-end integration alongside the equipment order avoids retrofit work after the unit is already on the roof.

We build the controls scope while the equipment is being ordered, not after it ships. Controls go in with new rooftop units up to 100 tons, split systems up to 60 tons, and zone equipment, and the install is run by our installation team under Kelly Purcell, our Installation Director. On a multi-site portfolio, applying one standard controls specification to every new unit keeps schedules, setpoints, and point names consistent from one site to the next.

The cost of skipping that step shows up in three familiar ways. A modern unit run on a basic thermostat gives up much of the efficiency it was bought for. Equipment that cannot talk to the existing head end becomes an island nobody watches. And schedules copied from the old system carry the old mismatch with trading hours straight onto the new unit.

When is the head end itself the problem?

Look at the head end when the vendor no longer supports it, new equipment cannot report into it, sites run on different platforms with no common view, or alarms go to nobody.

• The system is proprietary and orphaned, so no one can change a setpoint without the original vendor.
• New rooftop units or split systems cannot connect to a legacy head end.
• Sites added through growth or acquisition each run a different platform.
• Alarms land in a mailbox nobody monitors, or nowhere at all.
• Hardware has reached end of support and replacement parts are getting hard to find.

What does integrating equipment into a BMS involve?

Integration connects each unit controller to the head end so data and commands move both ways. It depends on matching communication protocols, consistent point naming, and a tested link for every unit.

• Identifying the protocol each controller speaks. BACnet and Modbus are common open protocols; some legacy systems are proprietary.
• Adding gateways or replacement controllers where a device cannot talk to the head end.
• Building a point list per unit: temperatures, status, alarms, and setpoints.
• Applying one naming convention across every site so data compares cleanly.
• Testing each point end to end, from sensor to head end and back.

Which replacement or upgrade path fits an existing system?

Most projects on an existing system follow one of four paths, from recommissioning what is there to migrating to a new head end. The right one depends on whether the current platform is supported, open, and worth building on.

1. Recommission. Keep the system and correct the schedules, sensors, and programming that have drifted.
2. Extend. Keep the head end and bring new or unconnected equipment into it.
3. Replace controllers. Keep the head end but swap out failing or unsupported field controllers.
4. Migrate. Move to a new head end site by site, so the portfolio is never without control.

How should a portfolio-wide upgrade be phased?

Start with an inventory and a pilot site, write a standard from the pilot, then roll out in groups. Keep each old system live until its replacement is verified, so no site loses control mid-project.

• Inventory. Record each site’s head end, controllers, protocols, and support status.
• Pilot. Upgrade one representative site and confirm schedules, alarms, and reporting work as intended.
• Standardize. Turn the pilot into a written specification for devices, point names, schedules, and alarm routing.
• Roll out. Upgrade sites by region or by system type.
• Close out. Update as-built records and remove old equipment once each site checks out.

Phasing also lets the work follow capital budgets. Where a rooftop unit is due for replacement, its new controller can go in with the new unit instead of being upgraded twice.

What should multi-site visibility give a facilities team?

Multi-site visibility should let your team see run status, space temperatures, and alarms for every connected site from one place, and change schedules without sending a technician to the roof.

• Schedules updated centrally when trading hours change.
• Alarms for failed units, high space temperatures, or lost communication routed to a named person.
• Run-hour and temperature trends that show which sites drift away from the rest.
• Data that feeds HVAC asset inspection and testing and capital planning.

What drives the scope of a BMS project?

Scope is driven by the number of sites and units, how much of the existing system can stay, the protocols in use, and the quality of the documentation you already hold.

• Sites, units, and zones. The size of the integration job.
• Existing platform. Supported, open systems cost less to extend than orphaned proprietary ones.
• Controller condition. Older units may need new controllers before they can report.
• Documentation. Missing point lists, wiring diagrams, or as-builts add discovery time.
• Fire damper scope. Number, location, and accessibility of ducted fire dampers.

California’s Title 24 energy code includes controls requirements for many new and altered systems, and fire damper inspection intervals follow the locally adopted fire code. Check current code with the authority having jurisdiction when the project is scoped.

Where do we install and replace building management systems?

Our technicians take on BMS work in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties and across Arizona. See all service areas, including Los Angeles County and San Diego County.

Send us your head-end inventory

Call (800) 742-0910 or send us what each site runs today. Our guide to building management systems for multi-site portfolios covers planning, and the HVAC controls and BMS overview shows how this fits with unit-level work.