When is it worth renewing a housing company's building automation?

Building automation is worth renewing when spare parts are no longer available, when its program cannot be changed, or when measurement data cannot be obtained from it. The same applies when it causes repeated alarms and uneven room temperatures. Age alone does not decide. Device manufacturers estimate the life cycle of an automation system at about 10–15 years. A well-maintained system may still be better kept than replaced, if parts are available for it and it can be connected to remote monitoring. Often a partial modernisation is enough.

Six signs

Spare parts are unavailable. The manufacturer has discontinued the model, and a broken controller or control card is replaced with a used one, or not at all.
The program cannot be changed. Nobody knows how, or is able, to program the controller any more, so the time programmes and curves are as they were once left.
Measurement data cannot be obtained. The controller has no bus interface, so remote monitoring and Kiinteistöpilvi cannot see it.
Alarms come repeatedly from the same device. An actuator or a sensor is worn, and every alarm is a maintenance visit.
Room temperatures vary from stairwell to stairwell although nothing has been changed. The control no longer does what it should.
The heating bill has risen without a cause for the consumption being found. Drifting settings show on the bill before they show in the flats.

One sign does not yet mean renewal. Three signs mean that a survey is worth doing now rather than next autumn.

What partial modernisation means

Automation consists of the controller, the sensors, the actuators and the connection. They age at different rates. Actuators and sensors often last longer than the controller. In a partial modernisation the controller is replaced and remote monitoring and measurement in the flats are added, but working valves, dampers and sensors are kept. The price is a fraction of renewing the whole system, and the benefit is the same: control based on measurement.

Part	Replaced in a modernisation?
Controller	Usually yes
Actuators	Only if a fault is found in testing
Sensors	Compared with a reference meter, replaced if needed
Connection	Usually yes, to a machine connection

When the whole system is renewed

The heat distribution centre is renewed, in which case the automation is worth renewing in the same project.
The air handling units are replaced, and the new units bring their own controls.
The actuators are of the same generation as the controller and several are worn in testing.
Heat recovery is added alongside district heating and requires shared control.

What is examined in the survey

We go through the controller and its program, drive every actuator to its extreme positions, check the sensors against a reference meter and read the network temperatures and the measurement history, if there is any. The result is a list: keep, replace, add.

Frequently asked questions

Can an old controller be connected to remote monitoring?

If it has a bus interface (Modbus or similar), usually yes. If not, measurement can be added with separate sensors, but control requires a new controller.

Is it worth waiting for the pipe renovation?

Modernising the automation is a small project that can be done while waiting for a pipe renovation, and its benefit begins immediately. In connection with the pipe renovation it is checked what has to be changed because of it.

How long does a modernisation take?

From order to handover typically 4–8 weeks, most of which is programming and device deliveries. Work in the building takes from a few days to about a week.