Managing a facility means dealing with issues at all hours, often when no one is sitting at their desks watching the controls. Building automation systems act as the smart backbone of today’s buildings by connecting HVAC, lighting, fire safety, security, electricity, and more into one seamless platform. Whether it’s a hospital that demands zero downtime or a university aiming to lower energy costs without sacrificing comfort, the right building automation solution will keep everything running efficiently and send alerts when something needs immediate attention. This blog dives into the best building automations systems available, highlighting what really matters and helping you choose the system that fits your building’s unique needs. 

What is a Building Automation System? 

A building automation system is a centralized platform that allows facility teams to optimize their building’s systems including HVAC, lighting, security, and fire safety through both automated and manual controls. These systems are incredibly useful when looking to improve operational efficiency, lower energy costs, and optimize building performance. During critical issues, like when a fire alarm is triggered or the power suddenly goes out, facility teams are immediately notified via the building automation software dashboard so that they can act quickly. Unfortunately, this feature is only beneficial in times where a staff member has their dashboard active and open on their computer. So, continue reading until the end to discover a game-changing integration that will immediately mobilize building technicians to urgent issues within the facility. 

What Features Do Most Building Automation Systems Have?

There are many factors that contribute to which building automation software your facility should employ, like size, cost, stakeholders and long-term goals. So, while not every team requires the same solution, here are the essential features every good building automation system should have: 

Real-Time Monitoring and Control 

The core feature of building automation solutions is real-time visibility into the status of all of your building systems. But not only should these tools be monitoring conditions in real-time, your team should be able to control all of your systems remotely and in real-time to ensure immediate action when something goes wrong.

Automation and Scheduling

Your building automation system should be optimizing your energy usage, so many of these solutions automate heating, cooling, and lighting based on occupancy, time of day, or seasonal changes. This allows you to cut down on unnecessary energy costs and reduce manual oversight. 

Energy Management and Reporting 

Not only should your building automation software monitor your energy usage, it should track and report inefficiencies in performance, helping you make smarter decisions and significantly cut costs.

Remote Access 

Like we said before, technicians aren’t always sitting at their desks, staring at their building automation system dashboards. So, it is important that your building engineers can seamlessly monitor and respond to issues from anywhere through mobile and web access. 

Integration Support

A strong building automation software should integrate easily with other platforms, like computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), alerting tools, or energy dashboards, and support open protocols like Building Automation and Control Network (BACnet) or Modbus to ensure long-term flexibility and vendor compatibility.

What are the Best Building Automation Systems Right Now?

Honeywell

Honeywell’s building automation platform focuses on optimizing building performance through integrated control of HVAC, lighting, energy, fire safety, and security. With a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and carbon reduction, it’s well-suited for facilities looking to modernize operations while supporting sustainability goals.

JCI Metasys

Metasys by Johnson Controls brings all your critical systems, like HVAC, lighting, and security, into one streamlined interface. It’s known for its user-friendly dashboards, BACnet/SC compliance, and ability to improve facility-wide visibility, making it a great option for teams that prioritize simplicity without sacrificing depth.

EcoStruxure™

Developed by Schneider Electric, EcoStruxure™ is an open, scalable platform built to connect HVAC, fire safety, lighting, and power systems. Designed for real-time insights and remote control, it’s ideal for large or multi-site operations focused on smarter energy usage and operational agility.

Siemens Desigo CC

Desigo CC offers a modular, integrated approach to building management. It brings together energy, comfort, security, and life safety into a single control center. Backed by Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio, it’s a future-ready choice for facilities that need flexibility and deep integration across systems.

Distech Controls

Powered by the Niagara Framework®, Distech Controls’ EC-Net platform gives users robust control with rich graphical monitoring, multi-protocol support, and enterprise-level alarm and energy management. It’s a strong pick for teams that want a balance of control and customization.

What Problems Do Users Face When Using Building Automation Systems?

Building automation systems are invaluable to facility management teams, truly improving operations and cutting costs. However, as we have previously hinted to, their alerting capabilities are lacking. And don’t just take it from me, it is a hot topic on Reddit, like in the post pictured below:

If you have ever dealt with overloaded inboxes and alerts that have no distinction between high and low priority, you can understand the feeling of alarm fatigue. Facility managers might not even realize they are overriding too many alerts…when struck with alarm fatigue it almost becomes second nature. 

So, I’m here to help, sharing the secret to eliminating alarm fatigue for building management.

How OnPage Enhances Operational Efficiency

Yes, building automation systems know when to send an alert, but where is when they tend to fall short. Because not only do they send out inaudible dashboard popups, there is also no differentiation when an issue requires immediate attention or can wait to be taken care of. This is exactly what is leading to alarm fatigue for facility managers. 

So, by integrating your building automation system with OnPage, teams can leverage intelligent alerting to reduce alert fatigue and step up their crisis response with features like: 

High-Priority Alerting

During critical incidents, maintenance technicians must act fast. So, OnPage ensures that only high-priority alerts cut through the clutter to reduce alert fatigue and mobilize technicians immediately. Plus, when teams are on-call at home or during a meeting, they can set up Gentle Alerts so that they don’t wake up their whole house or disturb speakers, but still know when they must react.

Role-Based Routing 

Building automation systems track and monitor various building systems, meaning there are multiple specialists responding to different types of alerts. OnPage makes it easy by routing alerts based on roles. For example, if your building automation software detects an HVAC issue the alert will be sent right to the HVAC team with no manual input. 

Escalations 

Not only are alerts routed to the right people based on roles and schedules, but in an unlikely case where the primary responder misses the alert it is automatically escalated to the next person in line. This ensures that no notifications are missed, even if one team member is not currently available. 

Seamless Integrations

OnPage seamlessly integrates with all of your existing tools including building automation systems. This ensures that no matter where you detect issues, OnPage elevates them to you immediately on one centralized platform. 

Conclusion

Choosing the right building automation system isn’t just about bells and whistles, it’s about finding a platform that can handle the unique demands of your facility while keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes. Whether you’re managing a hospital where uptime is critical or a campus trying to cut energy costs, today’s building automation solutions give you the visibility and control to make smarter decisions, faster. And when paired with the right integrations, like alerting tools that mobilize teams instantly, you’re not just reacting to problems, you’re staying ahead of them.