Custom monitoring dashboard for building automation
Appfront builds monitoring dashboards for those who manage several buildings with building automation. Data from building management systems, such as temperatures, air handling, pumps and meters, comes together in one overview, regardless of the make of the system. Faults and deviations stand out before occupants complain, energy use and comfort can be compared per building, and an alert goes to whoever needs to resolve it.
What is a monitoring dashboard for building automation?
Modern buildings have a building management system that controls and monitors heating, cooling, air handling, lighting and meters. Anyone managing several buildings often has systems from different makers and ages, each with its own screen. The manager logs into each building separately, and only learns something is wrong when an occupant complains about the cold or a draught.
A fault in an air handling unit, a pump that keeps running or a valve that is stuck gets lost among hundreds of alarms in a single system. A building that uses as much energy at night as during the day goes unnoticed. And when the board asks how the buildings are performing on energy and comfort, someone has to export data from each system and merge it by hand.
We build custom solutions because every property is different: which systems are in place, through which protocols or interfaces they deliver data, which measuring points matter, and who needs to resolve what. We usually start with a few buildings and the measuring points that tell you the most, then expand. The building management system continues to control the installations; the dashboard oversees all buildings.
All buildings together
Data from systems of different makes in one overview, per building and installation.
Deviations spotted early
Faults and departures from normal patterns are noticed before occupants complain.
Energy and comfort
Consumption and indoor climate per building, comparable and reportable.
How we build your monitoring dashboard for building automation
We start with your buildings: which systems, which measurement points, who resolves what, and where things currently go wrong.
Your buildings, building management systems, protocols, measurement points and those responsible.
Measuring points from the systems via protocol or interface, for an initial set of buildings.
Overview per building, faults centralised, and deviations from the normal pattern.
Alerts to whoever resolves them, reporting, expansion to more buildings and then ongoing management.
What a building automation monitoring dashboard actually does
The components below come up in almost every property with building automation. Which ones you need depends on your buildings.
Overview
All buildings with their status on one screen.
Measuring points
Temperatures, air handling, pumps and meters per installation.
Breakdowns
Alarms from all systems centralised and filtered.
Deviations
Deviations from the normal pattern, such as overnight consumption.
Energy and comfort
Consumption and indoor climate per building.
Notifications
An alert to the building manager or installer.
Who we build a building automation monitoring dashboard for
The dashboard is intended for anyone managing several buildings with different systems.
Property managers
Many buildings with different systems. The overview is the core.
Municipalities
Schools, sports halls and offices. Energy per building matters most.
Healthcare and education
Comfort for vulnerable users. Early intervention is what's needed.
Installers
Monitoring for clients. Remote fault detection is the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page covers building automation monitoring. For energy management, see our page on energy management software, for installers our page on software for installation companies, and for maintenance our page on a maintenance subscription app. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
Why Appfront for your building automation monitoring dashboard?
A fault that only gets noticed when users complain is a fault that has lasted too long. That's what we build around: all buildings in one overview, deviations spotted early, and alerts going to whoever resolves them.
One screen
No more logging into a different system for each building.
Early intervention
Deviations are spotted before the complaint.
Energy in view
Consumption per building, comparable and improvable.
Security and privacy for a building automation monitoring dashboard
Building management systems control installations, so a wrong connection is a risk. The dashboard only reads, through a separate connection with only the rights it needs, and every connection is logged.
The dashboard runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage, daily backups and two-factor login.
Frequently asked questions about a building automation monitoring dashboard
Questions property managers and installers ask before getting started.
It brings together data from building management systems of different brands into one overview, shows faults centrally, flags deviations from the normal pattern, displays energy and comfort per building, and sends alerts to whoever needs to resolve them.
Yes, that's exactly the goal. Data comes in through standard protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, KNX and OPC UA, or through the vendor's interfaces. We'll work out which route suits each system in the first step. Older systems without an interface can sometimes be reached via a small gateway; we look at that per building too.
No. The dashboard only reads. Control stays with the building management system, so a fault in the dashboard can never affect an installation.
By filtering for what matters and bundling alerts per installation. A deviation from the normal pattern often tells you more than a hundred separate alarms. After a few weeks we tighten the rules. Who receives an alert depends on the type of fault and the building, so the right manager or installer sees it.
Yes. Consumption per building, per day and per installation, which you can compare between buildings and against last year, ready for the board or an energy report.
Yes, provided that system has an interface. A fault can become a work order, with the installation's data attached. That way the engineer sees beforehand what's going on and which measuring points are deviating.
Check that first. An installer often supplies an overview for their own systems. Custom development makes sense if you have systems from several brands or installers and want a single overview that belongs to you.
All buildings in one overview?
Tell us how many buildings you have, which systems are in place and who resolves faults. We will show you what the dashboard, the deviations and the alerts look like.