Retail — Commercial buildings
Rooftop units, case refrigeration and lighting.
Retail is a segment of Commercial buildings. Below are the systems and equipment FacilityOS covers for it, filtered from the Commercial buildings solution.
How FacilityOS helps
- Office towers, hotels and malls: air handlers, VAV, fan coils, chillers and boilers with schedules, holidays and optimal start.
- OpenADR 2.0b demand response and automated fault detection based on ASHRAE Guideline 36.
- Tenant sub-metering, elevators and escalators, rooftop PV, EV chargers, people counting and parking guidance.
Systems and equipment
Core: every site of this kind has it. Common: most sites have it. Optional: depends on the site.
Central plant
Central plant for towers and campuses.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot-water boiler | Core | Hot water supply temp · Hot water return temp · Firing rate · Flue gas temp · Fault | |
| Heat-recovery chiller / heat pump | Optional | Hot water supply temp · Chilled water supply temp (recovery side) · Power draw · Combined COP | Heat recovery displacing boiler gas — one of the main decarbonization levers. |
| Absorption chiller | Optional | CHW supply temp · Crystallization alarm | |
| Plate heat exchanger | Common | Secondary supply temp · Approach · Primary pressure drop | |
| Pressurization / expansion unit | Common | System pressure · Low pressure alarm · Make-up today | |
| Chilled-water storage tank | Optional | State of charge | |
| Ice storage | Optional | Ice inventory | |
| Cooling tower chemical treatment | Common | Conductivity · Chemical drum low | |
| District heating substation | Optional | Secondary supply temp | |
| Hot-water boiler burner control | Common | Firing rate · Burner lockout |
Air handling & ventilation
Comfort, air quality and energy.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooftop unit | Core | Supply air temp · Zone temp · Power draw | |
| Energy recovery unit | Common | Outdoor airflow · Recovery effectiveness | |
| IAQ sensor | Common | CO2 · Relative humidity · TVOC | |
| Exhaust fan | Common | Running · Speed | Kitchen exhaust. |
| VRF outdoor unit | Common | Power · Error code | |
| VRF indoor unit | Common | Room temp | |
| Chilled beam / radiant panel | Optional | Room temp · Condensation alarm | |
| Electric heater | Optional | Heating power · High limit tripped | |
| Weather station | Common | Outdoor temp · Wind speed |
Commercial refrigeration
Retail cases.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigeration rack | Core | Suction pressure · Compressors running · Refrigerant leak level | |
| Split DX / condensing unit | Common | Suction pressure · High-pressure trip |
Lighting
Schedules and occupancy.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting control panel | Core | Light level · Lighting power · Schedule overridden | |
| Motorized shades | Optional | Position · Wind lock | |
| Presence / occupancy sensor | Common | Occupied · Battery |
Domestic water & hot water
High-zone pressure and Legionella control.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water tank / reservoir level | Common | Level · Low level · Overflow level | |
| Domestic hot water recirculation | Common | Return temp | |
| Legionella risk monitoring | Common | Risk score | |
| Water softener | Common | Outlet hardness · Salt low | |
| Sewage ejector / grease interceptor | Common | Level · High level · Grease layer | |
| Rainwater harvesting | Optional | Cistern level · Turbidity | |
| Irrigation controller | Optional | Zones watering · Flow alarm (break) |
Power & metering
Tenant billing and benchmarking.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building main meter | Core | Building power · Energy today · Power per sq ft | |
| Tenant submeter | Core | Tenant power · Energy today | |
| Generator | Common | Running · Output power · Fuel tank level · Starting battery voltage · Not in AUTO | |
| EV chargers | Common | Ports in use · Charging power | |
| Rooftop solar inverter | Optional | Solar output | |
| Natural gas meter | Common | Natural gas flow · Heat input (1,037 BTU/scf) · Gas today (scf) | Natural gas in scfh, converted to BTU/h by heating value. |
| Ring main unit | Common | SF6 low · Fault passage indicator | |
| Microgrid controller | Optional | Grid exchange · Islanded | |
| Fuel cell | Optional | Output · Fault | |
| Automatic capacitor bank | Common | Power factor · Capacitor current, measured / rated · Resonance alarm · Switching operations today | |
| Power factor controller | Common | Power factor · Under-compensated · Over-compensated | |
| Phase unbalance compensator | Optional | Current unbalance after · Unit load | |
| Residual current monitor (RCM) | Common | Largest residual current · Residual current alarm | |
| Surge protective device (SPD) status | Common | SPD failed · Backup breaker open |
Guest rooms & hotel amenities
Guest-room comfort and service requests, kitchen suppression, laundry and pool water.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorized shades | Optional | Position · Wind lock | |
| Revolving door | Common | Running · Fault | |
| Background music system | Common | Zones playing · Amplifier fault | |
| Digital signage | Common | Screens offline | |
| Sauna / spa heater | Optional | Room / water temp · High limit | |
| Snow-melt system | Optional | Slab temp |
Mall shoppers & public areas
Footfall, escalators, parking and water features shape the shopper experience.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Footfall counter | Common | Visitors per hour · Visitors today · Share of design capacity | |
| Revolving door | Common | Running · Fault | |
| Trash compactor | Common | Fullness · Full | |
| Background music system | Common | Zones playing · Amplifier fault | |
| Digital signage | Common | Screens offline |
Life safety Monitor only
Monitor only.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm panel | Core | Fire alarm · Supervisory signal · Trouble signal | Monitor only (NFPA 72). |
| Fire pump | Common | Running · System pressure · Power phase failure | |
| Sprinkler riser | Common | Riser pressure · Waterflow alarm · Valve tamper | |
| Smoke exhaust fan | Common | Running · Damper not proven | Smoke exhaust or stair pressurization fans; monitor only. |
| Fire / smoke damper | Core | Closed · Position fault · Days since test | |
| Stair pressurization fan | Core | Stair pressure · Fault · Not in AUTO | |
| Central emergency lighting supply (EPS) | Core | Battery fault · Days since 90-min test | |
| Fire door monitoring | Common | Closed doors found open | |
| Voice evacuation system | Core | Amplifier fault · Evacuation active |
Security & video Monitor only
Camera and door status, and video linkage: cameras are linked to areas, devices and alarm rules; on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm, with a live-view link to the NVR/VMS. Core never contacts a camera.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video camera | Common | Online · Recording · Motion detected · Video analytics alarm · Tamper (blocked or moved) | Status via the VMS (Milestone, Genetec…); on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm — Core never contacts a camera. |
| Access-controlled door | Core | Door open · Door held open · Door forced | |
| Intrusion alarm panel | Common | Intrusion alarm · Tamper | |
| Intercom | Common | Calls waiting | |
| Visitor management | Optional | Visitors on site · Watch-list hit | |
| Guard tour | Optional | Missed checkpoints · Man-down alarm |
Life-safety equipment (fire alarm, gas detection, emergency power transfer) and protection devices are monitored only. FacilityOS never sends them commands.
Standards and compliance
| Standards and compliance | Notes |
|---|---|
| ASHRAE 90.1 | Energy standard for buildings except low-rise residential. |
| ASHRAE 62.1 | Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality. |
| ASHRAE Guideline 36 | High-performance sequences of operation for HVAC systems. |
| ASHRAE 188 | Legionellosis: risk management for building water systems. |
| ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager | Energy benchmarking and scoring tool. |
| NFPA 72 / NFPA 101 | Fire alarm code; Life Safety Code. |
| ASME A17.1 | Safety code for elevators and escalators. |
Standards are listed with what they cover; numeric values are typical figures, not requirements for every site. FacilityOS supports your compliance work; it does not certify a site.
Segments of Commercial buildings
Full Commercial buildings solution →
How we deliver
We can take a Commercial buildings project from survey and design through procurement, installation, commissioning and training — all of it, or only the stages you need.