Within the built environment, big data refers to the collection of information from all building systems and the external data used within them. The most common source of big data is building management systems (BMS).
Although this information has been around for many years, historically it has been used to validate temperature complaints or system operation over the course of a week. However, the introduction of analytics is radically changing the situation. It is now possible, for instance, to track and trend historical patterns to help diagnose faults or equipment deterioration. Using this previously unexploited big data is significantly altering the way buildings are managed and maintained.