ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a brief guide to what a practitioner will need from a system. Each organisation will have different requirements for the computer, varying resources to manage the system, and varying abilities to meet the cost of purchase; consequently, no cast-iron guide to the best type of system can be given. Software companies offer 'off the shelf' systems which have been tested and refined over the years. Computer hardware companies are more interested in selling the actual equipment, often proposing tailor-made software. Individual computerised building management systems can be useful, in more sophisticated buildings, in assisting in the apportionment of cost and service charges. Heating and air-conditioning can be controlled by maintenance contractors, via a computerised link, to ensure that the plant is delivering heat to the building at the right time and at the right level.
