How it works
From building data to a short list.
Your building already produces thousands of signals. Smart Tenants reads them where they are, checks them continuously, reasons about what they mean, and hands your team a ranked list with the first thing to check. Here is each step, and where it runs.
- 1ConnectOn siteA small server in the building reads your existing systems and keeps their history.
- 2DetectOn siteEquipment checks run continuously and turn readings into conditions with a severity.
- 3DiagnoseIn the cloudRelated conditions, history and equipment facts are reasoned over to find the likely cause.
- 4PrioritiseIn the cloudEvery condition is ranked and tracked from the day it appears until it is really gone.
- 5ActWith your teamA morning briefing for engineering, a plain-language view for owners, and a first check for each item.
1. Connect · on site
It starts inside the building.
The Tapa Framework runs on a small server on your network and talks to your building management system, controllers and meters directly, using the protocols they already speak. It reads every point continuously and keeps the history on site, so nothing depends on an internet connection to keep watching.
- BACnet/IP and BACnet MS/TP equipment and controllers
- Niagara stations and Distech controllers
- MQTT devices and sensors
- Utility and sub-meters for energy and cost
- Nothing is replaced and no inbound connection is opened to the building
What stays where
- On site
- Live readings, point history, equipment checks, alarms, control
- To the cloud
- Conditions and their evidence, reports, configuration backups
- Never
- Control of your equipment from the cloud, or from the AI
| Unit | Fan cmd | Fan proof | Static (in wc) | Discharge (°F) | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHU-12 | On | Off | 0.12 | 48.7 | Commanded on, no air. High-static safety tripped. |
| AHU-38 | On | Off | 0.05 | 71.2 | Supply-fan alarm latched. No airflow. |
| AHU-07 | On | On | 1.48 | 55.1 | Operating normally. |
Likely cause for AHU-12: the high-static safety locked the unit out, so the low discharge temperature is a symptom, not the fault. Inspect the dampers and ductwork before resetting the safety.
2. Detect · on site
Checks that know what a fault looks like.
Each air handler, terminal unit and chiller carries a set of checks written by people who have stood in front of the equipment. They compare commands against proof, setpoints against delivery, and valve positions against what the air is actually doing, and they turn the result into a condition with a severity.
- Fan commanded on but not proven; units delivering no air
- High-static safety trips and static pressure off target
- Cooling valves pinned open while discharge air sits below setpoint
- Free cooling not taken, or outside air imported against a saturated coil
- Water through a stopped unit; heating and cooling at the same time
- CO2 against occupancy, so an empty room is never a complaint
Every check declares what it needs. When a point is missing or a reading is implausible, the check stands down and says so rather than guessing.
3. Diagnose · in the cloud
Likely cause, with the evidence attached.
Each morning the open conditions, their history and what is known about each piece of equipment are reasoned over together: what it serves, its size, its design static, your utility rate. Related units are compared side by side. The result is written in three parts, for every finding.
When the data cannot tell two causes apart, the report says so and names the field check that would. Trust comes from the separation, not from confidence.
AHU-12 · Critical
No airflow while occupied
What the data shows
- Fan commanded on since 05:10; fan proof off.
- Duct static 0.12 in wc against a 1.5 in wc setpoint.
- High-static safety tripped at 04:52.
What is inferred
A high-static trip followed by a stopped fan points to a blocked path downstream, a closed damper or an obstruction, rather than the fan itself.
What to check
Walk the dampers and ductwork before resetting the safety, or it will trip again.
What it is costing
Estimated from the unit's size and your utility rate, with the assumption stated beside the number.
| Condition | First seen | Reports | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHU-12 no airflow while occupied | Today | 1 | New |
| AHU-38 supply fan not proven | 3 days ago | 3 | Still open |
| Chiller 1 compressor hunting | 12 days ago | 9 | Recurring |
| AHU-07 cooling valve open, fan off | 8 days ago | 5 | Resolved |
A condition is closed only after it has stayed clear for three consecutive reports. One good morning does not make a fault disappear.
4. Prioritise · in the cloud
Ranked, and remembered.
Conditions are ranked by severity, by how long they have been going on, and by whether they have happened before. Each one gets an identity on the day it first appears and is carried from report to report, so the list your team sees is the same list, updated, not a fresh set of alarms every morning.
- New today, still open, recurring, or resolved
- Days open and the number of reports it has appeared in
- A watch list for conditions worth an eye but not a visit
- A correction when a finding turns out to be a sensor, not a fault
5. Act · with your team
The output is not more data. It is an operating plan.
Morning briefing
Before the shift starts: building status, open conditions, the ranked list and the first check for each. Engineers start at the top.
Equipment reports
Air Handler Performance and Chiller Plant Health, with units compared side by side and the reasoning shown.
Insight for owners
Site health, equipment scores and cost intensity in plain language, with no controller points and every number traceable to its report.
The team confirms and acts. Smart Tenants recommends; it never changes a setpoint on its own. See what each product includes.
What would Smart Tenants find in your building?
Tell us about your building systems and we will show you what a morning briefing would say.