One of the benefits of automating control systems within buildings is the ability to customize services and personalize a user’s environment; the human machine interface (HMI) is the gateway to such controls. The addition of proximity sensing is an underutilized improvement to many interfaces in an automated building ecosystem, including thermostats, security-system keypads, monitors and elevator call buttons. Proximity sensors can improve the user experience, decrease power consumption, and increase the life of the liquid crystal display (LCD) and backlight.