Networked Building Systems: the Revolution Is Upon Us

Networked Building Systems: the Revolution is Upon Us

It’s time to apply enterprise-wide thinking to the business of facility management

By JIM LEE for enterprise-wide facility management. via building-automation systems Cimetrics Inc Data collected from building automa- (BAS); and tion systems, such as energy-consump- • Implementing shut-off strategies for apid changes in information tion data, alarm data, and maintenance HVAC and lighting based on occu- technology (IT) and building data, generally are wasted today. But this pancy. automation have brought same data can–and should–be used to op- Rabout some important new erate an enterprise more efficiently. NETWORKED BUILDING SYSTEMS opportunities for the controls commu- Bi-directional communication opens The convergence of four key factors – nity. Until now, building-automation up important opportunities in enterprise- enterprise-wide management, utility de- systems and IT systems have been con- wide control by allowing the aggregation regulation, the Internet, and open sys- sidered completely independent func- of data from multiple buildings. tems technology in building systems–has tions. But this facility management (Figure 1.) Examples include: brought about a new revolution: net- model is outdated. • Using real-time power pricing infor- worked building systems (NBS). Enterprise-wide thinking has In this new revolution, enter- been applied to all other aspects prise-wide facility management of business: accounting, manu- and utility deregulation are the facturing, inventory control, applications; the Internet and quality control, human re- open systems building technol- sources, etc. Why not apply this ogy are the enablers. same concept to enterprise-wide I believe this revolution will facility management? Instead of result in increased profitability thinking of building automation for all. This article describes as merely controls, it is time to the benefits, the technology think of it as part of the overall and the applications of net- IT infrastructure. worked building systems. Open-system computer-con- NBS are a combination of trol technology is an enabling hardware and software systems technology for enterprise-wide that allow: facility management. • Communication within a Open-system building au- building’s systems (e.g., heat- tomation allows two important ing, ventilating and air-condi- advantages. First, it prevents a FIGURE 1. A networked building system example. tioning; fire alarm; lighting customer from being “locked control; security; etc.) and/or in” to a proprietary control vendor. mation to determine fuel-switching/ communication across multiple build- Second, it lowers the cost of interfac- distributed-generation or curtailment ing systems into a central location. ing disparate building systems. options; • Applications that improve facilities Building automation should be • Designing preventive maintenance operations. viewed as the data-acquisition front-end strategies based on trend data collected A TYPICAL NBS Jim Lee co-founded Cimetrics Inc. in 1989. Newport, Mass.-based Cimetrics develops hardware A typical networked building system and software products for enterprise-wide networked building systems. As president, Lee is the consists of several components, includ- company’s chief advocate, fund-raiser, and strategist. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University ing: where he studied physics with a concentration in electrical engineering. • Existing and/or upgraded building

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controls. • An interface with existing corporate- Because NBS technology will be de- • Routers and gateways which connect level IT infrastructure. ployed over large numbers of diverse various building controls. • IT applications. facilities, generating substantial quan- • A wide area network (WAN) that is NBS allow real-time connection, titis of information, the enterprise- either Internet- or intranet-based. monitoring, and control of single build- wide applications that support NBS • Central management workstation(s) ings, campuses of buildings, geographi- must have significant capacity. with applications or Internet-based ap- cally dispersed collections of buildings, Over the next 10 years, building- plication services. and even entire cities. control companies, equipment and systems manufacturers, energy providers, utilities, and design engineers will face increasing pressure to improve performance and reduce costs. The development, adoption, and use of NBS will address these pressures by reducing the costs of operation, maintenance, energy, and regulatory compliance by almost a dollar per sq ft, allowing a one- to two-year payback on the invest- ments needed to realize these benefits. Today, the penetration of NBS within and across buildings still is low. This low penetration is the result of a proliferation of proprietary systems, which complicate the ability to install and broadly integrate information systems. For example, trend data remains diffi- cult to extract from building-automation systems, which makes analysis of long- term performance almost impossible. However, the recent market accep- tance of open standards for HVAC control networks such as BACnet, coupled with the tangible benefits promised by networked building systems, will drive rapid and widespread adoption of NBS over the next several years.

BENEFITS OF NBS Within the building marketplace, there are several broad categories of potential NBS beneficiaries: • Building owners and managers, who will benefit by saving money. • Construction and associated support service providers, who will benefit from improved commissioning capabilities. • Emergency and security service providers, who will benefit from enhanced information acquisition. • Utilities and energy providers, who will benefit from augmented energy- consumption profiles and trend data. While the implementation of NBS will benefit members of all of these categories, building owners and managers and utilities and energy providers will realize the greatest benefit in the short term. These benefits will include:

62 October 2000 • HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning Engineering NETWORKED BUILDING SYSTEMS

Lower energy costs. Access to and anal- change the way power is purchased and nance staff functions, and the use of ysis of energy-usage data will deliver cost generated in this country. third-party operations-and-maintenance savings due to better control, an ability to Lower operations and maintenance costs. contractors. The aggregation of alarm aggregate multiple buildings’ energy us- The more efficient allocation and de- data, advanced predictive maintenance, age to negotiate lower electricity rates, ployment, and shorter duration of on-site and job and personnel tracking also will and the optimization of real-time pricing. man-power resources will result in re- greatly lower operating cost. The ability to control distributed genera- duced overtime expenses, reconfigured Lower repair and replacement costs. tion, curtailment, and fuel switching will and/or reduced operations-and mainte- The use of NBS will allow systems and equipment to be automated and oper- ate under near-optimal conditions for extended periods of time. In addition, equipment and component malfunc- tions will be diagnosed and quickly remedied before catastrophic failures occur. As a result, equipment life will be extended, fewer replacements will be required, and replacement costs will decline. Furthermore, better diagnostic tools will enable support staff to more quickly and effectively repair equipment and components. Increased occupant productivity. NBS also will result in improved occupant comfort from the enhanced operating performance of HVAC and lighting systems. Maintaining temperature, humid- ity, and air quality will give the building operations staff the information to pro- vide a more consistent environment and quicker response time when change is necessary. Improvements in comfort and control have major impacts on worker productivity and tenant loyalty. Integration with IT systems. NBS will permit the easy and cost-effective integration of enterprise-wide facility data into existing IT systems, which will pro- vide more centralized control for operations, purchasing, financial management, compliance, and regulation.

ADOPTION OF NBS The rate of adoption of NBS is begin- ning to increase at a rapid pace due to: • The spread of the development of open systems in the building arena. • The emergence of an enterprise-wide management paradigm. • The growth of the Internet, broad- band wide-area networks (WANs), and the World-Wide Web.

OPEN SYSTEMS Just as TCP/IP and other standard protocols were crucial to the development of the Internet, open systems based on industry standards are critical to the development and deployment of new tech-

64 October 2000 • HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning Engineering Networked Building System (NBS) Example

BACnet/MS-TP BACnet/MS-TP

VAV VAV VAV VAV VAV VAV

VAV Controller Device Object Sub Meter Sub Meter Space Temperature Analog Input 1 nologies in the building industry. Temperature Set Point Analog Value 1 CRAC CRAC The building industry has adopted Airflow Analog Input 2 BACnet as an open standard for data Minimum Air Flow Analog Value 2 AHU Lighting Controller AHU Lighting Controller communication. BACnet makes the Life Safety Life Safety BAS Router BACnet/IP BAS Router BACnet/IP integration of building systems signifi- Systems Systems cantly more straightforward. Chiller Boiler Chiller Boiler BACnet graphically represents the internal functioning of control equipment on a common network in a uniform Chiller Device Object way–regardless of vendor. Chilled Water Supply Set Point Analog Value 1 Chilled Water Supply Temperature Analog Input 1 This feature recognizes and protects Return Water Temperature Analog Input 2 the proprietary nature of each vendor’s Condenser Water Input Temperature Analog Input 3 Internet Return Condenser Water Temperature Analog Input 4 internal design, while allowing infor- Capacity Limit Set Point Analog Value 2 mation to be shared with other devices Chiller On/Off Binary Value 1 BACnet/IP on the network. Definitions: VAV: Variable Air Volume Box Router BACnet maps the internal data CRAC: Computer room Air Conditioning structures of a control device into a AHU: Air Handling Unit common, well-defined abstract data Workstation Workstation DB Server structure known as an object. These objects form the basis of industry-wide data definitions that greatly lower the FIGURE 2. This Networked Building System (NBS) data-flow diagram depicts BACnet cost of interfacing with individual objects moving from various devices to a central database via the Internet. pieces of building-automation equipment. automation-data over the Internet. pertise in networking, databases, build- These data definitions can be used This allows the user to connect cam- ing management applications, and for both NBS and the local integration puses and aggregate multiple buildings building automation. of other building systems–HVAC, in different geographic locations with- lighting, fire, security, etc. They can be out dedicated telephone lines. ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT used from the smallest sensor to the Some have suggested that Internet Major corporations have embraced largest database. (Figure 2.) technologies will make protocols such enterprise-wide management systems Common data definitions and net- as BACnet unnecessary. in supply-chain management, human work service definitions from the device Actually, the Internet makes BAC- resources, finance, and manufacturing. level to the application level allow the net even more valuable. Using the In- This kind of management system takes construction of NBS, minimizing the use ternet, BACnet messages can carry into account the entire enterprise, in- of gateways. Here, the idea is to move the building data across the enterprise from tegrating all parts and processes to in- same data around (routing) instead of building controllers to workstations crease control and reduce costs. The having to recast the data at every stage. and databases at high speed. extension of enterprise-wide manage- Even if you choose to connect build- ment systems to building management NETWORK PIPELINES ing controllers to terminal unit con- is a logical move. Until recently, communication be- trollers over the Internet, common Currently, facility-related informa- tween buildings typically required the data definitions and network service tion is contained in discrete “islands of use of telephone lines. Now, low-cost definitions like those in BACnet are automation.” Such information typi- Internet and WAN communications necessary for machine-to-machine cally is not integrated with enterprise- systems enable the cost-effective communication. wide IT systems. Instead, it resides movement of large amounts of infor- within the facility. mation across multiple locations. THREE LEVELS With NBS, such data will be in- Today, almost all large facilities are be- Eventually, NBS data will be manipu- cluded in the integrated business sys- ing wired for Internet communication. lated by three levels of IT systems. tems of a large enterprise. There are a number of leading companies • Web browser-based application ser- Until recently, it was not possible to that have become very successful at devices (either central application-service- integrate facilities data into enterprise- ploying this type of technology. Now, provider model or locally hosted). wide information systems. Controls building-automation systems are being • Traditional workstations (e.g., those functions usually were carried out with designed to work directly with newly de- which are Windows-based). small-scale proprietary networks that, by veloped Internet-based systems. • Data applications that move raw BAC- design, could not communicate with Most building-automation equip- net data directly to corporate IT systems. each other. Data definitions were not ment manufacturers are including These systems will be designed, standardized; active human monitoring BACnet/IP technology in their prod- specified, installed, and maintained by was required; and interconnectivity was uct offerings so users can send building a new breed of company that has ex- limited to intra-building at best. Inter-

HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning Engineering • October 2000 65 NETWORKED BUILDING SYSTEMS

building standardized data transfer and tained in the database remain in stan- ate more favorable contracts with energy control was unheard of outside a few ex- dard form so that different application suppliers. In addition, there are opportu- pensive and highly specialized communi- modules can access it. nities for load aggregation, tenant billing, cation “pipelines.” and energy-cost allocation. NBS data will be acquired from the APPLYING NBS New energy-rate structures such as building according to the type of build- The advent of a standardized data real-time pricing will place additional ing-automation system currently in- communications protocol allows for demands on energy managers. Local stalled. If the building is using native seamless transmissions across the cor- generation will be cost-effective in even BACnet open-system controls, then porate intranet and Internet levels. more situations, while the ability to re- this information (point data repre- Having a standard protocol removes motely monitor and control generation sented as BACnet objects) simply will the obstacle that had prevented the in- equipment will be valuable. In addition, be aggregated at the local building con- tegration of facilities-management load curtailment, load shedding, and troller level and then routed over the equipment and controls with enter- fuel switching will become increasingly Internet to a database server. prise-wide management systems. The important tools for controlling energy If the building is using a proprietary resulting product of this integration is costs and decreasing emissions. This control system, a gateway at the site the comprehensive NBS. NBS offers will lead to performance assurance at provided by the control-system manu- the data-acquisition and controls many levels, including: facturer–or by a third party–will trans- structure needed to add value to enter- • Compliance with codes, standards, late the proprietary data definitions to prise-wide management applications. and regulations. BACnet. Once in BACnet form, the By collecting energy-consumption • Liability and litigation protection as- data will be routed over the Internet to data using submeters, facilities managers sociated with worker and/or tenant the database server. can get the information they need to an- complaints. Information stored in the database alyze building and equipment perfor- • Energy and economic performance in as BACnet objects and services will be mance and evaluate possible energy- accordance with contracts with utilities processed by NBS applications. It is cost-savings measures. Armed with this and performance contractors. important that the information main- information, it may be possible to negoti- • Voluntary above-code performance

HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning Engineering • October 2000 67 NETWORKED BUILDING SYSTEMS

programs, such as EnergyStar, that re- off strategies for lighting and HVAC sys- now allows facilities data to be inte- quire data for certification or recertifi- tems will reduce energy consumption grated into enterprise-wide manage- cation. and increase equipment life. ment systems. • Marketing programs that sell tenancy Remote monitoring of building sys- In the next 18 months, look for the based on IAQ, energy efficiency, com- tems often reduces personnel costs. Ac- controls domain to be further absorbed fort, reliability, or other criteria that lead cess control and fire-alarm systems are into traditional IT models and systems. to reduced churn and higher profits. frequently remotely monitored today. In- While this endpoint is assured, there Many buildings could benefit from im- creasingly, other building systems such as are multiple paths that will be taken to proved control sequences. For example, HVAC, lighting, and elevators also will get there. Ongoing questions will in- new applications can be developed that be actively monitored, especially when clude: will use building data collected over long the systems are mission critical (e.g., tele- • Who will control these systems–the periods of time to construct simulation com and computer facilities). facilities department or the IT depart- models of buildings. These models will The goal is to respond to imminent ment? Early indications are that IT will recommend control sequences that can problems, not just alarms indicating a play the dominant role. Some compa- reduce energy costs and improve the problem has occurred. Many busi- nies are combining facility manage- comfort of building occupants. nesses–especially those in telecommuni- ment and IT departments. Maintenance management can ben- cations, manufacturing, data processing • Who will control the energy/facili- efit from direct communication with and health care–would much rather ties data–the owner or the utility? the building equipment. Applications know that thresholds are being ap- It will be interesting to see if a single include maintenance-work-order gen- proached, not breached. leader emerges in encouraging and/or eration and tracking, asset tracking incorporating these controls domain and the centralized dispatch of mainte- WHAT’S NEXT changes. nance personnel. NBS is changing the way the con- With strong benefits becoming Through integration with accounting trols domain is treated by bringing it available to all sides, it is in everyone’s systems, purchasing and cost allocation into the IT age. Standardization of ma- interest to drive these networked may be streamlined. For example, shut- chine-to-machine communication building systems forward. ■

68 October 2000 • HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning Engineering