Fonte (Source): Consulting – Specifying Engineer

Por (By): Anil Ahuja, CCJM Engineers, Chicago, and Rocky Moore, American Auto-Matrix

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The building automation system (BAS) has become key to ensuring all systems within a building are working effectively and efficiently. Integration of lighting, HVAC, fire/life safety, and all other engineered systems requires the designer to specify an appropriate system.

Learning objectives

• Compare various protocols that govern the building automation system (BAS).
• Demonstrate how to integrate all systems into a “smart building” for the most effective integrated design of automation and control systems.
• Apply a BAS to improve energy efficiency within a building.

With the influx of the Smart Grid and smart mobile applications, the building automation system (BAS) landscape has developed much faster than mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), and fire protection products over the past decade. It is the driving force for optimized operations, improved reliability, and energy savings through the integration of building systems critical to the functionality of a facility.

Through the years, occupancy, comfort, safety, reliability, and efficiency have been key factors in the development of the technologies. However, as the global conscience has changed with regard to the impact of humans on the environment, and global demand for and access to energy has risen, a new driving imperative has been placed on facility professionals, engineers, and building occupants. To put it another way, humanity’s goal is to reduce our energy consumption in a manner that significantly decreases the negative impacts the consumption has on our environment, and thereby on all of nature.

According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, commercial and residential building space represents 39% of total energy consumption in the United States—more than any other sector—of which 70% is associated with HVAC systems, depending on location and environment (see Figure 1). Up to 30% is plug load and lighting. It stands to reason that integration and operation of these buildings to reduce energy consumption is a top priority. This can only be done through integration of the system with the use of technologies such as energy management and BAS, and by doing it in a manner that ensures the efficient operation of a facility. Combine this with the integration of a variety of devices via the Internet (the Internet of Things, or IoT) and software available as a monthly or annual service that does not require it be loaded on a local PC or server (the “cloud”). Engineers and designers have the ability to create more efficient buildings that use current technologies to decrease consumption. This can all be done while giving access to analytical tools designed to help pinpoint outlying operation and energy issues before they become a problem.

The evolution of BAS

In the 1970s and ‘80s—due to increased energy prices—the demand for a more cost-effective building sent the BAS industry into a whirl of development to make buildings smarter. Taglines like “smart building solutions” started dotting the competitive landscape as building-automation companies were able to leverage cheapening computer technologies and bring them into the building space. This was a golden age for the BAS industry. During this peak demand to reduce consumption, BAS manufacturers globally created new and relevant technologies related to controlling a building. Competition increased and the direct digital-control solution became the standard expectation in buildings everywhere. However, most systems were disparate and only designed to control specific operations of a building, with other key components not being visible or integrated through the controlling mechanisms.

Over the next decade, the building automation landscape moved forward with larger leaps as technologies evolved at an almost exponential rate. During this time, energy prices inevitably fell and the larger cost-driven model for energy reduction began to wane as the economy strengthened. The pressure was off and, therefore, the pain soon forgotten. However, the building automation industry was still hard at work developing solutions relevant to the building market and energy reduction. The end user was beginning to ask for disparate systems that link together to allow for competitive selection of products as well as service providers.

Open protocols became an increasingly common topic of discussion as users realized the power of integration. During this time, our world was just beginning to understand the impact our energy consumption was having on the planet. However, we were still developing the solutions to dramatically reduce our environmental impact: open protocols for fully integrated systems. This was the beginning of the BACnet Project Standards Committee in 1987 (introduced as an ANSI/ASHRAE standard in 1995), and the introduction of LonTalk (now collectively referred to as LonWorks) protocol in 1990 by Echelon Corp. (It was submitted and accepted as an ANSI standard in 1999).

Today, the majority of buildings are designed with direct digital BAS. Through the evolution of protocols and technologies, the BAS has become a key component to ensuring the effective function of an entire building. In a perfect world, this would mean all buildings could take advantage of a “plug-and-play” system. However, it is not as easy due to market forces of constructing low-cost buildings and passing energy cost to leasing tenants in commercial buildings. Factors such as first cost, disparate manufacturers, legacy control systems, Internet security, and age of the building all come into play when considering the integration.

In addition, the ever-expanding cloud and the IoT has opened a whole new world of interconnectivity, allowing smart mobile devices and applications to be applied to these complex systems. Web browsers, software as a service (Internet-based software platforms, also known as SaaS), and mobile applications can be used to create a dynamic system where data-storage capacities are virtually limitless and access and control are just a touch away. With all this, the opportunity for efficiency is greater than ever. However, it is only through successful integration that this efficiency is achieved.