Use Cases Energy Building Automation & Control

Building Automation & Control

Building automation and control (BAC) systems involve a combination of hardware and software that control aspects of a building’s systems, potentially including power, lighting and illumination, access and security, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVAC), environmental sensors, elevators and escalators, and entertainment. Benefits of building automation and control systems can include efficient control of environmental conditions, individual room control, increased staff productivity, effective use of energy, improved equipment reliability, and preventative maintenance. For example, systems can provide information on problems with building equipment, allowing for computerized maintenance scheduling as opposed to reactive identification and management of issues. Building management systems are most commonly implemented in large projects with extensive mechanical, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems. Building management systems (BMS) are central to BAC use cases. Systems linked to a BMS typically represent 40% of a building's energy usage; if lighting is included, this number approaches 70% on average. BMS systems are thus critical components for managing energy demand. Improperly configured BMS systems are believed to result in the wastage of 20% of a typical building's energy usage, or approximately 8% of total energy usage in the United States.
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Cisco Connected Real Estate for Healthcare
Cisco Connected Real Estate for Healthcare
Today's healthcare providers face a daunting challenge: sustaining or improving patient care levels despite shortages of clinicians and nurses, increasing competition, and financial pressure.
Improving Building Comfort and Energy Savings
Improving Building Comfort and Energy Savings
During the energy crisis of the 1970’s there was a sea-change in the building industry when it paid more attention to the idea of conserving energy and introduced the terms Building Management System (BMS) and Building Automation System (BAS). Continuing rising energy prices and carbonreduction issues have also further spurred the development and deployment of BMS in recent years. However, the early systems were bulky, not user friendly, unreliable, and very expensive. With the advent of computerization, BMS analog signals became digitized so as to be communicated over long distance as well as facilitating the building management process these issues became less.Due to the multiple many management functions and wide range of expertise, modern BMS is quite complex. Successful building management not only needs to link to a multitude of devices but also take account of the suitability of the software for the intended application. Equipped with a web browser-based software package for human-machine interfaces (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) which provides automated, centralized and unattended management with a high degree of electronic accuracy, the BMS can fully control the building’s mechanical and electrical equipments and thus effectively monitor energy consumption so that it provides a comfortable, safe and secure environment.Property management is facing various and complex challenges and reducing operating costs have become increasingly important for building owners. As a result, a growing number of new and refitted buildings are being designed to use less energy and focus on the building’s performance. A System Integrator was helping a builder implement advanced BMS for its newest construction project in a creative park in Asia. The construction, a 14-storey building with four underground floors, covers an area of nearly one hundred thousand square meters and contains three distinct sectors - shopping mall, hotel guest room floors and office floors. In order to provide optimal energy management, this BMS needed to be capable of monitoring and controlling a variety of facilities, including air conditioning, power system, plumbing system, fire system, ventilation, elevator, lighting, garden watering and so on. Meanwhile, using one system with an adequate number of nodes in a main control room to manage three different places was a key requirement but each place had to have their own dedicated system and can be controlled independently without mutual interference so as to saving the implementation costs. Due to the need to monitor many areas, there would be tens of thousands of detection points, and the new system also needed to offer remote control capabilities so that building managers or patrol staff can view the status of various facilities in real-time and deal with issues using handheld or mobile devices.
Star Refrigeration
Star Refrigeration
Star Refrigeration’s TELSTAR control system uses the LonWorks® network. This fieldbus network has become the standard for the building management industry, which encompasses refrigeration and air conditioning. Star’s Electronic Systems Manager and Senior Development Engineers needed to source a SCADA HMI which would fulfil their data acquisition and monitoring requirements and match their networking needs. The ability to fit into LonWorks was a key requirement for the project. Adroit adopted a close, co-operative approach and adapted their SCADA HMI by writing a comprehensive interface to the LonWorks network. The Adroit SCADA HMI monitors data and performance of industrial refrigeration plants manufactured and installed by Star. In addition, the system provides an operator interface for altering plant control, with appropriate levels of security, using the TELSTAR system. The software is now the main data monitoring operator interface for TELSTAR, and is used in applications ranging from ice rinks and air conditioning to pharmaceuticals, distilling, fish processing and food storage. Star’s Development Engineers received training from Adroit, attending Adroit 2 + 1, a fast track course designed for system integrators and experienced end users, and the Adroit Advanced course. Star Refrigeration staff are now able to carry out their own in-house Adroit training for operators.

The building automation system (BAS) market was valued at USD 53.66 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 99.11 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 10.73% between 2017 and 2022

Source: Markets & Markets

The overall smart lighting market was valued at USD 6.32 billion in 2017 and is estimated to reach USD 20.98 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 21.50% during the forecast period.

Source: Markets & Markets

What is the business value of this IoT use case and how is it measured?
Your Answer

What are the core functions of a BACS system?

- Maintain control of the building's environment

- Operate systems according to occupancy and energy demand

- Monitor and correct the performance of systems

- Sound alerts as required

What are the facilities that may be controlled by a BACS?

Mechanical systems, plumbing, electrical systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), lighting control, security and surveillance, alarms and lifts.

 

Which technologies are used in a system and what are the critical technology?
Your Answer

What sensors are typically used to provide data into the IoT system, and which factors define their deployment?

Sensors that are low power or energy harvesting, miniature, secure and versatile lead to lower capital expenses, decreased maintenance costs and easier deployments. Data from the sensors are translated and transmitted through routers, gateways, nodes, and edge computers through a myriad of proprietary and open protocols. The gateways translate and bridge protocols and enable on premise control of the building through central workstations and mobile devices.

What factors define the cloud and edge platforms used to integrate?

Gateways also connect the building to the cloud through cellular or Ethernet connectivity. The cloud enables remote access, higher level analytics and communication with the grid and micro-grid.

What are the basic components of a BACS?

Sensors: Measure values such as temperature, humidity, lighting levels, room occupancy, and so on.

Controllers: Instigate the system's response from the collected data, using algorithms that apply logic and send commands.

Output devices: Carry out commands from the controller.

Communications protocol: The 'language' used by the BACS components.

Dashboard: The user interfaces for data reporting and interaction with the BACS system.

What business, integration, or regulatory challenges could impact deployment?
Your Answer

What business challenges could impact deployment?

Since organization structures vary, finding the optimal system and sensors to install is a great challenge. It is a case-by-case situation. Another challenge is overcoming the potential security issues that may arise and high initial investments.

 

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