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August 2013 |
BTL Mark: Resolve interoperability issues & increase buyer confidence |
|
Big Buildings meet Big
Data |
Paul Ehrlich, Ira
Goldschmidt
& Angela Lewis As
published
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Recently there has
been a lot in the press about “big data”. Big
data is government and business servers that are collecting and
analyzing massive amounts of data on everything from weather to web
browsing, shopping habits to e-mails, and phone calls. While there are
some very valid concerns about data privacy, in general the use of big
data has resulted in big benefits. Results include improved storm
forecasts, tailored web searches and shopping, and improvements in
national security. Businesses are using these tools to better
understand their customers and to make decisions on products and
services.
In buildings we also have a large amount of data available.
Within the BAS we have data such as temperatures, humidity and CO2
levels, pressures, power usage, schedules and alarms. Other
information such as energy usage and weather may also be in the BAS,
but more likely exists in spreadsheets or on web sites. Just
think about the “other information” that exists in a commercial
building. This may include information about lease terms,
recommended maintenance practices, information on the use of elevators
and parking garages, and a trove of other valuable data. Today
the only place that this data comes together is with the building
engineer. Their ability to find, much less process this
information is limited to their available time and energy as they deal
with the many challenges of operating a large building.
It would make sense that the tools and methods used for
the analysis of
other big data could be applied to the information available in
commercial buildings. We have seen a broad variety of vendors
starting to introduce products and services to do this type of analysis
with the introduction of tools or services that are called energy
information, analytics, fault detection and diagnostics or continuous
commissioning. By our count there are well over forty such
products on the market today being offered from a broad range of
suppliers from new startups to large control companies.
One that is of particular interest is a new solution from Atlanta based
McKenney’s. They have introduced a new solution called
“BDOC Business Intelligence for Buildings”. What is most
interesting about this new solution is the approach that they have
used. Instead of designing their own analytic engine they have
chosen to use a “big data” tool provided by Splunk. Splunk is one
of a number of software providers (including SAS, SAP, Oracle, and many
others) that are focused on building tools for analyzing big
data. Bringing tools to bear that are developed for other markets
has great benefits in terms of speed to market, and scalability.
After all at the end of the day “data is data” and whether it comes
from a building system or the sales information of a large retailer the
same tools and techniques can readily be applied.
About
the Authors
Paul
and Ira first worked together on a series of ASHRAE
projects including the BACnet committee and Guideline 13 – Specifying
DDC Controls. The formation of Building Intelligence Group provided
them the ability to work together professionally providing assistance
to owners with the planning, design and development of Intelligent
Building Systems. Building Intelligence Group provides services for
clients worldwide including leading Universities, Corporations, and
Developers. More information can be found at www.buildingintelligencegroup.com
We also invite you to contact us directly at
Paul@buildingintelligencegroup.com or
ira@buildingintelligencegroup.com
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