In an article on our web site written by contributing editor Tom Hartman Moving Forward! Are We? Will We Soon, or Ever? http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/jul02/articles/htmn/htmn.htm 

Tom predicts: a very strong movement to "occupant integrated" HVAC controls within the next decade. His prediction is that by the second decade of this century, most class "A" office spaces will be required to offer individual control of thermal and lighting levels. This integration will most likely be Internet based. Also in the same time span, He can see much building operations and maintenance will also become Internet based with fewer operations personnel in individual buildings. Such personnel will be come more specialized and perform a smaller scope of services in many more buildings. 

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Tom also states: Building occupants will demand connection to their comfort systems so that they can set thermal and lighting preferences just as they set preferences for much of the other equipment and systems with which they work every day. From a worker performance perspective it is extremely wasteful that we are not more aggressive in pursuing such individual comfort control connections. From an occupant satisfaction/retention perspective, it is inevitable that we will soon be required to do so. 

So, my answer to the question of whether we will implement "connected" HVAC systems is an emphatic "Yes!" But such an answer begs answers to the questions "When?" and "How?" 

Tom wraps up the article with: Although for years building owners and occupants have been pushing for a higher level of building comfort, the industry has been, and continues to be, very slow to respond. The manufacturers in this industry are very risk adverse and the engineering community is not only extremely fragmented, but also tends to be "heavy equipment" oriented, more interested in chillers and boilers than human comfort. It seems increasingly clear that a major impetus for these predicted changes will come from outside our industry. Individual comfort delivery and accounting may become another application for the Internet that is provided by a revived dot.com industry. If so, it's a good place to start since one thing we have learned over the last few years (and we all hope California is relearning now), operating building comfort systems effectively in the 21st century has at least as much to do with communicating timely information over a network as it does the transmission of energy! 

In several discussions with owners, occupants and automation vendors there seems to be an incredible circle that is fed with "What comes first - the chicken or the egg relationship? Owners want new interfaces but do not know what is available; occupants want improved control and cannot understand why we say it is so difficult; and vendors and contractors maintain that they provide what their clients request. The circle must be broken to allow new thought and approaches.

How do we break this circle?

We need to reset the hinges of our conventional thoughts and think in freer terms. Much of our wisdom is based on many years of applying hardware limitations to our complex human interface applications. Our prior interface patterns are a collection of compromises to achieve an acceptable human machine interface. We now have new tools and can do better. We need to revisit our reason for reason and work as a new team of Occupant, Owner and Vendor because we are now freer in structure, with tools that are softer and more pliable than ever. Together we can do a better job of Occupancy Integration.

We need occupants and their coordinators to re-ask, "What is the best interface for my client questions?" We need to think bigger thoughts as how to use the new interface tools to provide a better occupant interface. 

By demonstrating concepts, such as the effect of closing blinds, with a multimedia presentation, you can educate your occupant to help themselves by doing everything possible before registering a complaint.

Consider some of the following facts when conceiving "occupant integrated" HVAC controls:

• Occupants served by our industry's comfort systems are connected to wide area networks, including the Internet, and yet almost none of them can connect in any way to their local comfort system to request changes in thermal or lighting levels in the space they occupy. 

• From a worker performance perspective it is extremely wasteful that we are not aggressively pursuing such individual comfort control connections. 

• Building operations and maintenance is become Internet based with fewer operations personnel in individual buildings. 

• "The Birth of the Super-operator" is occurring and how will we creating their support network. 

• When major building upsets occur, as they do from time to time, this medium is an excellent method of communicating the actual problem and when it will be solved, which short circuits the rumour mill and gets the correct message to the client. 

• [an error occurred while processing this directive]Share your successes with the occupant as well as your mutual problems. Show them how you are meeting the ventilation code while providing both excellent client comfort and energy performance for the building. Tell them about your innovative recycling program. It is the occupant's space too, so tell them how hard you are working to make changes to the parking, landscaping, fire upgrades, etc. 

• Since we are in the maintenance and operating business, we focus on the building's problems. Every time we meet our client, we tell him about the building problems and not about the 98% of the building that is working well. This new medium allows us to put together a professional sales presentation about the building's strong points, and to demonstrate to the client the ways we are caring for them. The record keeping of all client and maintenance staff interaction is inherent with the O&M Intranet and means - no more handwritten notes. 

• Multipoint access keeps the complete maintenance staff in communication with each other, and the building clients. Auto paging and auto generated client responses can be incorporated. 

As the "DDC Revolution" exposed the complex relationship between controls and equipment the "Net Revolution" will expose our lack of understanding of the complex human interface issues of today's buildings. This will cause us to economically invest in the need for increased knowledge to allow us to achieve occupant integration.

There is much work to be done at this level and this is likely the closest we will ever get to the ultimate interface with the end users of our building automation systems.

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