EMAIL INTERVIEW Ron Poskevich, Steve Pachal & Ken
Sinclair
Ron Poskevich, VP Sales and Marketing
Steve Pachal, National Account Manager
Blue Ridge Technologies
Integrated Lighting Control Steps to Success
Blue Ridge White Paper Reveals Opportunity for BAS Control Contractors
Lighting
control has traditionally been delivered to customers by electrical
contractors as specified through Divisions 16 or 26 by the MEP firm
employed by the owner. However, as energy costs increase and
green building and sustainability needs grow the adequacy of this
delivery mechanism falls short.
Increasing energy costs and green regulatory demands are driving more
sophisticated and integrated lighting energy management solutions.
Simple on/off control is no longer enough, and integration between
various building systems is required to meet these energy cost and
regulatory demands.
This shift to integrated lighting control creates an opportunity for
BAS control contractors, and Blue Ridge has addressed this by creating
a new white paper that shares the best practices that many Blue Ridge
customers have followed to success. If you ever wondered or asked, "How
do I get started with integrated lighting control?" this document is
for you. Integrated Lighting Control Steps to Success
Sinclair: Lighting control has been delivered into the market for a long time. What is driving the need for change?
Pachal: As the cost of energy has increased, so has the need for
more sophisticated lighting control. Integrating and
interoperating with the Building Automation System (BAS) is required to
achieve maximum energy savings. One integration example is using
occupancy sensors both to turn lights off and also reset
ventilation. Another example is unifying scheduling for lighting
and HVAC zones through the BAS. Solid integration is the only
solution.
Sinclair: Ok, what needs to change?
Poskevich: Successful integrations require experienced
integrators. Today, the best and most experienced integrators are
BAS Contractors. So, to achieve truly successful installations,
BAS Contractors need to be given that responsibility and held
accountable for providing and integrating the lighting controls with
the BAS. This ensures no finger pointing at the end of the job
should the integration not be to specification.
Sinclair: What is the biggest challenge to making this change?
Pachal: Lighting control has been delivered to building owners
through division 16/26 of specifications for many years. For
integrated lighting control to live up to its potential realignment is
needed. The work should be divided so that the divisions are
doing the work they do best. Integrated lighting control projects
should be specified so division 16/26 does the installation and BAS
contractor provides and integrates the controls into the BAS.
Sinclair: Is the BAS controls contractor really up to the task?
Poskevich: The general skills are there. BAS controls
contractors are already the systems integrators in commercial
buildings. Both the Engineering and Owner communities look to
them as the experts in pulling together and integrating the buildings
diverse control and energy monitoring systems. With this foundation in
place, the BAS contractor is well positioned to acquire the remaining
skills needed to also integrate lighting controls.
Sinclair: If this is such a great opportunity, why haven’t the
BAS companies offered their dealers and branches a solution?
Pachal: Some have tried. Others are trying. The
challenge is that lighting control is a relatively small part of the
total build controls market. The BAS controls manufacturers
constantly struggle with adequately addressing lighting controls while
maintaining focus on their main market – HVAC controls and enterprise
level software. In the end, their priorities always align with
their main market leaving lighting control somewhat orphaned.
Sinclair: What does the future hold for Blue Ridge Technologies and integrated lighting control?
Poskevich: As a company dedicated to the design and manufacture
of integrated lighting controls, BRT brings focus and resources to
delivering best of breed solutions to BAS Contractors. By
building on open standards like BACnet, the BAS Contractor can be well
positioned to serve their customers with top notch BAS and lighting
control integration.
Ron Poskevich
VP Sales and Marketing
Blue Ridge Technologies
Rposkevich@BRTint.com
Ron has over 22 years experience in the lighting control and building
automation industry. During his storied career he has held various
technical, marketing, and sales positions in leading companies.
Ron worked for Siemens as Market Manager of Power Management
Technologies and was involved with ABSIC (Advanced Building Systems
Integration Consortium) projects including The Robert L. Preger
Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon University as well as The
Adaptable Workplace Laboratory at General Services Administration
Headquarters.
Prior to co-founding Blue Ridge Technologies Ron was the General
Manager of Lumisys, a division of Automated Logic Corporation. Under
Ron’s leadership, Lumisys was recognized with the 2008 Frost &
Sullivan Award for North American Green Lighting Control Industry
Innovation & Advancement. During this period Ron also spearheaded
the development of integrated lighting control system design practices
which have revolutionized lighting control delivery and maintenance.
Ron’s experience continues to flourish with Blue Ridge. As Vice
President of Sales and Marketing Ron leads all sales, marketing, and
product management as Blue Ridge strives to advance Integrated Lighting
Control.
____________
Steve Pachal
National Account Manager
Blue Ridge Technologies
Spachal@BRTint.com
Steve joined Blue Ridge in June 2010 following a productive 22 year
career with Automated Logic Corporation (ALC) throughout which he
facilitated countless successes in a variety of roles.
Steve started as a field technician and controls engineer with ALC in
1988 transferring from Nalar Industries, an ALC dealer and controls
contractor in Southern California. He later cultivated many of ALC’s
successful dealerships as District Sales Engineer for the Western and
Southwestern districts.
In 1993, Steve and his wife moved to Georgia where Steve became Manager
of ALC’s Dealer Services Group, which handled applications engineering,
graphics, and third-party integration. Following six years in this role
Steve’s versatility continued to develop as he assumed many
responsibilities including Operations Manager for ALC’s Critical
Systems Group (CSG), Director of Financial Operations for CSG, Director
of Information Technologies, and finally Director of Research and
Development.
Steve is an integral member of the Blue Ridge family. Serving as
National Account Manager he continues to cultivate prosperous
partnerships and dealers.
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