AutomatedBuildings.com Editorial Comments August 2007

"How do I make money from change?" Good question. Understanding how to mash-up the opportunities and leap frog ahead is our new number one priority. The term mash-up refers to a new breed of

web-based applications where we take the traditional and non traditional connections of our Building Automation Systems and combine them to fit the owner's enterprise, while making a profit.

In our Interview with the CABA Intelligent Buildings Taskforce; Terry Hoffmann says: In addition to building the business plan we have started to tackle defining the space. Our draft definition is: “A building that provides superior occupant comfort, efficiency and safety through the application of appropriate technology. It supports a sustainable environment by minimizing the use of scarce resources and providing a platform for innovative conservation moving forward. The intelligent building supports the financial and social objectives of the enterprise, the community and the economy. Building Intelligence is not static, but a process that begins with design and proceeds through construction and commissioning to a continuous management cycle of monitoring, evaluation, change, with eventual decommissioning”

I think we have all been looking for a little daylight in our busy schedules and this issue helps defines how that can become our business with the latest and greatest opportunities in lighting control for Building Automation which will provide additional energy savings and demand response. The articles: Designing a Daylight Harvesting System Craig DiLouie, Communications Director, Lighting Controls Association; DALI is Here & Here To Stay Phillip Hodge, Integration Control & Engineering (ICE); and Lighting Control Ron Poskevich, General Manager, Lumisys show us how.

Jane and I are off to The 4th Building Automation Sustainability Conference & Expo - ES Magazine and BACnet International, Sept 25-27 Phoenix, Arizona From their interview BACnet International states: We are excited about the partnership between BNP Media (Engineered Systems magazine) and BACnet International. The partnership allows us to pool our resources to offer attendees the most education, networking and value for their attendee dollar. To view a preview agenda from Engineered Systems for the event see http://bnpevents.com/ES/BAC/Schedule.htm

Our last three issues have talked about the significant changes that are going on in our industry; our July issue tackles the task of how can we best channel our efforts to become part of this change. It has become very clear that no one identity will provide the complete changes we are describing and we must all organize or channel our products and services and choose our partners so we become the change we seek. We are very pleased that AutomatedBuildings.com’s connected technologies and supporters have the power to provide the changes and seize the new opportunities that abound.

Contributing editor Jim Sinopoli starts us off with providing his The Top 10 List For Successfully Integrating Building Systems while Mark Walters, Chairman, Z-Wave Alliance tells us about his wireless path in his article Wireless Control and Automation Made Practical and his interview RF Interference Problems.

Anto Budiardjo is Looking Back and Ahead while telling us about the opportunities surrounding Demand Response (DR) that exist at the DR-Expo™ in Chicago. Tom Hartman asks the question; " Are Industry Groups The Solution or the Problem?" to achieving SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS.

An article on BAS Graphics - Past, Now, and Future tells us about the power of new graphics and shows us how web pages and BAS graphics are becoming one in the same. It was nostalgic for me to link back to some BAS Graphic history l wrote in 1999 SO HERE IT IS - "My prediction for the future is that we will see the separation of the vendors involvement in the graphics and data presentation. Both Internet or Intranet type HTML multi platforms available anywhere presentation, will become the standards. This will allow the data to be easily organized into a common non proprietary presentation application. We are presently working in this exciting area. Existing vendors will be required to concentrate their traditional hardware data into TCP IP protocol, to pass information to a dynamic internet database. Virtual operating systems will allow control from any browser on the internet or intranet.".Radical words in 1999.

A new channel of opportunity in day lighting control is discussed in the article NRG Systems Energy Savings with photosensors constantly monitoring outdoor lighting levels and controllers automatically adjusting the fluorescent lighting to maintain the desired ambient levels.

I attempt to demonstrate my math skills with an article Connectivity + Convergence + Confluence = Change

Steve Widergren the Administrator for the GridWise Architecture Council tells us how Grid Interop: is Closing the “Distance to Integrate”

Drop-in Networking Solutions enables breakthrough applications in new physical locations that were not previously possible and facilitates product/service differentiation, new levels of customer service and potentially new revenue streams.

Our second ever control column by Steven R. Calabrese tells you how to control packaged rooftops RTU Operation

July Reviews Still Waiting. . . for SOAP provides insight for Lighting Opportunities for Change

Of course the news just keeps flowing thru our web site and RSS feeds daily, and of course the only way to truly find what you are looking for in the vast quantity of information on our site is with our site search engine http://www.automatedbuildings.com/search/sitesearch.htm

Be sure to check our event calendar to see the number events we have in our future.

Lots of information and links in this issue use the menu on your left to explore.

If you are like I was and do not know what RSS is RSS is a Web content syndication format. The name is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication. Read here for more details http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss

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As I always say, it is a great time to be in the news business for our industry.

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