March 2009
Editorial
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            Editorial Comments by Ken Sinclair

Ken Sinclair

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                              nurturing our networks

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 Whether social or physical our evolving networks require our closest attention and need to be carefully nurtured to grow strong while incorporating every sustainable future possibility.  Our March issue speaks well to this subject.

Jack Mc Gowan, CEM, President & CEO, Energy Control Inc. starts our focuses on both social and physical networks with Smart Buildings meeting the Smart Grid to Accelerating Change in Global Energy, a Workshop at the 2009 MIT Energy Conference March 6, 2009.  

Patrick Winkelman, Vice President Sales Americas, Distech Controls, Inc. advises; a sustainable BAS is achievable with proper initial design considerations that include the use of open protocols, standardized Network Management tools and open access to product and training.

Connecting BACnet Devices to an IP Infrastructure  This paper reveals how all BACnet devices can effectively share a common IP network — thereby enhancing the power and convenience of BACnet. by George Thomas Contemporary Controls

Harry Sim, CEO, Cypress Envirosystems tell us how to build a wireless network to the Steam Traps of our past with Energy Savings.   In last month's issue he advised us about new networks to the Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat.

Gary Gigot, Marketing Executive, Optimum Energy LLC tell us about a “shovel ready” energy efficiency solution in his Ultra High Performance HVAC. This product uses physical networks to reach social networks of existing contractors. This theme is repeated in the article HVAC Contractors The Channel of Choice for Scaleable Energy Services by Tim Kensok, Vice President, Market Development, Air Advice.

Also articles about nurturing Video Integration with SCADA System, Integrating Lighting Control plus a  Facility Dashboard “Built for Change.

Robert Beverly, Editor, Engineered Systems has a A Capital Idea!  The info and ideas flying around our Green Intelligent Buildings conference can help your business, but they can help your career, too.

Please network with our contributing editor Jim Sinopoli by filling out his Industry Survey on Education and Training”?

March Columns  Pay-it-forward Andy McMillan, Energy Interoperability Standards Toby Considine, AHR Expo Blows Through the Windy City  Steven R. Calabrese, BAS and Advanced, Integrated Lighting Control  Paul Ehrlich & Ira Goldschmidt, Mastering middleware for sustainability  Ken Sinclair.

March Interviews  Certification? Jim Sinopoli, Ultra High Performance HVAC Gary Gigot,  The OPC Advantage in a Down Economy Tom Burke & Manny Mandrusiak, Conference on Total Building Commissioning Ray Bert, Plug into Profit 09 Daniel A. Drolet Sr.

March Previews & Reviews  ZigBee Resource Guide ZigBee Smart Energy Forum

Several of our advertiser have provided links to their very informative newsletters and blogs please check them out.

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

As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the number of events we have in our future.

Welcome our newest advertisers:

Alerton - The leader in BACnet-based energy management solutions including new construction, retrofits and integrations. Contact your local Alerton dealer today for solutions that are customized for your building’s unique needs.

Cypress Envirosystems provides products and solutions that save energy and improve productivity for older plants and buildings using state-of-the-art non-invasive and wireless technologies to minimize disruption and cost.

February 2009A Reflection on our Reinvention

I am pleased to provide a reflection on our reinvention. The scope of our industry is rapidly changing and fueling our reinvention as our buildings become a major interactive load on the national smart electrical grid. The definition of what is included as part of Building Automation grows daily.  We are an industry which is growing taller in public profile, wider in our reach of technologies touched, and deeper in data connectivity.

The buzz at AHR Expo in Chicago was Cisco Completes Acquisition of Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, Inc. and Cisco's EnergyWise technology for Cisco Catalyst(R) switches measures, reports and reduces the energy consumption of Internet Protocol (IP) devices such as phones, laptops and access points. Cisco also announced industry partner solutions along with an intelligent middleware acquisition that will ultimately enable the management of power consumption for entire building systems such as lights, elevators, and air conditioning and heating.

For more insight on this news please read Connected Real Estate Cisco grows Connected Real Estate investment with EnergyWISE and Richards-Zeta Acquisition. Rick Huijbregts, Vice President, Vertical Industries, Cisco Canada

Be sure to catch this Webcast - Tuesday, February 3 Smart Buildings: How Connected Real Estate “LEEDs” to Sustainability

Great industry perspective in Anto's article Subtle Winds of Change in Windy City  A perfect storm of change if you understand the big picture that has been a constant theme on AutomatedBuildings.com for months if not years.  Anto Budiardjo, President & CEO, Clasma Events Inc.

This is very good news for our industry; The nation's century-old energy grid might get an upgrade soon to handle alternative energy. The economic stimulus package has earmarked $11 billion to invest in smart meters and 3,000 miles of renewable-energy transmission lines. Venture capitalists and utilities also are investing in smart-grid applications at a record pace. "It's like the Internet for the energy economy," said Katherine Hamilton, head of the GridWise Alliance. USA TODAY (01/30) State Journal (Charleston, W.Va.), The (01/29)

This all calls for "The Reinvention of Building Automation".  You may note that I have dropped the word Systems as the movement is creating a new industry whose tentacles reach way beyond our traditional definition of  what was originally included in the BAS definition. I propose that the new annoying acronym be shortened to BA. I provided this article to explain our reinvention Building Automation Sustainability.  Whether you view the word “Building” as a noun or a verb the real goal is Sustainability and provided the column The Reinvention of Building Automation (BA) Building Automation is evolving to a web service that is greatly enhanced with online services.

Lots of great articles all addressing our reinvention to highlight a few State of the Industry - 2009  Thomas Hartman, P.E., The Hartman Company;  Count Me In: People Counters Jim Sinopoli, Managing Principal, Smart Buildings, PE, RCDD;  Robots in Every Building? Jeanne Dietsch, MobileRobots Inc Stuart Rich, PenBay Media; and I bet you did not see this one coming Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat  Harry Sim, Cypress Envirosystems

February Columns  Control Valves – Sizing & Selection  Steven R. Calabrese  Energy, Innovation, and E-Tech  Toby Considine  Building Automation Wishes for a New Year  Paul Ehrlich & Ira Goldschmidt  The Reinvention of Building Automation Ken Sinclair  Trust: The Primary Currency in an Open Systems World Andy McMillan

February Previews & Reviews  Connected Real Estate “LEEDs” to Sustainability  SPEED Digital Signage Training Program  Power Points AHR Chicago Sessions

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

As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the number of events we have in our future.

Welcome our newest advertiser who well fits our reinvention: CatNet Systems - Next generation web server/HMI products with an emphasis on ease of use and 100% browser setup. Protocols include BACnet, ModBus, and LonWorks. 

Tell our sponsors you saw their ad on the AutomatedBuildings.com web site and thank them for supporting your free access to evolving Automated Building Industry information. Click on their ads and view their valuable products and services. Please review all Our Sponsors. 

It is a great time to be in the news business for our industry. 

Send comments and suggestions to news@automatedbuildings.com

We have added a new Blog tab to our navigation menu which links to related industry blogs of interest.  We created an Industry online Forum many years before blogging was conceived and have combined these.

We have been working on improving our web site by reorganizing how we handle the great number of news release we receive daily.  We now provide a HomeToys RSS News Feed News Feed ( Which Needs a RSS Feed Reader ) and have provided a New Our RSS news feed rendered into HTML

 

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