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FOCUS: SMART BUILDINGS & TECHNOLOGY


BSEE


As the latest developments in HVAC, LED lighting, Li­Fi and Internet of Things technology continue to make buildings smarter, Simon Ward, director of sales ­ UK & Ireland at Distech Controls looks at what the future may hold for the Building Management Systems (BMS) required to control them


Previously many of the evolutions that have taken place in our industry have been based on technological developments. However, this time the landscape is very different. We are looking at a shift in the way in which building services are delivered.


T Integration platforms


Firstly, the way controls are packaged and delivered to site. Instead of the controls being fitted to HVAC and other equipment on-site as well as configured specifically for each project, controls are becoming increasingly factory fitted and standardised by the equipment manufacturer. This is primarily a commercial change; shifting responsibility from the controls specialist installer to the equipment manufacturer. Building services equipment is changing. VRF based air conditioning systems are becoming more common. Instead of utilising centralised chillers and boilers with either water or air distribution around the building, refrigerant-based modular systems are typically used to provide the A/C. They are viewed as simpler to deploy and come with built-in controls. LED lighting is also having an impact on the operation of a building and becoming ever more entwined with HVAC and building services.


With LEDs you can dramatically change the way lighting can be managed and introduces new possibilities for indoor positioning and Li-Fi (wireless communication between devices using light).


Integration is also an important factor. The widespread adoption of open protocols has led to the emergence of multi-protocol integration platforms, most notably the Niagara Framework. This enables various systems to be managed in an integrated way, using a single supervisory software application.


‘ The BMS is no


longer just about basic comfort control and energy management, but is being incorporated into a more holistic way of thinking about the building operation


’ Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


Finally, the impact of the IoT in relation to building services is a combination of several technology developments and a change in the way organisations are thinking about management of their buildings. Big data, automated analytics, pervasive wireless sensing, cloud services are together radically changing the quality of information that can be collected, processed and analysed in real-time to enable better services provision. This is combining with an increased priority being given to space utilisation and employee well-being, which is re-shaping the way building automation systems are designed and deployed. The BMS is no longer just about basic comfort control and energy management but is being incorporated into a more holistic way of thinking about the building operation, which has different priorities than before.


So, what of the future?


The development of wired and wireless IP technology means that all controllers, and many sensing devices will, in the future, be required to connect to the building’s IP network, either by CAT5/6 cable or by Wi-Fi. This shift away from serial networks such as LON and BAcnet MSTP is beginning to happen already as innovative controls manufacturers, like Distech Controls, now offer a choice of IP-based terminal unit controllers as well. Devices no longer need to use a separate serial network bridged to the IP backbone via a gateway. This change will happen rapidly over the next few years due


The changing face of Building Management Systems


he building automation market is currently in the early stages of a revolution, as various megatrends combine to dramatically change the landscape for both suppliers and buyers.


to client desire for future-proofed buildings and the simplification of the system engineering and installation that results from using a flat IP architecture. Even more equipment will come with factory fitted controls; typically, with a built-in webserver for easy configuration and integration with the BMS. Currently, many such factory fitted controllers are not on IP and are not capable of web-serving, but falling processor costs and the need to reduce engineering time will lead to the use of IP- connected equipment controllers which are much ‘smarter’ and easier to deploy.


Lighting and HVAC control will become more integrated, sharing sensors, and adding extra functionality. This will improve the building occupants’ experience as they will be able to interact with all their local environmental controls via a single interface, either on the wall or on their smartphone. This is already happening on some large projects. Manufacturers, like Distech Controls, are now offering direct BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) interaction with the HVAC, lighting and sunblind controls, and app developers are creating customised smartphone apps for a specific building with a host of additional functions such as way finding, meeting room booking and status, car park booking, restaurant menus, transport information etc. Ultimately, all the floor/room-based systems will migrate to a unified architecture on IP, so instead of separate systems for lighting control, fan-coil/VAV control and shading (blinds), these will all be managed by a single system.


The systems’ integrators role will change becoming much more about ‘bolting together’ pre-designed controls strategies and graphics to make a fully integrated system. Control logic will standardise, and controller hardware will be supplied pre-loaded with applications, reducing on-site time significantly. Web wizard configuration, rather than a complex engineering tool, will become much more the norm.


New requirements, such as, the incorporation of renewable energy sources, including, PV panels and battery storage will make the overall building control requirement more complex, and may well lead to the deployment of AI technologies to avoid the need to manually create control strategies that will successfully optimise such a complicated situation. This trend will become more apparent as the demand response market develops, bringing with it an inevitable need for dynamic switching of electrical loads based on short-term tariff price fluctuations. In conclusion, it is inevitable that a revolution is going to happen. We are already seeing the start of it and it is set to continue over the next few years. What we will all be doing in the future is going to be very different to what we are doing now.


uManufacturers, like Distech Controls, now offer a choice of IP­ based terminal unit controllers





Lighting and


HVAC control will become more integrated, sharing sensors, and adding extra functionality





www.distech-controls.com BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER FEBRUARY 2019 23


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