SMART TECH AND IOT IP-based networks the future for
building automation? IP-based networks offer end-to-end interoperability, scalability and ease-of-installation for building automation applications
D
172,000 m2 m2
ubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper is a staggering 828 meters tall. The building’s of residential space and 28,000
challenge to keep the building at a comfortable temperature for the up to 10,000 people that might be inside at any given time. To resolve that challenge, engineers turned to the IoT.
The building’s maintenance team use thousands of IoT sensors linked to a Cloud platform to identify anomalies in real time. The system then runs smart predictive maintenance algorithms to keep a close eye on the Burj Khalifa’s HVAC system. Apart from ensuring the building is kept comfortable under an average desert temperature of 41°C, smart monitoring has resulted in a 40 percent reduction in total maintenance hours, while improving HVAC availability to 99.95 percent with an associated reduction in unplanned reactive maintenance.
While the Burj Khalifa represents architecture comfortable, no matter how new or old. And the wireless sensor data not only ensures occupants are neither too hot or cold, but it also helps reduce energy consumption and keeps everything running smoothly. Nevertheless, there are challenges, particularly for engineers and system integrators looking solution.
The answer is thread
To install a HVAC system in a building requires connectivity between multiple nodes that will be required to collect data so the central system can automatically control the HVAC requirements across the facility. Examples of these nodes include temperature, humidity
and CO2 sensors, thermostats, occupancy sensors and demand-controlled ventilation systems. Some of these nodes will run from the mains while others will be battery-powered. To ensure a quick, low-cost, future-proofed solution what’s needed is a plug-and-play wireless tech that eliminates cabling and enables sensors to be easily moved when network is installed, it’s important that devices
30 APRIL 2023 | ELECTRONICS TODAY
from any vendor can be added. That makes interoperability critical.
Thread—a low-power and -latency wireless mesh networking protocol built using open and proven standards—provides interoperability thanks to Internet Protocol mechanisms that allow any compliant device to be added to the network. Thread version 1.3.0 features some key upgrades which bring full functionality of IP routing and service discovery to Thread networks and prepares the way to future releases targeting support (for example, KNX IoT and DALI+).
As new devices are added, the mesh adapts and extends coverage, depending on the role of each device.
For a more extensive deployment for large buildings, mains-powered router nodes (which in key locations such that the mesh network nodes can double up as elements of the HVAC system (for example, a thermostat) or can be simple low-cost units with the sole purpose of extending the network.
Once the Thread network is established, other devices can easily be added. And if the number of network nodes outgrows existing can be added to boost the network.
Thread networks typically start by similar to a domestic Wi-Fi access point (AP). The router’s main role is to connect the Thread network to other IP-based networks. It can be deployed in one place in the building and connected using Ethernet, Wi-Fi or cellular IoT to a local network and/or to the Cloud. The router can either be sourced from the HVAC system integrator or from a commercial off- the-shelf supplier.
There are multiple provisioning mechanisms to add devices to the Thread network once the router is installed, but one option is to use the Pre-Shared Keys for the Device (PSKd) that comes with each new IoT product. By smartphone app or by adding the key directly can easily add the new device to the network.
Flexibility and interoperability only communicate locally (for example, a temperature sensor sending an instruction to an actuator to open or close a valve), while others will communicate over the Cloud. The Thread network supports any application layer providing it uses IP transports. This makes for a inside a building could talk to each other using elsewhere on the network, another node is talking to one Cloud provider and a second to a different Cloud provider using IP. of a Thread network mirror those of Wi-Fi network is built to make sure there’s adequate coverage and then multi-vendor devices (for example, PCs, tablets, printers and security cameras) are added later. Everything coexists nicely together. This is perhaps not surprising – both Thread and Wi-Fi rely on IP tech, which brings true end-to-end interoperability. But more than that, for industrial applications such as HVAC, Thread has built-in standard mechanisms to enable companies to quickly build and deploy large scale networks inside buildings.
Nordic
www.nordicsemi.com
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