Building of the future

When considering the building of the future, it is difficult not to conjure up images from a low budget science fiction movie. In reality, many of the demands that exist in our current market will be valid in the future and it will be the way technology is employed that will change.

Already in today's market, with the change in the way that building construction is funded and the impact of energy conservation and environmental initiatives, the life-cycle costs associated with running a building over time have taken equal or greater status to the initial capital cost for construction.

Systems that meet these requirements must be scalable and flexible to meet changes to building usage. They must be able to deliver relevant information on energy usage and environmental conditions, and take advantage of integrating disparate automation systems (such as lighting, hvac) to provide higher levels of building conditions and energy efficiency. This at the same time as affording the user a level of vendor independence, so they don't have to be locked into a single supplier.

Existing product portfolios have already been developed to meet these demands. Systems can be connected via intranet or internet, whether utilising Microsoft's standard Internet Information Server at the management level, or embedded web server technology at the automation level. This gives accessibility to thin client (see right) via standard web browsing interfaces.

These types of technology can be coupled with technology which provides information at a portal on the internet. Budget managers will have access to relevant information at their desktop pcs for buildings within their control.

So what about the future?
The emergence of Internet Protocol (IP) address-ability, down to single device level (a fan coil unit in the ceiling space, for example), has been gaining support in the industry.

The most cost-effective method of achieving this functionality today is to utilise static IP addressing, which can be built into a chip within the device circuitry. The premise for this is based upon the concept that modern buildings are flood wired with Category 5 structured cabling. BEMS and lighting control can be piggybacked on these networks as a flexible and cost-effective solution. Those of us who are already providing this type of technology to customers have already experienced the cautious nature of IT departments. They worry about third party equipment co-occupying their network infrastructure, and they are protective about their allocation of IP addresses.

To ensure that these obstacles are overcome, technology employed must support the basic requirements of an IT network for configuration and security. While the current implementation of the IP4 standard would cause most IT departments a problem if you requested IP addresses by the hundreds for a system, the new IP6 standard should ensure that ample addresses would be available for such an installation.

This type of installation could be further enhanced by employing wireless technology, such as Bluetooth. This can provide connection from the local IP device to space temperature sensors and even local adjustment of room temperature via simple desktop applications.

Users' network log-on profiles would identify their location, and the adjacent control node for their control. Technology such as this has been cost prohibitive in the past, however, we only need to look at recent releases in the home electronics market to see that it is becoming more affordable.

Establishing connectivity of devices onto a common network architecture is only half the battle. Getting them to communicate and share information with disparate systems connected to the same network is another area to address.

Since the most advanced devices used today may use existing web technology, it would make sense for the common language to be hyper text mark-up language (html) or hyper text transfer protocol (http) which are both used for web page programming. However, both of these are now fairly mature in IT terms, so the use of something like Microsoft's Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) and Simple Object Application Protocol (SOAP) may offer a more flexible and open solution.

Regardless what form of communication is utilised, the work to develop a common language and protocol may take a little longer. Although the foundations are there, the trick will be for all developers and manufacturers to agree a common standard for data exchange between devices – something that solutions such as LonWorks do quite well today.

This may require the implementation of the existing industry standards for communication into a new common language and protocol. But it is important to remember that LonWorks dates back to 1988. The agreement and evolution of a standard may be more protracted than developing and employing the technology it will reside within. Whatever the future direction of technology within the building automation industry may be, we can be certain that it will be closely aligned with developments in the IT industry and comparable communications markets.

As products become more available and economical, we can expect the emergence of new concepts and systems at a pace which those in the IT industry are already used to – a lot faster perhaps than we have been used to before in the building services industry.

For more information on IT terminology see the brief glossary below. You may also find www.computerwords.com useful.