Articles & Columns

• The Value of Virtual  What do you think "open" means? What do you think "visible" means?
• Connecting Communities for Continuous Conservation  Visualization through graphics can allow buildings to become an integral part of a community and “Come to Life” while teaching occupants about sustainability.
• Greenmation?  GreenBuild’s theme of "automation"
• What "Open" might mean  One piece of the larger open puzzle is the present restrictions around proprietary control languages.
• Are we “Open” for Business?  Refers to how important being open has become to our industry and how it has helped us grow and become part of something much larger.
• The New Visibility & Interactions in the Building Automation Industry What changes in the last few years have led to the “New Visibility & Interactions in the Building Automation Industry”?
• Embracing Change  Are we embracing the necessary changes enthusiastically and fast enough to keep control of our industry?
  
• “The Past and Future of Control Languages”   A call to the industry to speed their evolution to open protocol for control languages 
• Creating Interactions in Building Automation  We must "Create Interactions" worthy of our visibility and strive to better understand how to interact with the powerful presentations of our information.
• In and Out of the Cloud  Should data be in or out of the cloud?
  
• Cloud Control of Energy and Building Data  The use of cloud computing for the collection, management and analysis of real time and historical building data is now becoming a valuable possibility.
• Making the Invisible Visible  Our powerful far reaching real time network connections transport the invisible via the internet cloud but it is the graphics and their dashboards representations that convert the Invisible to Visible.
  
• Building Automation Moves Up  Up in the clouds and ever-increasing connectivity  Control Engineering Asia
• Does Owning the Meters Make You Smarter?  Only if you do smart things with them. If we own the smart meter or collection of sub-meters we no longer need to deal with other people politics.
• Integrated connected (IC) virtualization Through integrated connected virtualization, the world of large buildings will soon view everything connected differently. 
• Building Grid Connectivity  Building Connectivity is our future.
• Takeaways from ConnectivityWeek 2010  ConnectivityWeek was a great event - with the largest ever registration of over 1300. Many new grid partners created an increased impact with new energy solutions while showing us improved overall organization and connectivity of our industry. 
• Preview of May 24-27 ConnectivityWeek 2010 Santa Clara  Lots of excitement surrounding the buildup to ConnectivityWeek and I have tried to capture and connect you to the points of interest for our industry.
• Building Connections – ConnectivityWeek  This is the place to gain insight into how to unleash opportunities and new business from all of this change
• The next big things: how building automation will change complex installations and commissioning
• The Next Big Things  This dynamic duo will eliminate complex installations, provide; self set up, connection, and commissioning while self populating the needed information for web deployment.
• 2010 to be the year of the smart building app  Because of the evolving reach and complexities of building automation, these solutions need to be several services, not one all-encompassing service. 
• Twenty Ten to be a BAD-ASS Year  At events like AHR Expo we get to test to see if the implied sameness of our content has legs or is becoming reality.
• Our Clouded Future is Bright  Our clouded future includes new virtual connections to our buildings from the communities they are part of with both physical and social interactions. 
• Free Educational Sessions January - Orlando  "Building Automation and the Cloud" 
• Measure, Map & Manage  We Measure and sense almost every piece of building information, then Map to graphical representations to develop strategies for Managing from anywhere, anytime.
• Building Transformation  Green has becomes a questionable color, the new true blue of an economical plus environmental bottom line supported with real dynamic data, presented virtually, anywhere, is the proof of our transformation.
• The Cloud Beyond the Network  As more software and computer services move off-site, a look around suggests that the collaborative power of cloud computing has already begun to reign for those looking to harness real-time building information most efficiently.  Ken Sinclair Editor/Owner, www.AutomatedBuildings.com 
• Keeping our Feet on the Ground While Working in the Cloud "If we want to continue to be leaders in this industry, we must deliver the goods today, Tomorrow is not good enough."  Ken Sinclair Editor/Owner, www.AutomatedBuildings.com 
• Building Cloud Connections  The identification and use of these valuable industry cloud connectors is essential to propel our industry forward at warp speed so it can radically change to survive.
• My Clouded Thinking Clears  The clouds are open and scalable and are my new tool set.
• My Takeaways from ConnectivityWeek  After each year's event I try to list my takeaways of the things that significantly impacted, impressed me and are likely to change my future. 
• The Power of the People  The power of the people lies not just in how we innovate, but also how we are able to share knowledge with others through that innovation.  
• Building Automation Networks  This article provides insight to the evolution to date of Building Automation Networks to Enterprise and Web based networks and on into cloud computing. 
• The Reinvention Convention On June 9, 2009, I will be in Santa Clara, California over seeing the presentation of several sessions on “The Reinvention of Building Automation”. 
• The Reinvention of Building Automation The complexities of our industry reside with us, but the reinvention and representation of our future resides with the new teams we build.
• Mastering middleware for sustainability  When you know how much energy you use, it’s much easier to determine where savings can be achieved.  
• The Reinvention of Building Automation (BA) Building Automation is evolving to a web service that is greatly enhanced with online services.
• Building Automation Sustainability  Whether you view the word “Building” as a noun or a verb the real goal is Sustainability
• Top 12 Issue Favourites - 2008  We thank you all as an industry for being our success in providing incredibly current content that is well read by our reinvented industry.
• Grid Interoperability  Demand response is an important tool in your energy management toolkit. But the future it anticipates could be of even greater benefit to your bottom line. 
• Demand response: turning on to new opportunities  The next frontier for demand response is to move beyond curtailment and leverage the power of building automation systems that exist within or across collections of buildings.
• Reaping the Harvest Daylight harvesting and daylighting controls can make a big difference in your energy bill. And solutions are becoming more flexible all the time.
• FORECAST: Increasingly Cloudy and Under Control  As the burden of building data gets heavier, strategies for managing it take to the sky, so to speak, whether it’s sorting your services smartly or learning to use SCADA or OPC, modern building automation aims to help you succeed by keeping your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground.
• Be The Change  This year’s ConnectivityWeek offered more than simply updates on building automation technology. It encouraged a new energy revolution. Published Energy Management Canada
• My 10 Takeaways from ConnectivityWeek in Santa Clara, California
• The New Face of Building Automation  Buildings are now expected to be an interactive part of their virtual community and of course the electrical grid. This new face is creating untold opportunities that we all must investigate, understand and support. Published Control Engineering Asia magazine May 2008 issue
• The Rise of Virtual Services  Computer applications that integrate information more effectively are giving building managers new tools to manage their energy use.  Published Energy Management Canada magazine May 2008 issue
• Brilliant Buildings  What makes a Building Brilliant? …..Surpassing Excellence that’s what!  Published ES Magazine May issue
• The Future of Automated Buildings in North America  As published Climatização & Refrigeração Magazine Brazil 
• LEED provides creditability to Smart Building Automation  Smart building encompasses the integration of all of the systems in the building, this additional level of commissioning should be a requirement to ensure the benefits of integrated building technology systems, and in the process, pick up one LEED credit. 
• Convergence & Controls - Grid Intelligence We can learn a lot from the United States’ GridWise — a movement that is re-shaping the American Power Industry.
• Building Automation Reflections and Projections  Ken Sinclair, Editor Owner of AutomatedBuildings.com provides a reflected review of a very exciting year in the Building Automation Industry as well as some crystal ball gazing into what to expect for 2008.
• What You Need to Know About GridWise  GridWise improves electric power grid coordination and the refrigeration industry will benefit from it. 
• Last Building Automation Column  This Building Automation column has provided me with an industry soapbox to rant on, scolding and generally cajoling the industry while plagiarizing the content of the bevy of authors from our online magazine AutomatedBuildings.com
• Stumbling Towards Sustainability  It’s clear that in the last year our clients and society in general has moved much further in their expectations for sustainable buildings than our industry has moved in ability to effectively implement them.
• Harnessing the 4 Cs  Convergence, connectivity, controls and conservation can guide us towards a more profitable, vibrant industrial future.  It's time for new thinking on energy management.
• Turning Buzz into Bucks  Now is the time to get involved; learn what the buzz is all about and better understand the opportunities being presented to you with demand response. 
• Opportunity Overload?  “The opportunities surrounding Demand Response (DR) cannot be underestimated. These opportunities are available today for building system contractors, integrators and owners.”
• Making Money with BAS Mash-ups  The term mash-up refers to a new breed of web-based applications.
• Connectivity + Convergence + Confluence = Change  Connectivity concepts such as the smart grid, the greening of buildings with better connections to everything, coupled with connections to powerful web services plus the notion of Buildings 2.0 are all creating new directions and markets for our industry.
• Getting Grid Wise at GridWeek  A $900 billion market opportunity was identified for the industry to make the national grid smart and wise with interactive connectivity. 
• News Maker of the Year  Jack McGowan, CEM, President & CEO, Energy Control Inc, GridWise Architecutre Council Chairman  
• Beyond BACnet  Grid integrators will work with BACnet data to make it a seamless part of their grid and or enterprise management products.
• Thinking Out Loud in an Industry of Change  We all need to think out loud to quickly guide our industry to the next level and set plans for the future. 
• The Automated Buildings Industry is ready, willing, and able to bring real GridWise solutions to GridWeek in Washington DC
• Get GridWise at GridWeek Washington DC - April 23-26, 2007
• Books for the Industry  I am often asked, what current industry text books are there about convergence, connectivity and the new business paradigm this is creating? 
• Sustainable Green Connectivity This is what building owners want now from our building automation systems.
• AHR Expo 2007 Dallas  This is our 8th year of Educational Sessions at AHR Expo 2007 Dallas
• Global Connectivity  ConnectivityWeek which started in Palm Springs in May of this year has grown into several international forums/events which are creating global connectivity on several levels.
• Automating Sustainability  Sustainability is defined as “The ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves.”
• LONWORKS Converges with IP The future of building systems seems clear. IP has become a key, pervasive element of networking technology at the enterprise/IT level, and LonWorks® technology and products at the field level.
• Fast Forward Freeze Frames  It seems that our complete industry is on fast forward as the events, articles, interviews, reviews, news releases and new products cross my computer screen before finding their way to our rss news feed.
• The Importance of Mentorship to ASHRAE  I cannot over express the importance of mentorship. It allows us to grow, evolve, question and simply learn who we are.
• Keeping ConnectivityWeek Strong  This Building-IT industry represents validation from owners and the IT industry to move forward and deliver converged IP-based building systems, taking into account the needs of the new types of stakeholder in the building owner organizations: the IT and enterprise focused groups.
• Harbouring Harbingers in Palm Springs  The Palm Springs event has provided a home for our industry’s harbingers like no assembly has ever done before.
• Anto Budiardjo wins "Newsmaker and Industry Shaker" of the year award AutomatedBuildings.com is pleased to announce that Anto Budiardjo is the winner of our first Newsmaker and Industry Shaker of the year award.
• Realtime Renaissance - Right Now
• Building Automation Renaissance  How to survive & prosper from Building-IT Convergence
• Forecast: Connectivity Clouds on the Horizon
• Connectivity Which Way?   I have quoted industry leaders and linked to content on our web site that demonstrates that there is no one path that exists for connectivity, nor will there ever be.
• The Winds of Change  Blew at AHR Expo in Chicago 
• Building Automation 2006 Conference  March to Baltimore to learn more about Building Automation for 2006
• February ES Supplement
•     Defining The Intelligent Building Control Market
•     A Healthy Fear of Technology!  Paul Ehrlich, P.E. Building Intelligence Group
•     Building Automation System Ethernet Switch Selection  Joe Stasiek, Sales Manager, George Thomas, President Contemporary Controls
•     A Return To Growth  James McHale i&i limited
• Virtual Value Visions  My virtual value visions for Building Automation in 2006 
• There are new kids on the block......... and they are giants! 
• Integrating Intelligence  The end of the year is a fine time to gaze forward, not in terms of decades from now, but in terms of what’s being done right now that will have major effects in the future. The controls industry is undergoing a radical restructuring as technology evolves.
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? A cultural clash is occurring as major IT folks join our industry.
• ADR Research and GridWise Interoperability Constitution Giving our full support 
• Backing BACnet  It is the only protocol that has been created with its roots in the HVAC industry while achieving global consensus.
• Building Automation has become Pointless Our remaining frontier is to insure that all the devices and sub-systems we buy fit nicely into our enterprise managed building automation system.
• August Supplement Engineered Systems
•    Growing Greener Buildings with Automation 
•    What’s The Role For Advanced Technologies In Green Building Design?    Thomas Hartman, P.E. The Hartman Company
•    What Is An Intelligent Building?   Paul Ehrlich, P.E. Building Intelligence Group
• "Inside Peek" of what BuilConn is likely to be in 2006 
• Buying Integration Solutions from a Control’s Warehouse  Integration solutions are becoming sought after commodities and the market for them is here now.
• Give us a Sign but please make it a digital sign.
• XML / oBIX Demo  I was pleased to be able to attend the first ever XML demo based on evolving oBIX standards held at BuilConn 2005.
• May Supplement Engineered Systems
•     Corporate Enterprises Are Forever Changed With Real-Time Building Information
•     Access Control - The Missing Link?  Rob Zivney, Hirsch Electronics
•    Integrated Information Technology is the New IT Jack Mc Gowan, Energy Control Inc.
•    Web Services For Building Controls At A Crossroads Toby Considine, oBIX Chairman
• IndustryLeaders@BuilConn 2005   This year Anto has captured the attention and presenting power of the “Who is Who in the industry” and put together a particularly informative show. 
• The Only Thing Constant Is Change - prepare for another exciting year. 
• Interview CaseStudies@BuilConn  CaseStudies@BuilConn is all about peoples' success planning and implementing the new reality.
• A New Bee in our Industry  No! It’s not the return of the killer Bees, it is the ZigBee Alliance for wireless networking.
• From Disneyland to Disney World  AHR Expo 2005 - Celebrating 75 Years! 1930 – 2005 
• Our Convergence Collision with Electronic Signage Networks  The networked digital signage industry is now poised to deliver the logical evolution to central sound - central video. 
• Globalization of Building Automation Standards  The global acceptance of these standards will greatly enhance their overall powers. 
• A Truly Open Chip  For the first time ever it is now possible to develop products for BACnet networks as well as for LonWorks™ networks based on the same hardware and software platform.
• Connecting Convergence August Supplement Engineered Systems
•     Connecting Convergence  Ken Sinclair, AutomatedBuildings.com
•     Convergence or Divergence  Anto Budiardjo, Clasma Inc.
• Building the Building Domain  Moving to the next chapter and getting on with the exciting business of building our clients’ real time data domain will have a profound effect. 
• Building Automation:  Reaching for the Sky  The multi-billion dollar building automation industry is moving on and up as control systems integrate with the latest IT and internet technologies to create powerful networked intelligence. 
• A feeling of cooperation and objectivity in the industry  All of us are very excited about where BuilConn 2004 April 13-16 in Dallas may lead us and what new vibrations and feelings will be transferred to the industry.
• Controls Hardware Erosion The concept of networking to the video screen with browser-based menus seems to be a natural evolution for all these products.
• Two Separate But Very Important Industry Acronyms XML & oBIX
• AHR - Expo 2004 Anaheim Free Sessions  We hope you can make it out to our sessions at the AHR Expo in Anaheim, January 26 and 27, 2004 to share your input on these exciting topics. 
• Marketing Convergence - Engineered Systems November Supplement
• Convergence Will Happen  Ken Sinclair,  AutomatedBuildings.com
• Why Is There A Need For Marketing?  Anto Budiardjo - Clasma Inc.
• Selling Integration and Convergence Jack Mc Gowan, Energy Control Inc. 
• Protection, Correction and Connection  If you think the evolution is complete think again.
• Going Global  We are all Going Global in a mind-expanding journey that will result in the cross-pollination of building intelligence for the world. 
• Documenting our Changing World  Our ability to assemble and document the information we are about to change, as well as documenting how we changed it, is cardinal to our successful transition. 
• Metamorphic Markets  We cannot expect our traditional markets to lead to our future business model; we must morph our identity and methodology to capture the new opportunities of today's Metamorphic Markets. 
• XML Spells Connection to the Future  An open letter to the Building Controls Industry turned into a reality. 
• Preparing For Your Metamorphosis  Metamorphosis is evolution on fast forward. 
• Creating Sustainability From Rapid Change The meshing of Broadband, Telephony, and Building Automation has created a powerful new virtual architectural fabric. I call this fabric "Enviromation", a combination of the words Environment, Communication and Automation. 
• Controlling Convergence - Engineered Systems April Outsert
• "Identifying the Complex Components of Convergence"  
• Community Convergence  Our business communities must converge as part of our transition to web-based ways. 
• It's Time to Upgrade your DDC System  The transformation of moving from old modem based DDC technology to TCP/IP communication is a time warping sensation.
• Repackaging the Large Building Automation Industry  I feel that a general overhaul is necessary and serious repackaging of us as a new industry is required. 
• Connect the Dots that are our Industry  (.com & .org)  
• Improving Occupancy Integration with Web Technology  It is all about a better interface with the end-user.   
• Building Automation Sessions at AHR Expo, Chicago  This unique industry venue allows us to present our sessions free of charge and free of product influence on topics that we hope are of great interest to the industry. 
• Industry Focus Shifts to Web Convergence  The first few years of the DDC revolution our industry created a stable of " Awful Mated Buildings " I fear this could occur again with our first attempts at web convergence. 
• We The People  For the necessary changes in our industry to occur it will take the total effort of "We the People" to insure the transition is all that it can be. 
• You Are The Key  Using body parts for identification authentication purposes is called Biometrics.  
• Reformat Your Hard Drive All your efforts and hard drive have gotten you to where you are today. Will this be enough to keep you on top of our industry's new directions in the future? 
• Web Based Facilities Operations Guide  Doing more with less by using Web-based anywhere information to amplify your existing building operational resources.
• YourFacility.com  The web based presentation of dynamic building information allows not only operators to operate from anywhere with full functionality, it allows interaction of contractors, equipment suppliers, and consultants to provide valuable feedback and feed-forward information to the building operating equation. 
• Increased Focus on Online Training for Building Automation  We are providing a virtual online classroom for specialized courses about the large building automation industry.
• Maintaining Your .Calm Let's not panic. Let's maintain our calm. It is just stuff we have to get done as an industry in a transition to today.
• Intelligent and Integrated Buildings  Although we as an industry have said the words before we have never reached our potential of providing intelligence or integration in our buildings. 
• Web Services - The Next Level  Just like the next level in a video game, moving our Building Automation Industry Information and Interaction to the evolving WEB SERVICES LEVEL changes everything, new rules, new power, and a new Information Model. 
• Making Our Own Markets  One of the major changes is that we are no longer a specialized industry that is applied as a preconceived part of a building. We are now the innovators that extend the reach and interaction of our client's information enterprise.
• Building Automation Globilization  Access to global media is everywhere proven by the fact that I am preparing this month's column in Australia. 
• Free Show Sponsored Sessions on Building Automation  AHR Expo Atlantic City January 14-16, 2002
• Making Sense of Sensors  The integration of low cost sensors into our Building Automation Industry over the last few years has helped propel a rapid industry growth. Extremely accurate, low cost solid-state sensors have allowed us to penetrate into many new markets.  
• "The Indispensible Internet"  Web Ways are Winning. 
• Try the Request for Proposal Approach  Having problems specifying rapidly evolving building automation?  
• Industry Restructuring  The capability of today's building automation systems far exceeds the present understandings of the existing implementers. 
• Restructuring for the Componentization Era  Major restructuring of our industry is required and is happening allowing web wise solutions with full integrating of the Componentization Era into powerful enterprise controls.
• Entering Our 3rd Year - we reflect on our growth and the tremendous industry support.
• Building Automation IS IT  I greatly underestimated the speed at which our industry would migrate to information systems and information technology.  
• A Guide to On Line eDucation for Automated Buildings  The rapid changing Automated Building industry has always required that all players be constantly re-educating themselves to keep current, but never has there been a time when this is so important.
• 11 Revolutionary Automation Trends in Large Buildings  These 11 trends are having a significant effect on the present revolution or rapid evolution of large Buildings Automation.
• Getting Over the Digital Divide  It may be hard to imagine that all the players in an industry that automates large buildings have not yet made it over the digital divide, but it is true. 
• eDucation and the Automated Building Evolution The line through the year 2001 on our evolution trend graphic slices though the layers of every control technology known to man.
• Working Without Wires Imagine how this technology could radically change how we commission buildings. 
• The Greening of Buildings with Automation  "Enviromation" - The Art & Science of Communication/Automation Integration with our Environments.
• Componentization of the Control of the HVAC Industry  The next phase of building automation technology will bring new life to some traditional equipment. Likewise, it will usher in a rethinking of what building HVAC systems do, and how they do it. 
• Head Retread - Update on "State-of-the-Art Capabilities in Building Automation" AHR Expo Session in Atlanta.  
• State-of-the-Art Capabilities in Building Automation  Update of January 2001 AHR Expo Session.
• Creating and Maintaining Your Virtual Image  Send the message to your management; Become closer involved in the care and feeding of the corporate virtual image. 
• The Velcro Relationship  Building Automation New Ways of Thinking - The glue that binds us is dissolving! 
• Cloud Control  Looking for new opportunities?  “Stick your head in the clouds.”
• Building Automation: The Net Effect  Someday, engineers and managers will wonder how they ever got along without it.  
• A Year of Rapid Change at AutomatedBuildings.com Or The Metamorphosis of a Digital Dinosaur 
• Virtual Devices Not Only A New Way of Doing But A New Way of Thinking   Maybe a marriage between a web-based survey modified to provide continuously dynamic update and feedback into web based virtual control system could offer a better solution. 
• Are Automated Buildings Converging or Colliding With The Internet?  Is our industry listening to the wake up calls of the information revolution? 
• What is an Emagazine? - An article about our Magazine.
• Your Building.com?  More new automated buildings now have their own internet address.   Read all about it.
• Want out of the box? Building owners impressed by the user ease of the net are demanding more from their automation providers.
• Just a spec on the net  Check out this automation resource and read how it changed the way we approach automation design.
• Key to Performance  An old AEE seminar with some good advice.
• Stick Handle the Net  Will the internet affect our industry?
• O&M Using HTML  HTML as a Documentation Medium for Building O & M
• Graphic Interfaces   Multi-Vender Graphic Interfaces Using Windows 95
• Hospital Graphics   Simplifying Complex Hospital Environment Control with Graphics Prepared
• Reviews -  Archive of  Building Automation Reviews From "THE AUTOMATOR"
• Background - President, Sinclair Energy Services Ltd, Owner/Editor, AutomatedBuildings.com