AutomatedBuildings.com Article - The Internet in the Building

What is the value of "convergence" to Architects and Owners? Has Internet connectivity in some form or other become as mandatory as plumbing in modern design and construction?

Ken Clarke

In the past decade, the Internet has crept into every electronic device conceivable. From toasters to teleconferencing, from live cameras on the Tower of London to Joe's Retread Store. So what does this mean to the Building Automation industry? What is the value of "convergence" to Architects and Owners? Has Internet connectivity in some form or other become as mandatory as plumbing in modern design and construction? The short answer is yes, but before we look at these questions, lets clarify what we mean when we say "the Internet".

The Internet itself is both a physical infrastructure and a collection of world-recognized digital communication standards or protocols. It is a means, not an end in itself. Its ubiquity and its inherent ability to transport large amounts of information to a given destination in the blink of an eye is what makes it a powerful communications medium, that and the fact that the nature of the information is irrelevant. If it's digital, you can send it anywhere in the world; to a specific destination or to multiple destinations. The Internet adds universal communication to Bill Gates' vision of a PC on every desktop. The effect on Building Automation is two-fold, affecting both tenants and building operators.

Tenants are looking for LAN pre-wiring and Internet gateways, and they want thick pipes. Just providing a telephone exchange and telling them that they can dial into any Internet Service Provider with their 56K modems doesn't cut it anymore. In fact, providing full Internet services may be a lucrative addition for building owners. I won't be a bit surprised when I receive an e-mail from Donald.Trump@trumptower.com . With the cost of high bandwidth options such as ADSL and Cable finally coming down to a reasonable level, deciding whether or not to include these services in one form or another becomes a non-issue. If you want tenants, you'll provide Internet access.

So what about Building Automation itself? Building LANs have been around for a while now, so what's the big deal? Simple really. Making sure that your LAN supports Internet protocols and that it's connected (securely, but that's another topic in itself) to the Net allows site managers to send and retrieve information anywhere. Operator workstations can be located where it's convenient for the operator, not the system being controlled. Remote monitoring, controlling and report generation become simple tasks, performed over a cup of coffee at home in the morning before heading into the office. Site managers can retrieve current trend information, drag the data over to a spreadsheet and graph it, import the graphs into a professionally formatted report document and send it directly to the printer at the CEO's secretary's desk. Now you've added the power of communication to the power to control multiple systems from a single desktop computer. Convenience is what every one wants today, and Internet connectivity is one way to provide it. Now if only we can figure out how to e-mail a pizza…