AutomatedBuildings.com Review

Every month there is a blizzard of information contained in the emails and newsletters that cross my desk on their way to AutomatedBuildings.com. Some of this information is not in the form of any type of content we can publish but I feel I should share with you these snippets, blog bits, and url links that are about to fall off my desktop.

Will Smart Buildings of the Future Charge by the Hour? “In the building industry, it is the growing view of many experts, that if we were to know exactly how a building was to perform from construction to demolition, then we could, in essence, charge for its use by the hour.”

This article highlights my observations related to this transformation. IIoT Architecture Schools of Thought There are different schools of thought about the architecture for the Industrial Internet of Things. Old School - Sensors and actuators should be wired and/or networked to controllers with protocols such as Modbus DeviceNet, Profibus, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and IO-Link. Controllers communicate with other controllers, servers (historians) and HMI’s using these same industrial networking protocols. The servers are data sources used by enterprise systems and they communicate over the standard information technology (IT) network.

National Renewable Energy Lab and Cadmus will receive $1M to design, develop, and deploy the open source technology platform OpenEfficiency Initiative™. During the initial pilot the integrated platform will provide cost-effective, energy savings of at least 20%…

The open source way is about applying the principles of open source software development beyond software. Beyond technology. Opensource.com is about sharing how the open source way can change our world in the same way the open source model has changed software.

Linux is the best-known and most-used open source operating system. As an operating system, Linux is software that sits underneath all of the other software on a computer, receiving requests from those programs and relaying these requests to the computer’s hardware.

Sedona is a Academic Free License (the "License") applies to any original work of authorship (the "Original Work") whose owner (the "Licensor") has placed the following licensing notice adjacent to the copyright notice for the Original Work:

Install DSA + DGLux5 on a Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone or DGBox! Thanks to the Open Source IoT Platform, Distributed Services Architecture (DSA), we can demonstrate the ability to run DSA + DGLux5 on a Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone or DGBox!

Keep Up on the Latest KMC News with Social Media Are you up-to-date with the latest information on the Internet of Things, building automation, technology, industry events, and energy efficiency? KMC is THE PLACE to find each of these and more, and we bring it to you via multiple social channels. Check out the enhancements to our leading-edge website at kmccontrols.com Follow our Twitter feed with @kmccontrols or head to twitter.com/kmccontrols Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/kmccontrols Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page at linkedin.com/company/kmc-controls If you're more visual, you can find us on Instagram via kmc_controls We've always got new video content on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/kmccontrols And you can subscribe to our blog at blog.kmccontrols.com for the latest industry information, white papers, and big-picture topics.

Smart Buildings Event with Jim Young, RealComm/Ibcon for the movers and shakers in Silicon Valley. As you can see from the video, some great perspectives and dialogue. Nice job Josh and Jim!

Building Control Upgrade Projects: Crafting a Comprehensive Plan Building control upgrades require careful planning and a conscientious approach. Often lacking is a clearly defined way to begin an upgrade, as methods used can be as varied as organizations themselves. That’s why it’s vital to identify common key components of a controls upgrade, including clearly identifying those organizational goals and needs, and conducting an extensive, physical survey to understand the equipment needs. This special rebroadcast offers key strategies you can apply to your facility's controls systems. An archived Q&A session with the presenter is also featured.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) drives progress within the HVACR industry, Johnson Controls continues to design equipment and systems that enable technologies for the IoT. Through communicating in real-time to deliver optimized environments, Johnson Controls’ smart connected chiller is changing the landscape for chiller maintenance and meeting the needs of customers. Johnson Controls recently hosted a podcast to discuss the smart chiller and how it is designed to reduce emergencies using enhanced technology. Expert panelists included Juliet Pagliaro Herman, director of service marketing and product management, Johnson Controls and David Bishop, director of service operations, Johnson Controls. If you are interested in sharing what consultants, contractors and building owners (your readers) need to know about this technology, I am providing a link to the podcast for your consideration: http://ow.ly/ZORRX.

New capabilities The improving price, availability, and reliability of technologies makes new connectivity relevant beyond this set of exotic and niche examples. The cost of an Internet connection is a whole lot less than NASA had to invest to connect to its ‘Things,’ and you get many-to-many not just one-to-one (or a few) connectivity. So the business case is easier. There are parallel changes in related technologies. Sensor technology has moved on; look at the sensors on mobile phones and other consumer devices – GPS, motion, orientation, sound, video, temperature; pressure, all at consumer prices. Software technology has moved on; code is still important, but you can program and simulate an anti-skid braking system controller by connecting function-blocks on a diagram. Cloud technology makes it easy to pay-as-you-go to run your software on someone else’s servers.

The Lighting Controls Association is proud to offer an advance look at a selection of new products that will be displayed by members at LIGHTFAIR International April 26-28 in San Diego. While some can be seen here, many more await at member booths, so be sure to visit

Welcome to the State of the Developer Nation Q1 2016 report, based on the 10th Developer Economics global survey wave. Produced by VisionMobile, Developer Economics is the leading research program on mobile, desktop, IoT, and cloud developers, tracking developer experiences across platforms, revenues, apps, languages, tools, APIs, segments and regions. The 10th Developer Economics global survey wave ran from October to November 2015, and reached more than 21,000 developers in over 150 countries. The report focuses on seven major themes – each with its own visualisation showing how the data lends insight into the developer community.

“Real Estate Beyond The Digital Age” Bricks and mortar just doesn’t cut it anymore. Real estate has entered the digital age in the way it is operated – but more importantly, in the way it is experienced. The 2016 General Session features senior executives from Marriott, Cisco, and JLL who will present their vision of real estate beyond the digital age. These global visionaries will address the impact of transformational technologies impacting buildings today, such as real time data, operational analytics, smart buildings, integrated applications, the “internet of things”, and more. Learn how today’s disruptive technologies create an environment that is highly efficient, responds to the needs of the occupants, and redefines the overall end user experience.

Wireless Gateway The SensiNet® Services Gateway is a powerful appliance based on the Intel® Atom ™ processor and provides network management, user interface, data logging, trending, alarming and communications without any complicated software to install. A standard browser and network connection is all that’s required to access and configure the system. The GWAY-2100 also operates as stand-alone data logger with real time views, trending and e-mail alerts.

While Wi-Fi uses radio waves, Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) employs modulated visible light from a light-emitting diode (LED) to transmit data. Li-Fi technology was originated in 2011 by Professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh who coined the term Li-Fi during a TED Talk in 2011.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise produced "2016 Cyber Risk Report" which provides a broad view of the 2015 threat landscape, ranging from industry-wide data to a focused look at different technologies, including open source, mobile, and the Internet of Things.

How one property manager uses social media (primarily Facebook and Twitter) to connect with tenants. They use it for emergency communications, and to send notifications on non-emergency stuff like recycling events or construction activity. San Jose International Airport is another savvy Facebook user. They post on everything from travel delays, to new routes, to new terminal retail options. These are just two examples I can give of positive and constructive ways to use social media to support the facility management department's initiatives. How do you use social? Are there better tools for tenant engagement/communication folks should be checking out?

Rich Data Poor Data: What Rich Data Tells Software about Data - That Poor Data Does Not! Analog signals like 4-20 mA only provide the PV value without any additional information. Same goes for discrete on-off signals. This is too limited. Digital signals are much more powerful; there is virtually no limit to the number of pieces of information that an be carried; such as multiple real-time PVs with status plus a wealth of device information such as diagnostics, configuration, calibration, and internal variables etc. This capability of digital signal transfer is one of the many reasons why music, telephony, television, and video etc. moved from analog to digital transmission, a trend also seen in automation.

Taylor Engineering specializes in cost-effective, sustainable, and innovative solutions that are designed from the start with construction and operation in mind. We are also uniquely committed to improving our industry through: Active involvement in ASHRAE Standards and Technical committees, Writing and reviewing California Title 24 Energy Codes, Teaching courses in HVAC design In-house research, ASHRAE-sponsored research, and research through the Center for the Built Environment at University of California Berkeley, Sharing our knowledge, tools, and research results publicly through ASHRAE Journal articles and our website.

New Whitepaper on the Talent Shortage in HVACR The combination of fewer women, minorities and millennials in HVAC positions, coupled with an increasing number of baby boomers retiring, means both a concerning shortage of talent in the industry as well as a greater opportunity to focus on engaging different groups. In the new whitepaper, "Elevating the HVACR industry: Promoting exciting careers to diverse prospects can help address staffing shortages," Renee Joseph, VP of Channel Sales and Marketing Operations at Johnson Controls, outlines the trends creating challenges for employers in the HVACR sector and how targeted education and recruitment efforts can be used to reach a diverse range of prospects.

OPC Unified Architecture Support Enabling “Industrie 4.0”* The dataFEED OPC Organizer UA is a component of the dataFEED OPC Suite and allows the use of OPC Unified Architecture (UA) data exchange within an OPC Classic environment, resulting in a safe, reliable, manufacturer- and platform-independent industrial communication.

LBNL developed and maintains eProject Builder (ePB), a secure web-based data entry and tracking system for energy savings performance contract (ESPC) projects across the United States.

The energy service company (ESCO) industry has a well-established record of delivering substantial energy and economic savings in the public and institutional buildings sector through ESPC projects. However, lack of standardized approaches to collecting and maintaining project data through the life of a performance-based project has made it challenging for agencies and ESCOs to consistently document, track, and report individual project and broader program performance.

Programs like TOR (The Onion Router) allow users to use the internet and the Deep Web without ending up under the microscope of government surveillance, spyware and even hackers. By this point, you might be wondering what TOR and the Deep Web is. This infographic will clear the confusion and teach you what you need to know to keep yourself safe on the internet in this age of spying and confusion.

Analytics: A Window into Your Cloud-Based Building Management System a Cloud-based building management system (BMS) is like a sundae. You can derive many benefits from enjoying it (six to be precise) and add toppings as you progress further down the buffet bar (like control capability, for example). The cherry on top of this sundae though, is undoubtedly the ability to perform analytics on all the big data you’ve been capturing across the enterprise and storing in the Cloud.

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