Editorial Comments by Ken Sinclair         

The Reinvention Convention - http://www.connectivityweek.com

Although I did not invent Building Automation, I was there when it happened. I saw hardwired logic machines give way to mini computers with dumb panels. In 1975 I was involved with a evolutionary, possibly the first distributed computerized Direct Digital Control system for a large University Campus. So I am extremely pleased to go to the silicon valley as a reinvented digital dinosaur and be part of the Reinvention Convention for Building Automation and beyond. For a sneak preview of my track  Reinventing Building Automation plus more ConnectivityWeek previews click here.

Did you catch this article in Wired Magazine? 7 Ways to Fix the Grid, Now or What is the Smart Grid, Anyway? in Fast Company?   It is amazing to see the content that usually appears on AutomatedBuildings.com being part of an international social IP magazine. The Keynote speakers for the reinvention event are from Google and "Bob" the inventor of Ethernet so you can see our reinvention resides with Internet Protocol.

Extremely pleased to see last month's theme of B the U in YoungEnergy.org come alive at center stage in Santa Clara with the first YoungEnergy panel discussion plus the first YoungEnergy grant recipient for ConnectivityWeek

 I usually single out feature articles and interviews but our May issue has so much excellent content I recommend that you return to the home page www.automatedbuildings.com and review all articles, interviews, columns, previews, and reviews. Just reading the titles and pull quotes is an education, and all speaks to change and reinvention.

The news just keeps flowing thru our web site and RSS feeds daily, and of course the only way to truly find what you are looking for in the vast quantity of information on our site is with our site search engine http://www.automatedbuildings.com/search/sitesearch.htm

As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the number of events we have in our future.

Thanks to our News Page Sponsor - Delta Controls a global leader in BACnet-based, web-accessible products for hvac, lighting and card access controls. Our full range of programmable and application-specific controllers are valued for their flexibility, reliability and ease-of-use.

We welcome our newest advertiser - Loytec, an expert on intelligent network infrastructure products for building automation, focuses on open and standardized communication protocols. Products include routers, graphical user interfaces, gateways and embedded Automation Servers.   

B the U in YoungEnergy.org 

Our April issue builds on March's theme of nurturing our personal networks by calling the young to our industry with all of us becoming the “you” in the newly formed industry collaboration called www.youngenergy.org 

The daily mindless mass migration of people to places is over. Only connected people and collaborative services and products will survive by connecting to the web of the future.

As our industry reinvents itself, and we become totally connected to the enterprise and smart grid, we need an injection of new ideas from folks with web based thinking to quickly propel us forward. YoungEnergy will create a network of leaders that will influence the design and implementation of our future. 

The complexity of the BA industry can be greatly simplified with web services, SaaS, and browser presentations.  We need to reach out to those that have grown up with the web and cell phones, who see no other way, to help us grow. The complexities of our industry reside with us, but the reinvention and representation of our future resides with the teams we build with YoungEnergy. As our readers and the Building Automation Industry in general will you please support us in becoming the “you” in YoungEnergy? Become a mentor bringing the young into our industry.

Anto Budiardjo has a must read article It’s 1992 all over again! that draws a great parallel to now and the start of the internet era. What we are going through right now is no minor change of focus; even the creation of the Internet will be eclipsed by what is about to happen in the intersection of energy and information technology.

Anto follows up with an Interview - YoungEnergy.org @ BuilConn's ConnectivityWeek  How does the BA industry bring new blood into the workforce. These new challenges are a headache to us old folks, but are simply wonderful opportunities for the next generation, the iPod generation that lives and breaths issues like climate change, technology and the challenge of economic recovery.

We hope that the leaders of tomorrow will evaluate the wisdom of our today's authors in the many related articles, interviews, columns and reviews in this issue plus our over 10 years of online issues and their searchable information.

April Columns  OpenEMS Andy McMillan; Cyber-security, Smart Buildings, and the Smart Grid Toby Considine; Commissioning An Intelligent Building Paul Ehrlich & Ira Goldschmidt; What’s New! From This Year’s AHR Expo Steven R. Calabrese; The Need for Real-time Data Access Manny Mandrusiak.

April Interviews  YoungEnergy.org @ BuilConn's ConnectivityWeek Anto Budiardjo; Energy Efficiency and Comfort Steve Tom;  Catching the Process Fieldbus James Powell & Manny Mandrusiak;  New Current Sensing Ideas Jerry Woodin;  LonMark Career Center Heather Deal.

April Previews & Reviews  Letter from Jim Lee - Smart Grid Standards; Some Thoughts on GridEcon 2009 - William Cox;   OPC - SCADA - signage - youtube - EPRI.

April Articles  It’s 1992 all over again!  Anto Budiardjo, Clasma Events Inc.; Getting There From Here Thomas Hartman, The Hartman Co.;  Diving Into Building Water Management Jim Sinopoli, Smart Buildings;  LEED 2009 and Building Automation Systems Bill Swan, Alerton; Read manual dial gauges wirelessly, in minutes Harry Sim, Cypress Envirosystems; Smart building infrastructure helps manage costs Bradley Hemphill, Electrical Engineering Solutions.

The news just keeps flowing thru our web site and RSS feeds daily, and of course the only way to truly find what you are looking for in the vast quantity of information on our site is with our site search engine http://www.automatedbuildings.com/search/sitesearch.htm

As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the number of events we have in our future.

Thanks to our News Page Sponsor:  Delta Controls a global leader in BACnet-based, web-accessible products for hvac, lighting and card access controls. Our full range of programmable and application-specific controllers are valued for their flexibility, reliability and ease-of-use.

Welcome our newest advertiser:  Activelogix, LLC a leading provider of Internet-based enterprise automation solutions, including design services, consulting, custom applications and technologies to enable management and optimization of sustainable, energy-efficient, and secure facilities in a multi-vendor, cross platform environment.

We welcome return advertiser - Quality Automation Graphics is a leader in the building control industry; providing energy efficiency education display dashboards, 3D symbol libraries, 3D design, and graphic outsourcing.