May 2013 |
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Evolution from Building Automation to
Energy Information |
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There are many
elements to a building automation system (BAS). Of
course, the ability to control systems through direct digital control
(DDC) is always a requirement but ideally we expect these systems to be
much more. For example, most systems are expected to provide
energy management (EMS) often through basic strategies such as
scheduling equipment and systems to run when the building is occupied
and to keep the building at safe conditions when unoccupied.
As we start to see the convergence between traditional building systems
and information technology (IT) systems though the expectation is that
these do much more. It starts with fairly basic functions such as
alarming and trending. We are in the process of starting up a new
web enabled system and almost every point is continuously
trended. This seemed like an unreasonable request even a few
years ago when we had a system with very limited resources. Today
though most new systems have access to a server that can easily store
large amounts of data. The ability to view and analyze trend
data, even in their most raw form turns out to be an invaluable tool to
analyze building performance. We also see systems that are
readily integrated to various systems. For example, we can now
easily see the energy usage from a fan (in Kw, Amps and KWH) simply by
connecting the variable frequency drive to the BAS.
The next step in this progression is to include a series of tools that
can assist in visualizing, displaying, and analyzing data related to
the energy use and operations of a commercial building. There are
a whole series of functions related to this set of tasks. At one
end of the spectrum is the normalization of data and displaying it for
building occupants on a kiosk or webpage. This is often called a
dashboard. At the other end of the spectrum are tools (or
services) that do extensive analysis and provide “continuous
commissioning”. In between are what we call Energy Information
Systems (EIS) that bring in data, normalize data, and provide tools to
analyze and present it to a wide variety of users.
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Today, we are seeing the early stages of a new industry, focused on
building and energy analytics. We recently did a study for a
client on these systems, and without much effort, found close to fifty
suppliers in the market! Groups are now doing research and
development work on creating standards and definitions for EIS.
For example there is work going on in the Open Source Community
(Project Haystack) as well as research under way at the Department of
Energy to develop an open EIS platform and definition of standard
algorithms. Solutions are being offered to building owners in the
form of products, web services, and consulting arrangements.
While the idea of EIS and continuous commissioning has been around for
years, I think it is reaching a “tipping point” where it is going to
move from the use by early adopters into much broader usage. We
are already seeing the major control companies introducing products in
this space, and more and more events and development occurring.
The focus is clearly changing from seeing the BAS as being an enhanced
temperature control system to becoming a working part of an EIS that
may be used for the successful operation of a high performance
building.
Links:
Project Haystack: http://project-haystack.org
Energy Information Handbook:
eis.lbl.gov/downloads/energy-information-handbook.pdf
About
the Authors
Paul and Ira first worked together on a series of ASHRAE projects including the BACnet committee and Guideline 13 – Specifying DDC Controls. The formation of Building Intelligence Group provided them the ability to work together professionally providing assistance to owners with the planning, design and development of Intelligent Building Systems. Building Intelligence Group provides services for clients worldwide including leading Universities, Corporations, and Developers. More information can be found at www.buildingintelligencegroup.com We also invite you to contact us directly at Paul@buildingintelligencegroup.com or ira@buildingintelligencegroup.com
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