Smart thinking

One of the most common phrases in the m&e sector today is ‘intelligent building’. A whole industry has been built up around it, from trade associations and publications to the host of vendors operating in the market. But what exactly is an intelligent building and what are its implications to the m&e market? Why, if the concept has been around for so long, are there not more intelligent buildings?

Today’s intelligent building is a space where all elements, whether lighting, air conditioning, security systems or heating, are able to respond in real time to the occupants’ needs and building occupancy patterns. They achieve this by talking the same language through the same medium.

For instance, when Mr X enters with his smart card, that part of the building is alerted to his arrival and his personal workspace settings are adjusted with the requisite amount of air conditioning based on his individual temperature sensor and preferred lighting level.

Central to the intelligent building is an open network, which consists of devices from multiple manufacturers that conform to uniform industry standards. Just as the computer industry saw the development of open-based industry standards, today the building controls market is based around open networks.

The net result of an open network is a building where all elements can communicate with each other using a common language across a common infrastructure to internationally accepted standards such as EN 14908.

Weighing up the benefits

The potential benefits and return on investment from an integrated building are highly tangible. Lower energy costs can result from using the building more efficiently and there will be a better experience for the building occupant, with increased physical and emotional comfort leading to raised productivity.

Other cost-related benefits might include a reduction in the number of hardware components, with less copper cabling; and less people involved in the construction process on site.

While certainly a market buzzword, intelligent building systems have hardly taken the market by storm, amounting to less than 1% of the UK’s construction industry turnover according to the Building Research Establishment.

The single biggest reason for this is the mishmash of different systems that operate in so many of today’s commercial buildings. Too often subsystems such as security, lighting, elevators, power, safety, and hvac, that are crucial to a well-run and intelligent building, operate separately. Why is this?

Barriers to intelligence

Probably the single greatest obstacle to the intelligent building is the market forces that have an interest in retaining the status quo. Whether they be independent hardware vendors, system integrators or other elements of the m&e industry, for many it is easier to continue to offer existing, stand-alone solutions than to educate the end-user on the integrated approach.

What is also clear is that it is up to advocates of the intelligent building, such as firms like MITIE, Echelon, the LonMark Interoperability Association and BACnet, to put forward a better case.

One of the popular misconceptions about open networks is that they will result in higher costs. This is incorrect. Open networks and the integration of services provide significant cost savings in capital terms and throughout the life cycle of the installation.

In 2004, management consultancy Turner & Townsend backed this up with a study on a design by consulting engineer BWP and market tested the traditional independent controls approach with an open integrated system. The results showed that occupiers could expect between 4-5% capital cost savings when opting for open systems. Such systems lead to greater choice, less dependence on specific vendors, greater economies of scale and price competitiveness.

Another reason for the delay in adopting the integrated approach is internal resistance. In many organisations, areas such as IT, facilities management and security are fiercely protected by those involved. For an intelligent building to be created effectively, a holistic, company-wide approach is required. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the board to empower someone to drive through the integrated vision.

Building services and facilities management tend to be affected by a cautious and non-integrated procurement culture and this is no different with intelligent buildings. The potentially long lifecycle of the order, complications of overhauling the IT infrastructure and procurement packages designed for separate systems and disciplines, can all too often make it easy to just say no.

Developing an open integrated approach to a client’s requirements, however, should lead to a rethink in the way we procure our m&e services. It is important for the design and network database to be completed, at least in outline, prior to tender and for the network integrator to be part of the design team. This early involvement allows the system to effectively become an integral part of the building fabric.

In addition, all procurement strategies should take an open, holistic approach to building systems. Integrating a building through an existing IT network is also surprisingly straightforward, with automated building controls having little influence on both bandwidth and cost.

Creating an open network

If these barriers are overcome, how do you go about creating an open network?

Most installations use a twisted pair to connect the devices onto the floor network, then connect to a high speed IT router to provide a resilient infrastructure across an IT network. This allows site, company or even worldwide connectivity to ensure effective estates management.

Authorisation for changes to the network is password protected and encrypted for added security. You now have the ability for all lighting, access, variable speed drives and fan coil unit controllers to reside on a common cable and exchange information network, providing details on performance and status with each other. This exchange of information is achieved via software wires or binds between devices. No central processor is involved; instead there are microprocessors within each device.

Where a room would traditionally have occupancy and temperature sensors, a light level detector and a switch, open LonWorks devices can feature all of these functions. One example is a fire device encompassing a sounder, MP3 player for recorded messages, emergency lighting, temperature sensor, and detectors for smoke, heat, occupancy, light levels and CO2.

The evolution of European building standards is also likely to ensure that more and more end-users have no choice but to push their buildings towards further integration. EN 14908, for example, which will be implemented in 2007, establishes a communications protocol for networked control systems and formally acknowledges the role of LonWorks networks in the European building market, providing a harmonized standard across the region.

With the technologies and products all in place, the key obstacle to the establishment of intelligent buildings today are people’s attitudes.

However, by working together, whether it be designers providing a holistic solution, the building managers appointing internal managers or the m&e installers increasing the awareness of integrated solutions, the intelligent building can still become a reality.