Award

August 2012

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can get competitive quotes," says Allan Hepburn, president of Hepburn Controls Inc. Because of such bene its, owners, especially ones that are likely to remain operators for the foreseeable future, are increasingly likely to specify BACnet-supported systems. The City of Toronto's transit commission (TTC) required BACnet compatibility for every system on a recent project, according to Hepburn. Wireless controls are also becoming increasingly common and manufacturers are expanding their product offer in this area, says Hepburn. Indeed, for the DIY crowd, hardware mega-stores have started selling Wi-Fi thermostats and, of course, there is an iPhone app. Apart from the fun of new toys, though, there are de inite practical bene its associated with the wireless trend. "You get savings from less wiring, less electrical construction cost and an awful lot of time saved," says Hepburn. In highrise construction, the use of wireless devices can reduce capital costs by about $500 per suite, says George Steeves, president of Sterling Cooper & Associates. The use of wireless monitoring and control combined with district energy utilities (DEU), can reduce both operating costs and carbon footprint. Typically, a DEU uses power from the grid for distributing domestic hot and cold water plus water for space heating and cooling throughout one or several buildings. Water and energy use are metered on a per-suite basis. "DEU is off-site monitored. Any anomaly can be reacted to immediately," says Steeves. DEU looks set to become more widespread. Last Automated Building Control Systems p.48-49Automated.indd 49 year, the City of Richmond announced the Alexandra DEU, saying it is expected to be the irst "of numerous such projects." And, an earlier DEU at the Olympic Village in Vancouver's False Creek should see payback in under 15 years. "Now, the business case makes sense," says Steeves. Recent developments like physical security information management (PSIM), a type of software that provides a platform and applications designed to integrate multiple unconnected security applications and devices, can save money and improve ef iciencies. PSIM is especially useful for large corporations, retail chains and government departments with many sites, says Iain Morton, VP for Canada at ADT Business Solutions, soon to be known as Tyco Integrated Security. PSIM enables monitoring and security control of many sites from one comprehensive user interface. It collects and correlates data on events from existing security devices and information systems, including video, access control, sensors, building automation systems and so on. Not only does a PSIM system collect data and perform analysis, it also provides veri ication of real-time events and situations to an operator – and implement a resolution in the form of standard operating procedures based on an organization's policies. "Suppose there's a heavy protest like Occupy Wall Street – Goldman Sachs might want to know there's a process to follow. The system would trigger, say, a lockdown of doors, do a series of automated responses according to a prede ined policy – bringing elevators to the ground, mass noti ication to employees, brightening the lights, send an instant message to a remote security out it, and send an alarm to the remote monitoring site that would ire up cameras and send the signal to remote monitoring for viewing," says Morton. Other ADT security products like Select View can cut costs and streamline security processes for smaller companies in various ways – from verifying whether it was a staffer who entered a building or a burglary is underway to even eliminating security personnel on-site for dealing with after-hours deliveries. "The video data is hosted on the web. The client can access it from anywhere and is not relying on data stored onsite. The recorder is outsourced using cloud storage. ADT-hosted videos are geared for smaller operations," Morton says. Promoting ef iciency and energy conservation in all spheres of building automation and management is also an option, and tools that create awareness can help achieve the desired results. The use of a display screen in lobbies can provide information to the public or occupants on a range of variables like gas and electrical usage, lighting and temperature from the building management system. Sometimes called building interface dashboards, the screen can cycle through images and charts and perhaps include real-time updates, says Doug Watts, senior controls specialist at Hemisphere Engineering Inc. (The University of Alberta and Red Deer College have recently installed these devices.) "Now that computer processors have the horsepower, we have been specifying them for about two years, especially for LEED projects," Watts says, noting that one of LEED's purposes is "to encourage good environmental stewardship." ■ AUGUST 2012 /49 12-07-20 11:24 AM

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