Supplement: Building Control & Energy Management
Building services control
enters the Internet era
 Increased
building efficiency by remotely monitoring building services via
the Internet is the promise of the innovative Building Management
System (BMS) from Schneider Electric. Called 'Transparent Building',
the system uses a building's existing IT infrastructure for communications
between standard PLCs and other equipment. Conventional BMSs require
costly dedicated cabling to be installed and depend on expensive
proprietary components.
By using an
existing LAN for communications, Transparent Building saves up to
15% on installation costs alone and by using standard open IT communications
systems entire buildings can be monitored centrally over a Wide
Area Network (WAN) or the Internet from a number of different sites.
Building managers now have the opportunity to substantially cut
costs by outsourcing monitoring to a specialist third party.
Complete picture
Transparent Building is believed to be the only system available
that combines advanced monitoring and control of a building's electrical
distribution network with full monitoring and control of lighting,
HVAC, fire alarms, security systems, refrigeration plant and other
services. Having a complete picture of all the power being distributed
around the building helps facilities managers increase the efficiency
with which buildings are operated and also cuts maintenance costs.
There are many
ways in which detailed data from the electrical system can cut costs.
For example, monitoring a fan drive's current can avoid a costly
breakdown by helping to plan preventative maintenance. If the current
starts rising above normal levels, it is likely that the motor will
fail in the near future.
Similarly,
by knowing exactly why a circuit breaker has tripped can cut maintenance
costs. If the data determines that a breaker has tripped because
of a short circuit, then expert help can be called in. Alternatively,
if an overload was the cause, it will probably be safe to reset
the breaker and avoiding the cost of an unnecessarily callout.
Transparent
Building can also give energy managers an accurate picture of a
building's energy consumption, which is vital for effective energy
conservation programmes. These are becoming increasingly important
to reduce additional costs resulting from the Climate Change Levy.
Schneider
Electric
h110@industrialnetworking.co.uk
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