Taking Control of Your Heating and Cooling System
When it comes to energy use, advanced building automation systems (BAS) provide a powerful tool for understanding, thereby reducing, heating and cooling energy consumption. A Greensboro heating and cooling contractor can implement systems that can help lower other building operating costs, as well as optimize HVAC equipment replacement for substantial capital cost savings.
In short, a BAS provides direct digital control (DDC) of various building systems, including HVAC, lighting, security, fire and security, and other mechanical systems, such as escalators and elevators. The power of a BAS comes from the ability to automatically control a host of building systems and to create energy consumption trend logs that facility managers can use to better plan and reduce electrical and natural gas demand.
Today, many BAS – and the building systems they control – are built upon ASHRAE’s BACnet protocol. BACnet provides a standard way for controllers and equipment from various manufacturers to work together. As such, it helps eliminate the compatibility issues that existed when suppliers all had their own proprietary communication protocols. It also enables a BAS to adapt to evolving building systems and technologies, to help prevent obsolescence.
Health Care Facility Examples
In Boaz, Ala., Marshall Medical Centers (MMC) had a decades-old hospital with outdated pneumatic controls that were expensive to maintain. MMC director of plant operations, Paul Cherico, selected a BACnet-enabled BAS because it “would meet our present and future needs and provide freedom of choice down the line, and offer affordable software upgrades, parts and service.”
The BAS integrates with more than 3,800 DDC points for centralized management of equipment throughout the building. The facility staff can use the system’s graphical interface to quickly call up various building zones and set points to view and change them, as needed. This helps ensure comfortable interior spaces, without running HVAC equipment unnecessarily.
Likewise, at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, a BACnet-powered BAS controls equipment throughout a sprawling urban hospital that serves tens of thousands of patients annually. The system monitors and controls multiple Air Handler, variable air volume (VAV) controllers, fans, fume hood controls, and domestic hot water. Additionally, the BAS allows facility managers to establish critical alarm conditions to monitor the hospital’s precise temperature, humidity, and air pressure setpoints, in spaces ranging from patient rooms to labs.
Selecting BAS
BAS has evolved rapidly over the past 10 years. Some features and benefits to look for with today’s advanced systems include control module interoperability, software ease of use, and wall sensor ease of use and design styling
Control module interoperability: Numerous BAS relies on the industry-standard BACnet protocol, which provides a high degree of interoperability among controllers and building equipment. For example, instead of having separate systems and separate building occupancy schedules for a hospital’s lighting and HVAC systems, a BACnet-powered BAS can integrate both systems so that the scheduling can happen from a single platform.
Software ease of use: Although many BAS software programs now use a graphical interface, rather than text entry alone, ease of use varies. Advanced BAS software includes simple schematics that clearly identify the equipment throughout a building and its operating status (heating, cooling, etc.). Such programs enable even novice users to readily interpret the environmental or other monitored conditions anywhere in the building and to adjust the appropriate building system, as needed.
Another simplifying feature introduced with BAS software in 2014 is the use of HTML5. With this latest HTML format, facility professionals can access the BAS remotely from any Internet-connected device, without the time and compatibility hassles of downloading a third-party’s software plug-in.
Wall sensor ease of use and design styling: The most sophisticated wall sensors today have been designed with the crisp and simple functionality of smartphones. Such sensors include easy-to-interpret icons for temperature control and clear navigation tools to see interior and exterior temperatures, relative humidity and CO2 levels. To enable building occupants to see the HVAC operating condition from across the room, some units have colored LED lights along the bottom to indicate either heating (red) or cooling (blue). Also similar to smartphones, modern wall sensors have moved from being boxy-looking thermostats, to sleek, low-profile units that complement modern architecture.
Better control of energy use results in significant cost savings for health care facilities. Further, a BAS can help reduce building maintenance costs by alerting facility managers when equipment is operating outside of specifications and therefore might be at risk of failure.
Kevin Callahan is a product owner for Alerton, a Honeywell business, based in Redmond, Wash. He has 38 years of experience in the building control technologies field, including control systems design and commissioning, facilities management and user training. www.alerton.com