VES

Better air for the built environment

Eagle Close, Chandlers Ford Industrial Estate, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 4NF Tel: 08448 15 60 60 Fax: 02380 26 12 04 Email: info@ves.co.uk www.ves.co.uk

BuildingAutomationandControl
TheunderstandingandapplicationofBuildingManagementSystemscanbewidelymisunderstood,eithertoo simplifiedorovercomplicated,withmultipletermsbeingappliedi.e.BMS,BMES,BACandBASetc,however,the fundamentalofremoteorcentralisedmonitoringandcontrolremains.Theterminologybuildingautomation andcontrolreferstothecentralmanagement,monitoring,andoptimisationofbuildingtechnologyusinga computerbasedbuildingautomationandcontrolsystem.Buildingautomationandcontrolsystemsareinstalled inamultitudeofapplicationsincludinglargeofficebuildings,shoppingcenters,hospitals,etc.,wherecomplex electricalandmechanicalequipmentinteractinsuchawaythatthereisampleopportunitytooptimiseboth buildingperformanceandenergyconsumption.

Modernbuildingautomationandcontrolsystemsalsoinfluencethemeasuringandcontroltechnology oftheseplants.Theintegrationofbuildingservicescomponentsintoahigherlevelbuildingautomation systemtodayisakeyfactorinbuildingdesignandmeetingenergyefficiencyrequirements.Optimal HVACequipmentperformancecanonlybeachievedbyimplementingsophisticatedopenandclosed loopcontrolfunctionswithfreelyprogrammableDDC(DirectDigitalControl)technology.Theuseof OpenProtocolsalsooffersatechnicaladvantage,increasingflexibilityforthespecifier,purchaserand endusers,helpingformpartofoverallBuildingManagementStrategy.

Opencommunicationbetweenbuildingsystemsfacilitatesthesimpleandsecureintegrationofthird partysystemsatalllevels.Standardised,independentcommunicationprotocolsensureconsistent exchangeofinformationbetweendevicesandsystems,withminimumengineeringeffort,providing straightforwardoperationandtheabilitytosatisfyindividualcustomerneeds.

ThemostcommoncommunicationprotocolsbeingadoptedintheUKHVACmarketareBACnet,LONworks, Konnex(KNX)andModbus,butmanyothercommunicationstandardsarealsoavailable.Eachstandardhasa differentcommunicationrequirementandisoftenusedwithinadifferentlevelofthebuildingmanagement hierarchy,whichcanbegenerallybrokendowninto3levels.1)Fieldlevelconsistingofsensorsandactuators. 2)Automationlevelforroomcontrol&primarycontrol.3)Managementlevelforoveralloperation, monitoringandevaluation.Thefollowinggraphicisanexampleofthis.

Directors: JRJ Peters (Managing Director), RM Peters, C White, T Sands, K White, S Birks VES is a trading name of VES Andover Ltd. Registered in England No. 02303719. Registered Office as above.

ISO 9001-2008 Cert. No. Q05375

 WhatCommunicationProtocol?
AcommonquestionraisedwhenselectingcommunicatingequipmentiswhichprotocoldoIchose? Unfortunately,thereisnorightanswertothis.Thecorrectanswerwillvarybeeachapplicationandcustomer andmusttakeintoaccountseveralfactors:thecurrentbuildingautomationcontrol,size/typeofbuilding, existingnetworkmedia,thecurrentlevelofintegrationacrossothersubsystems,thecustomersatisfactionwith orqualityofthesystemintegration/controlscontactor. Asaspecifier,designerorenduseryoucanhelpthemovementforcosteffectiveintegrationofintelligent systems,servicesandequipmentbyinsistingthattheBuildingAutomationSystemandequipmentManufacturers useopen,standardprotocols,providingtheabilitytodeliverlongtermsustainablevalueforallpartiesinvolved. Pleaseseeanintroductionbelowforasummaryofthesestandards. BACnetAdataprotocolforBuildingAutomationandControlnetworks,basedaroundobjectsthatrepresent physicalinputs,outputsandsoftwareprocesses,eachcharacterisedbyasetofpropertiesthatdescribeits behaviourandgovernitsoperation.

TheBACnetprotocoldefinesanumberofdatalink/physicallayers,includingEthernet,BACnet/IP (InternetProtocol),MSTP(MasterSlave/TokenPassing)overRS485,andLonTalk,themostcommon beingoverIPorMSTP,eachhavingtheirowncommunicationrequirements.Atthemanagementlevel BACnet/IPisbyfarthechoiceforBACnetcommunication,theuseofBACnet/IPdecouplesthelogical networkfromthephysicalnetworkandprovidesmaximumflexibilityofphysicalnetworkpreference nowandinthefuture. Modbusisanapplicationlayermessagingprotocol,providingclient/servercommunicationbetween devicesconnectedondifferenttypesofbusesornetworks.Anopenandwidelyusednetworkprotocol intheindustrialmanufacturingenvironment,implementedonsimpleinterfaceslikeRS485orRS323but alsoviaauniversalnetworkstandardTCP/IP.
Konnex(KNX)aworldwidestandardforapplicationsinbuildingcontrol,rangingfromlightingandshutter controltovarioussecuritysystems,heating,ventilation,airconditioning,monitoring,alarming,andlotsmore.

Functionscanbecontrolled,monitoredandsignalledviaauniformsystemwithouttheneedforextra controlcenters.TheKNXmediumtowhichallbusdevicesareconnected(twistedpair,radiofrequency, powerlineorIP/Ethernet),enablestheexchangeofinformationacrosstheKNXnetwork.

HowcanOpenProtocolshelpwiththeBuildingManagementSystem?

TheobjectivesintendedfromBuildingManagementSystemsincludeimprovedenergyefficiencyfrom automated,coordinatedequipmentoperation,andintegrationofvariousbuildingsystemsproviding centralisedmonitoring,evaluationandmanagement.

OpenprotocolscanfurtherenhancetheBuildingManagementstrategybyprovidingbotheconomicand operationalbenefits,fromdesign,constructionandfinancecoststhroughtotrainingandmaintenance.

EaseofIntegration: Integrationbyavarietyof3rdpartydevicesonOpenprotocolnetworks,ensuresthatownersand specifiersneedonlytoselectsuppliersthatprovideasuitableCommunicationInterfacetointegrateon totherequirednetwork,formingpartoftheoverall,complexBuildingStrategy. Knowledge: Embracingstandardprotocolsmaycauselessconfusioninthemarketplaceandmakethetaskfor designers,specifiersandenduserseasiertoimplement.Openprotocolsaremorereadilychangeable andthereforecanadapttonewtechnologiesswiftly,hencetheabilitytomeetfuturedemandsofthe buildingandindustryforCommunicationneedstodayandtomorrow. CostControl: Buildingoperationsmaycreatelaboursavingswithcentralcontrol,asafewernumberoftrained personnelareneededtooverseeintegratedsystemoperation,thisisnotonlyrepresentedbythe reductioninskilledlevelbutalsoabyproductofaneffectiveautonomousmanagementsystemeasily monitoring,operatingandmanagingthesystemfromacentralisedlocation,potentiallyreducing maintenancecostscanbyupto10%overa25yearperiod. ExistingInfrastructure: Theabilitytouseexistingnetworksalsoreducesinstallationcosts,specificallywhenretrofitting,adding extrafunctionalitytotheexistingbuildingsystem. Utilities: Facilitiesmanagersbenefitfromtotalcontrolovertheirbuildingutilities,providingintelligentandproactive managementfromacentrallocation. Therightintegrationattherightlevel!
Opencommunicationprotocolsallowbuildingstofullymaximiseeconomicandenvironmentalopportunities throughautomatedmanagementstrategies.Howeverthebenefitscanbeundervaluedorevenlostiftheright integrationisnotprovided,throughineffectiveoperation,poorinformationformonitoringandoftenacostly, lengthyanddifficultcommissioningprocess. AtVES,werecognisethateachBuildingManagementSystemshouldbetailoredtotheneedsofthebuildingand thereforeraisestherequirementforavarietyofintegrationoptions.VEShaveexperienceinmanyprotocolsand reallifeimplementationof,BACnetoverIPandMSTP,ModbusandKNX,includingsomeproprietaryprotocols suchastheTRENDprotocol.

Weprovideanumberofcommunicationsolutionsatfield,automationandthemanagementlevel,andwe understandtheimmensebenefitstosimplerintegrationofdevicesintotheBuildingManagementStrategy.Our airhandlingequipmentcanprovideanumberofcommunicationinterfacesforintegrationintoanyspecifiedlevel ofthenetwork.Becausewehavedesignedoursystemsaroundcommunicationandtheoverallbuildingstrategy weensurethatduringthedesignstagetheinformationprovidedaidswithintegrationrightfromthestart. TheimportanceofanembeddedopencommunicationprotocolwithinHVACequipmentprovidesfacilitiesto realisethebenefitsofaBuildingManagementSystem,butforfurtherpeaceofmindVESprovidetrainedstaffto helpatallstagesoftheproject,fromselectingthecorrectequipmentandcommunicationprotocolthroughto onsitecommissioningassistance,ensuringtheBuildinggetsthebestfromourequipment. KevinFeeney ControlsExecutive