Integrating with IT
In the past, Building Automation Systems and IT infrastructure were housed on separate servers likely located in different rooms and controlled by their respective departments. This disconnect is now being bridged by increased integration between these previously independent networks.
“I believe you will see over the next five to 10 years that Building Automation Systems will reside on the building’s primary IT infrastructure rather than having their own subordinate network,” says Scott Papay, sales manager at LONG Building Technologies, Littleton, Colo. “You will see each and every one of those controllers becoming WiFi-enabled, meaning LAN-based or wireless LAN-based IP-type controllers rather than being some old RS45 communications protocol, which is what we use today. I think that’s where the industry is trending us toward.”
Oswald agrees there is a greater convergence between IT and facilities and notes manufacturers of BAS programs are increasingly designing user interfaces that are HTML5-compliant and pushing for mesh network technology in wireless applications. “It’s the ability for these wireless devices, instead of talking one-to-one or peer-to-peer, they can talk in a mesh-type network so you can bounce off of other wireless devices to extend their range. It’s something that’s very common in the IT infrastructure space,” he explains. “It wasn’t as common in the building-automation technologies, but it’s definitely growing in that direction.”
Six Obstacles to Upgrading
In spite of the promise that wireless and mobile applications hold for increasing building efficiencies, there are a number of challenges that hinder widespread adoption of these technologies, especially as they relate to retrofitting existing structures. Oftentimes, the most obstinate hurdle to overcome has nothing to do with technology:
1. Old School Mentality. “The biggest challenge on existing buildings is there’s usually existing people in the facility that not only run and manage it, but also occupy the facility,” Buhlig says. “To implement strategies, there’s a whole different mindset on how the building should operate, so the biggest challenge is to convey there’s a better way. ‘This is how we were taught and this is how it used to work, so why do we need to do it different now?’” is the mentality, he explains.
Skepticism and resistance to change are understandable given these technologies aren’t yet foolproof. There’s also a lot to be said for reliability, particularly for critical systems. But as technology improves, so will people’s comfort levels, according to Oswald. “I think you still have some clients out there who just want a traditional BAS application that is dependable and scalable and everything that goes along with what they’ve always been used to,” he observes. “As people grow with technology, whether it’s with their smartphones or with tablets, I think it becomes easier for them to accept these changes to the BAS base.”
2. Legacy Equipment Works. Adding to the hesitancy to adopt new technologies is the fact that many of the existing BAS products still work very well, so facility managers are reluctant to fix something that isn’t broken, suggests Richard McCulley, IT manager at C&C Group, Kansas City, Kan. “You have legacy systems from all the major manufacturers and everybody makes really good systems out there. So we deal with facility people who are like, ‘It’s working fine. Why do I need to replace it?’”
Fortunately, McCulley notes there are a number of third-party manufacturers that offer products that can integrate with existing platforms to eliminate the need to dismantle infrastructure and enable facility managers to upgrade legacy equipment over time.