Smart Buildings

"Right now, there is a clamour to integrate control systems into IT networks," says Tom Hartman, principal at Texas consultancy The Hartman Co. But the trend is likely to go well beyond that. Today's BASs typically include a network of sensors and other devices connected to controllers on each floor, a master controller for a building or campus, a Web server front end for monitoring building systems, and a back-end database for storing historical data.

But as intelligence continues to move into actuators, chillers, security cameras, sensors and other elements of building systems, these devices will increasingly communicate as peers via Web services, allowing BASs to be more flexible and integrate better with other systems. "Next-generation buildings will be much more (integrated) than simply having the building automation system use the IT network," says Rick LeBlanc.

"The long-term vision is that you'll be able to physically control everything based on preferences, criteria and business rules," adds Joshua Aaron, president of Business Technology Partners, a New York-based consultancy that helps companies physically move their IT infrastructures and data centres. But, he says, "I don't see a lot of companies springing for it yet."

Read the techworld.com article here.

Hat tip to Joe of the Pinehurst Thread for the link.