The building is the Central Permit Facility and Water Quality Laboratory for Lake County in Waukegan, IL. The Building Automation System design goal was to integrate virtually all building systems into one common BACnet Internetwork. All HVAC, Lighting, Fire Alarm, Electrical and specialty systems such as the lab controls, server room air conditioning, elevator, foam system have BACnet interfaces.

Please click here for more information.

BACnet International members involved on the project include Automated Logic, Johnson Controls, Phoenix Controls, ABB, Danfoss, FieldServer, ITT, OEMCtrl. 

• Steps for maximizing the efficiency of BACnet-based building systems
• Implementing a multi-vendor BACnet solution using a "smart system" approach 

Click here for more information or to view the webinar/slides 

For more information Carrier please click here.

Download the "BACnet® Made Simple" Webcast!

On June 23, 2011 [1 PM EST], Laura Molesworth, Controls Product Manager for Carrier Corporation and Marketing Committee Member of BACnet International, discussed how a multi-vendor BACnet solution can be implemented easily at your facility using a "smart system" approach.

This webcast was moderated by Building Operating Management magazine editor Ed Sullivan, and featured an open question and answer section at the end, facilitated by Zig Lewicki from Carrier Corporation, and Roy Kolasa from Honeywell.

If you missed the live webcast, you can download it here. 

*BACnet is a registered trademark of the American Society of Heating and Air-conditioning Engineers

For more information on Contemporary Controls please click here: http://www.ccontrols.com/   

BACnet/IP to MS/TP Router or BACnet MS/TP Repeater - What is Best?

By: George Thomas, Contemporary Controls

Granted we are talking apples and oranges when we mention BACnet routers that operate at the network layer and BACnet repeaters that operate at the physical layer - but can one replace the other? BACnet MS/TP uses 2-wire EIA-485 transceivers, so it only seems logical that a simple EIA-485 repeater can be used to extend distances on MS/TP networks. However, there is another way of solving the distance issue and that is to use Contemporary Controls' BACnet/IP to MS/TP routers instead - thereby taking advantage of the building's existing Ethernet infrastructure. The BASrouter has one 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port that attaches to the BACnet/IP network and one isolated EIA-485 port that attaches to the BACnet MS/TP network. EIA-485 repeaters have two EIA-485 ports - each connected to a MS/TP segment. So what is the best way to extend distance? Read the full PDF to study the issues.

Link: http://www.ccontrols.com/pdf/Essentials0611.pdf  

For more information on Reliable Controls please click http://www.reliablecontrols.com/

Employer of the Year times two

Over 500 Tectorians recently gathered at the VIATeC Technology Awards to applaud the technology community's success for making Greater Victoria a leader in advanced technology in Canada. With a late night TV talk show theme, complete with props and sidekicks, the night was filled with entertaining commentary, videos, and live music. For Reliable Controls® it was a banner night, winning the "Employer of the Year" category. Roland Laird was on hand to collect the hardware and thank the extended Reliable Controls® family for making our company a winning success.

Reliable Controls® was also the recipient of the Camosun College School of Trades and Technology "Co-op Employer of the Year" award given to the company that shines above all others in co-op work term feedback. James Puritch and Laszlo Orban were on hand to receive the award.

To view the awards, visit

http://www.reliablecontrols.com/corporate/awards.  

EnOcean Wireless Integration

Reliable Controls® is pleased to announce the launch of a new product series that integrates EnOcean Wireless technology into the MACH-system. The initial launch of the Reliable Controls® wireless line currently consists of two devices, that when used together, can facilitate wireless EnOcean communication into any existing MACH-System without the need of software upgrades.

The SPACE-Sensor™ EnOcean (SSE) is a wireless and batteryless transmitter that resides in the occupant space. The SSE uses a photovoltaic cell to convert solar energy into electrical energy that is stored in the device. A fully charged SSE will continue to function in complete darkness for up to 7 days. Transmission rates can be DIP switch selectable from every 10, 60, or 100 seconds. Transmission distances can be from a maximum of 30 m (100 ft) line of sight, or 10 m through five commercial drywall walls, 2 brick walls, or two aero concrete walls.

The SMART-Sensor™ EnOcean Accesspoint (SSEA) is a transceiver that connects directly to any Reliable Controls® SMART-Net network. The SSEA can be added to any existing SMART-Net network and there is no need to upgrade firmware or software. Each SSEA can learn up to 18 different wireless points. Depending on the type of MACH controller used, 2 to 8 SSEAs can reside on the controller's SMART-Net.

Learn more about Reliable Controls® wireless integration @

http://www.reliablecontrols.com/products/wireless 

Have a question you can't find the answer to on our BTL or BACnet International FAQs? Click here to e-mail it to the Executive Office, or post it to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

• Get instant access to the lucrative facilities market
• Reach a new audience of facility professionals not seen at NFMT
• Generate sales leads before, during and after the show
• Close sales faster - Facility Decisions attendees are buyers, not tire kickers
• Enhance your image and visibility among facility decision-makers
• Use this high-visibility opportunity to introduce new products

The Event

• Facility experts presenting over 50 free educational sessions
• 200 suppliers showcasing the latest innovations
• in products & technology
• Free networking events

• 2,000 facility professionals from around the country
• Executive-level decision makers (building owners, property managers, facility managers, engineering and maintenance managers, energy managers, developers, architects and contractors)
• All building types (commercial office, government, medical, educational, hospitality and retail)

BACnet International Success Stories

BACnet International Success Stories is a free resource that provides a place to promote your successful projects that use BACnet in order to further knowledge and understanding of the BACnet protocol - essentially, mini case studies. Posters utilize a web form to upload the content, (narratives, photos, etc...) which is then reviewed by editors from BACnet International (primarily for errors) prior to public posting.

Once the BACnet Success Story is posted, it becomes a permanent, linkable record of the successful project.

Further, Success Stories:

• Are automatically eligible for additional public recognition via BACnet International's Leader of the Pack Awards 
• Are promoted by BACnet International via social media    
• Are featured in Cornerstones - BACnet International's monthly eNewsletter that goes out to 15,000+ members / subscribers 
• Are candidates for articles in the BACnet International Journal - BACnet International's printed / digital periodical 

Submit your company's BACnet Success Story and take advantage of the free press!

New to this process? Don't know what you'll need?

Download the Success Stories Word Document. 

Click here for more information on BACnet International membership. Corporate and individual memberships available.

Broad Participation in the BACnet Interest Group Europe Plugfest

The manufacturers of automation products for building services tested the interoperability of their BACnet products on May 11th-13th. 21 companies from Europe, the USA and India were represented with 44 participants. It was the fifth Plugfest for the BACnet Interest Group Europe (BIG-EU). It was hosted by the Competence Center for Information and Communications Technology of the Saarland Chamber Crafts in Saarbrücken.

"As the leading European BACnet organization, we are pleased with the broad participation which also provides functionally reliable networks with the new generations of devices," said BIG-EU Advisory Board member Frank Schubert at the opening. The Plugfest was an open event by the BIG-EU, in which non-members participated for the first time. It offered the rare opportunity to network the products of different manufacturers in small alternating teams and test their communication behavior.

The 5th BIG-EU Plugfest underscores the effort by the industry to facilitate vendor-independent systems with its growing portfolio of products for building automation. They are an essential prerequisite for energy and cost-efficient supply systems in homes and buildings. The Plugfest makes the application of the BACnet standard (ISO 16484-5) even more reliable in practice - an effort that is worth it. Networking systems with BACnet is that much easier when equipping industrial and office buildings as well as hotels, hospitals, sports arenas, train stations and airports.

About the BIG-EU:

The BACnet Interest Group Europe e. V. (BIG-EU) promotes the application of the worldwide BACnet communication protocol ISO 16484-5 in European building automation and safety engineering. It was founded in 1998 by 18 companies dealing with building automation. Today it has 90 members from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Goals of the BIG-EU include representing European interests in the development of BACnet standards and the exchange of information with the permanent BACnet committee SSPC 135 of ASHRAE and with the American BACnet Manufacturer Association (BMA). Additional goals include common marketing, qualification offers and the collective formulation of technical guidelines. For further information please visit: www.big-eu.org.

Press Contact:

MarDirect, Dortmund,

Bruno Kloubert,

E-Mail: kloubert@mardirect.de 

Tel. +49 231 427867-31