Building Management Systems

Mark, Clay, and Rich discuss the various IT challenges with large scale BMS integrations. Often times the IT network is overlooked in BMS network design, this can pose many challenges throughout a project and for many years after a project. Some key takeaways of this episode are that the IT network needs to be properly managed and maintained including regular updates and backups. If at all possible ample capacity should be designed in the IT network during a large scale integration project to provide room for growth in the future and redundancy if there are any problems down the road. Stay tuned for more insight and opinions from our experts Mark and Rich!

Mark, Clayton, and Rich discuss BMS systems and energy conservation in this episode. The Building Management System is a very powerful tool and when utilized properly can be a very effective means of implementing a multitude of energy management functions. We break the discussion down into three sections. 1. BMS utilization for demand shedding/control. 2. BMS utilization of smart control strategies. 3. BMS for identifying and diagnosing mechanical failures in a system. All of these aspects play a large role in reducing a facilities energy costs and our industry professionals Mark and Rich cover each of these in detail.

Mark, Clayton, and Rich discuss BMS systems and high level integrations. Today's high performance facilities often utilize the Building Management System as a means to integrate traditionally disparate systems. Essentially a BMS can act as a data connection between two or more independent systems to exchange data, coordinate decision rules and amplify the control operations to include additional data received from multiple sources to effect increased functionality of one or more systems. In this episode out subject matter experts Mark and Rich dig deeper into the subject and answer in detail why integrating systems via the BMS can benefit a facility.

Mark and Clayton discuss the process of specifying high performance open systems. Often times specifiers can write specifications that leave key aspects of a project open to interpretation including installation methods, hardware selection, and project magnitude. We cover the process from start to finish and our subject matter expert Mark discusses how he goes about the process and identifies some key aspects that should always be part of a specification for a high performance open system.

Mark, Clayton, and Rich continue the discussion on IoT vs. dedicated in house networks for BMS. We re-cap some key points of the last episode and get right to the groups biggest concern with IoT.......security. Our team of experts covers the main security concerns with IoT and discusses steps that can be taken to make an IoT BMS network secure along with giving some examples of what can happen if there is a security breach.

Mark, Clayton, and Rich discuss IoT based Building Management Systems in detail. We cover some key advantages of IoT in BMS such as reduced installation and wiring costs along with some shortfalls such as increased network management requirements when compared to traditional dedicated in house networked BMS. Our industry professionals Mark and Rich give their opinions on IoT and its capabilities along with discussing some on the job experiences.

VS Energy bring on subject matter expert guests Rich and Fabio. We have Fabio introduce himself and then dive into what the key element to a successful design is....boots. From there our experts use their combined many years of experience to discuss the process of designing open systems for retrofit applications beginning with the site survey and ending with a successful project. A key takeaway from this episode is that open systems integration requires a scalpel and not a chainsaw to be successful no matter how big or small the project.

Mark, Clayton, and Rich discuss the basics of open system operation and functionality. We start our discussion with what a "standard system" is and how even though a BMS system can use open protocols it does not necessarily mean it is "open". We give personal insight and opinions on these systems and discuss what makes a system truly open. Our subject matter experts Mark and Rich also discuss their involvement in designing and integrating BMS systems to provide interoperability.

Mark, Clayton, and Rich discuss the evolution of the building management system. Our subject matter experts Mark and Rich discuss the BMS industry and the drastic changes they have seen in their lifetimes. We start off the podcast with the concept of temperature control dating back to the 1600's by a chicken farmer named Cornelius Drebble. Much can be learned from the craftsmen, engineers and techs from the early days of building controls. The need for correct application of P, PI, and PID control, reset calculations and control loop tuning are often ignored, but essential to produce high performing buildings and systems. Throughout the episode we cover topics such as the rise and fall of pneumatic controls, the birth of direct digital controls, the inception of BACnet by the founder Mike Newman, and how open protocols have changed the BMS industry.

VS Energy and our subject matter expert guest Rich introduce the BMS Podcast series. We will take some time for business and personal introductions and then dive into discussing how there is often not the expertise required for complex BMS projects within typical A&E firms and how poor engineering can negatively effect the end result of a project.