ControlTalk Now : Sales, Marketing, Products and Technical Tips for HVAC and Smart Building Controls Professionals

Episode 219: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 19, 2017 Congratulates Distech Controls, Honeywell Spyder, Blue Ridge Technologies, and EasyIO. We bring you AHR Coverage of Functional Devices and Siemens' 2017 Automation Partner Summit from San Antonio, TX. Don't miss the latest updates from Vykon Enterprise Security, EasyIO CPT, and Lynxspring.

Sporting a 10-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, Josh Felperin, Siemens' Senior Sales Manager, tells us what's in store for the 350-plus Summit partners attending the 3-day Siemens Partner Summit. Featuring DXR training; golfing at the on-site JW Marriott TPC course; various breakout business sessions and technical sessions, mixed with major league fun and evening entertainment, this is the Siemens event of the year.

The 2016 ControlTrends Awards VAV Controller of The Year — Goes to Distech Controls. Who makes the best VAV Controllers on the planet? According to the global ControlTrends Community that would be Honeywell and Distech. Congratulations to these two fine companies for being selected as co-winners of the 2016 ControlTrends Awards VAV controller of the year.

ControlTrends watches on at the busy Siemens' Talon Partner Vendor Show as Bob Byron demos the latest features of Siemens' RDY2000 commercial thermostat. When used with the Siemens QPA CO2 sensor, the RDY2000 can provide a very well-priced, yet very effective solution to meet ASHRAE's minimum fresh air requirements.

VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisor Updates. Dear VYKON Partner, Tridium has issued a software patch for a recently discovered technical issue affecting VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisors that use an MSSQL database. When updating these VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisors to version 2.3.19.5, the update does not complete, and the MSSQL database is rendered unusable.

Siemens' Senior Sales Director, Building Automation, Scott Hamilton shares with us that this is the 20th Siemens Partner Summit, celebrating the accomplishments of the best integrators and control contractors in the country and how grateful Siemens is for their partnerships and success. Later, at the Awards Banquet, these high-performers would be recognized for their continued growth and success. Scott must be getting it right — he's already got a boulevard named after him!

EasyIO March Newsletter — Updates for CPT Tools and FG firmware. CPT Tools and the firmware of our FG series got a major update. In this newsletter we will share the most important things of that update with you. By clicking on the blue buttons below, you will be able to download the latest versions. If you are interested in more details, you can have a look at the change log.

Blue Ridge Technologies Wins Lighting Control Solution of the Year. Congratulations to Bill Dunkleberger and the team from Blue Ridge Technologies for being Awarded the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Lighting Controls Solution of the Year by the global ControlTrends Community. Bill and his team provide a very powerful and easy to use lighting solution. Blue Ridge has developed an approach called Unified Lighting Control. Unified Lighting Control completes the BAS, incorporating lighting and HVAC controls on the same network. This network consolidation eliminates surplus hardware required for stand-alone and gateway lighting control.

30 Minutes with Lynxspring Webinar Series — Niagara 4 Hierarchies. Join Lynxspring for the next "30 Minutes with Lynxspring", their monthly webinar series hosted by Lynxspring subject matter experts and special guests scheduled. Due to schedules, this month's session will take place on Wednesday, March 22nd at 12:00 PM CST. Amanda Toomey, IEC Developer and a member of Lynxspring's Training Team will look at Niagara 4 Hierarchies. Amanda will examine all facets of creating a user-friendly data-model-based navigation tree in Niagara 4, using the new hierarchies feature.

Check out new products from Functional Devices

Functional Devices Rocks the 2017 AHR Show. Ken stopped by the Functional Devices booth at the 2017 AHR Show and spoke with Maggie Talbert, Functional Devices' North East Sales Manager, Inc. Maggie reviews several new products including the PSH550-UPS-BC. Functional Devices, Inc. a leading manufacturer of high quality, contractor-friendly products since 1969, was a co-winner of the 2016 ControlTrends Peripheral Product of the Year

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Episode 218: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 12, 2017 features our interview with one of the most knowledgeable experts in the HVAC Industry, Scott Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Supply & Engineering out of Detroit, MI., who welcomes the ControlTrends Community to join Cochrane Supply in celebrating their 50th anniversary in grand style this June, at the Controls-Con. Register now for the EasyIO Global Partners May Event in Manchester, UK and 2017 Haystack Connect, in Tamp, FL; CGNA and Schneider Electric present Building Insights; Tridium's Software Maintenance Agreement update; and more 2016 ControlTrends Awards video highlights.

CGNA Web Institute's Presentation of Schneider Electric's Building Insights – Control and Management – A Game Changer for Small Buildings. CGNA's Jim Hayman and Peter Phan host David Moody, Schneider Electric's North American Sales Support Manager, who rolls out a new Schneider Electric solution — to be made available from a CGNA Member Distributor near you. Introducing Schneider Electric's Building Insights — a cloud-based Solution for Multi-site Energy Management that is a game-changer for small buildings.

Tridium Announces Important Changes to Niagara 4 Software Maintenance Agreements. Dear VYKON Partner, The best way to reduce risk and stay current is to pair Niagara with a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA). This is especially true with Niagara 4 because of all that's new about this next-generation software release. Please note that effective April 1, 2017, Niagara 4 SMAs will change in the following ways: * Restriction from stocking extended maintenance: Due to the nature of the extended maintenance model, Tridium will restrict the stocking of extended maintenance parts. * Removal from WEB Channel: Those with the ability to access and purchase through WEB Channel will not have the option to purchase extended maintenance parts via WEB Channel. * Maximum maintenance period: Maintenance cannot be purchased for any period beyond December 31, 2025 (i.e. 10 years from the release of Niagara 4). Please contact us if you have questions. As always, we appreciate your business.

ControlTrends is the source for HVAC and Smart Building News

IFSEC Global — Nominate Your Pick for the Most Influential People in Security and Fire 2017. Nominate your pick for the most influential people in security and fire 2017! We're giving away £100 Amazon vouchers for the 5 most well-argued nominations. This year we're revamping the process: nominations only count if accompanied by explanations and we're breaking the list down into categories to make it more representative of the industry as a whole. Results will be announced in the IFSEC Security Briefing on 11 April 2017.

AWE USA 2017: Auggie Award Nominations Now Open — Augmented and Virtual World SuperStars. AWE USA 2017 is shaping up to be our biggest event yet. We've just added Google Tango, Oculus, Sketchfab and Unity to our line up which already included the likes of ODG, Samsung, Meta, Intel, Microsoft, Huawei, Wayfair, NASA and more. Check out all of the participating organizations on our website. Santa Clara, California May 31-June 2, 2017. Register here.

ControlTalk NOW Interview with one of the most knowledgeable experts in the HVAC Industry, Scott Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Supply & Engineering out of Detroit, MI., who welcomes the ControlTrends Community to join Cochrane Supply in celebrating their 50th anniversary in grand style this June, at the Controls-Con 2017, proudly hosted by Cochrane Supply & Engineering. CONTROLS-CON will take place June 8th and 9th, 2017 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. This fast-paced, education-packed event will bring together hundreds of integrators and end users from throughout the United States and Canada to explore the latest technologies and possibilities of Building Controls and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Meet the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Executives of The Year. One of the evening's most exciting highlights is the Executive of the Year Award. Special Congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Executive of the Year — Small Manufacturer: Terry Swope, Lynxspring and Troy Schwenn, ACI and the 2016 ControlTrends Executive of the Year — Large Manufacturer: Jenny Stentz, Johnson Controls and Martin Villeneuve, Distech Controls!

EasyIO Global Partner Event will unveil and officially release awesome new products and features to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings. ndor/easy-io/03/easyio-world-conference-manchester-united-uk-22-may-2017-early-bird-tickets-for-easyio-global-conference-now-available/">EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United, UK – 22 May 2017 — Early Bird Tickets for EasyIO Global Conference now available!

The 2016 ControlTrends Awards Building Automation Controls System of The Year. Watch all the excitement as Johnson Controls wins one of the most prestigious awards of the evening, the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Building Automation Control System of the Year Award. Special thanks to our guest presenters — Realcomm|IBcon's Howard Berger and Lisa Woods.

Haystack Connect 2017 Promo Video — May 8th-10th at Saddlebrook Resort, Tampa, FL. A Unique Conference: The building automation, energy efficiency, and IoT markets have a variety of events. Some are under the control of a single manufacturer. Some are large conferences where the needs of systems integrators, technology vendors and their customers are lost in a sea of unrelated products and content that are not relevant. Haystack Connect directly serves the needs of the community that is on the leading edge of applying smart data, smart devices, smart equipment and smart building technologies to create a more efficient and sustainable world. Register here.

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Episode 217: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 5, 2017, features an in-depth interview with Master Systems Integrator, Jason Houck of Hepta Systems and coverage of the Sedona Alliance update from Contemporary Controls; Automated Buildings' March edition; KMC Controls at 2017 AHR; SK Foo, winner of the 2016 ControlTrends Support Person of the Year, Small Manufacturer; CABA's "Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things" research project; Intel® becomes a Founding Member of Project Haystack; 2016 ControlTrends Hall of Fame Inductees; and Mena CMO 2017.

In the News: The Sedona Alliance. Downers Grove, Illinois (January, 2017) – The Sedona Alliance, which represents the interests of developers and users of an open control language technology called Sedona Framework, has launched a website at www.sedona-alliance.org. Developed by Tridium Inc., Sedona Framework is a software environment designed to make it easy to build smart, networked, embedded devices which are well suited for implementing control applications.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: The Hall of Fame Inductions. Watch the 2016 ControlTrends Awards highlight of the evening as Jack McGowan, Steven Bushby, and Ken Sinclair are inducted into the ControlTrends Awards Hall of Fame. In recognition of his career contributions to the BACnet protocol, Steven Bushby was also inducted into the BACnet International Hall of Fame. Be sure to check out the bonus track at the end of the video.

Mena CMO 2017: Championing Digital Ecosystems. Guy Hughes-Wilson, Vice President of Sales – Western Europe from BBC Worldwide is keynote speaker for ACI's MENA CMO Conference: Championing Digital Ecosystems, scheduled for the 15th to 16th May 2017 in Dubai, UAE. Guy is the true definition of a modern marketer who is responsible for commercial revenues across all BBC platforms; (TV, online, app and mobile) for clients in Western Europe, and for leading the sales teams based in London and Paris. In the 2014/2015 year, Guy delivered 55% of the annual revenue growth.

ControlTalk NOW Interview with Jason Houck, CTO at Hepta Sysytems. Jason discusses Hepta Systems' early adoption of IT expertise and Hepta's continued recognition as one of North America's top Master Systems Integrators — and some of the award-winning projects that serve as Hepta Systems' bonafide credentials, Additionally, Jason tells the ControlTrends Community about the The Panel Shoppe.

CABA completes "Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things" Research Project. The Continental Automated Buildings Association is pleased to announce that it has completed its "Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things" research project. This landmark research study was a major initiative of the CABA Research Program, which offers a range of opt-in technical and advisory research services designed to provide industry stakeholders with collaborative research and R&D opportunities. The CABA Intelligent Buildings Council, a core working council of CABA, commissioned the landmark research project to examine the impact of IoT related to intelligent buildings.

Ken Sinclair's Automated Buildings March, 2017 Theme: "Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness." Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings continues his thought process on how our industry is very well-suited to utilize the evolving social media connections available to us, in terms of feedback — to participate in the wellness and productivity campaigns emerging from every aspect and dimension of the building space. As Ken's March, 2017 Automated Buildings theme suggests: "Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness," we need get more active in understanding and processing these new user-metrics, because we are in a prime position to take advantage of the benefits.

KMC Controls at 2017 AHR. With a record attendance, it was no wonder AHR 2017 was so impactful for so many. For us at KMC, the people we had the pleasure to meet and the conversations we had were fantastic. Plus, the feedback we received when sharing our innovative solutions solidified our optimism for the rest of the year (and beyond!) In our booth, we shared product enhancements and features for our latest IoT and automation solution. KMC Commander, KMC Conquest, KMC Connect, KMC Connect Lite, and KMC Converge.

Project Haystack Organization Announces Intel® Joins as a New Founding Member. This just in… Richmond, Virginia – March 3, 2017 – Project Haystack (www.project-haystack.org), a non-profit, 501(c) organization focused on developing common standards to streamline the interchange of data among today's smart devices, systems and equipment, today announced that Intel® has joined the Project Haystack Organization as a Founding Member and will hold a seat on the Board of Directors. "Having Intel join the Project Haystack Organization is very exciting for us," said John Petze, Executive Director of Project Haystack."

2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: Best Tech Support Person and Small Manufacturer of The Year. Watch the excitment as Pete Walsh from Columbus Temperature Control Co. and Jim Hayman from CGNA present the Best Technical Support Person of the Year Award — Small Manufacturer, to SK Foo from Easy IO, and Vendor of Year — Small Manufacturer, to Contemporary Controls. Congratulations and Great Job!

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Episode 215: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Feb 19, 2017 features interviews with EasyIO's VP Worldwide Sales, Mike Marston, and Automated Buildings owner and editor, Ken Sinclair. Don't miss Therese Sullivan's coverage of the ControlTrends Awards, Optergy's Proton video, BACnet International's Awards, and the new records set at the 2017 AHR Expo.

Therese Sullivan, Mike Marston, Ken Sinclair, 2017 AHR Expo Records,

Therese Sullivan's "How 2016 CTA-Goers Made It Their Night." By Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContext.me. To watch Ken Smyers and Eric Stromquist manage every detail of the ControlTrends Awards is a lesson in how to be the ultimate hosts. They made it happen on January 29, 2017, at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, NV. But, as if by magic – and there was a lot of that — the party moved out of their hands and seemed to be owned by everyone else in the room at large. The way the community is embracing this event is a sure sign that the CTAs will live on for many years to come. The CTAs have become an important night to many, and serve a variety of community-building functions.

ControlTrends covers the Optergy smart building control system

A Sneak Peak at Proton Optergy. ust got this video from our friend Steve Guzelimian. Steve is bringing the Proton Optergy smart buildings solution to North America. Proton won the global ControlTtrends Awards for Light Commercial Solution of the Year, and is a viable competitor in the "Race to the Small Space". After seeing this cool video, look for Optergy to be a competitor in the Most Impactful Video Award at the 2017 ControlTrends Awards. You can hear what Steve had to say about Optery's North American Strategy on the November 20th Episode of ControlTalk Now The Smart Buildings Video and Podcast.

ControlTalk NOW's first interview is a ControlTrends Awards wrap-up with EasyIO's Mike Marston, on his way to Australia, after finishing a 2-day training session in Pittsburgh, PA. EasyIO is people, products, and applied technology on the move. Congratulations to EasyIO for winning four ControlTrends Awards. The EasyIO FW-14 wireless controller is only getting better! Register now for the EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United UK – 22 May 2017.

ControlTalk NOW's second interview is with Ken Sinclair, who reviews the Connection Community Collaboratory session at the 2017 AHR Expo, the ControlTrends Awards, and previews the theme of his 2017 March edition of Automated Buildings "Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness." Ever insightful, here's a piece from Ken's editorial: "I am in awe of the power bestowed upon us and our potential as an industry to have a significant impact on the wellness and overall satisfaction of the occupants of our automated, connected, smart, living, buildings. Increasing satisfaction and wellness by engagement means creating a dialog path that flows both ways and is a giant first step for our industry's entry into the productivity puzzle and its lucrative paybacks."

BACnet International Awards at the 2017 ControlTrends Awards

The 2017 BACnet International Awards Presentation. As we begin our video highlights from the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, we want to give special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor BACnet International. The BACnet protocol is at the heart of so many of the building automation and smart building control systems, that we thought it only appropriate to begin with a tribute to the dedicated, hard working men and women that make BACnet so great.

using People and Smart Buildings Technology

Ken Sinclair's Connection Community Collaboratory at AHR Expo 2017. "Power to the People, Power to the People, Ride on…"These lyrics are in a song written by the great John Lennon. If John had known our friend Ken Sinclair or attended his Connection Community Collaboratory, the lyrics would have been more like this: "Power of the People, Power of the People, Ride on" Everyday we see technology advancements in the Smart Building's controls market, better controllers, better software and better analytics. Is there a correlation between how good a technology can be and the people that use it? This is just one of the questions that, the ever insightful, Ken Sinclair, poses to a group of Industry Experts at this year's Connection Community Collaboratory, entitled "The Power of People, an Industry Discussion."

2017 AHR Expo in Las Vegas Breaks Three All-Time Records For Overall Show Attendance, Size. WESTPORT, Conn., February 17, 2017 – The International Exposition Company announced today that the 2017 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), held January 30 through February 1 in Las Vegas, has officially broken three of the Show's all-time records. With 68,615 attending the 2017 Show, AHR Expo superseded its former all-time attendance record of 61,674 (set at the 2015 Show in Chicago) by 11.2 percent. This number was also 28.7 percent greater than the overall attendance (totaling 53,324) at the last AHR Expo held in Las Vegas in 2011.

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Episode 214: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Feb 12, 2017 features highlights from the 2016 ControlTrends Awards including the Women of the Year Award co-winners Johnson Controls' Renee Joseph and Tridium's Jenny Graves. Congratulations to 2016 PID Award Winner, Sarah Monteleone from Connect-Air International and the 2016 Young Gun Recipients. Get the latest on Sierra Monitor's and Lencore's Sound Masking Technology; registration for Lynxspring's next 30 Minute webinar; Early Bird registration for the 2017 Haystack Connect has been extended till February 28th, and keep current with industry events with Ken's Calendar.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Woman of the Year Co-winners: Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls and Jenny Graves, Tridium. One of the truly great highlights of the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, was Jenny Stentz and Gina Elliott presenting the newest ControlTrends Awards category, the Woman of the Year. Twelve of the most distinguished and successful women in the HVAC and Building Automation industries were recognized for their outstanding career achievements: Sarah Monteleone, Connect Air; Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls; Lisa Hickey, Belimo; Angie Jarvis, ProLon; Jenny Graves, Tridium; Amy Doran, Alerton; Annette Clayton, Schneider Electric; Laura Kevitt, Vykon; Monica Ferraro, Distech; Ruth Hershey, Siemens; Lindsay Baker , Comfy; and Therese Sullivan, buildingcontext.me. From this amazing group of women, special congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Woman of the Year Co-winners: Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls and Jenny Graves, Tridium!

Once Again, — See You Next Year in Chicago! 2017 ControlTrends Awards will be in Chicago, January 21, 2018. Once again, a very special thanks to our 2016 ControlTrends sponsors; Co-Master of Ceremonies, Marc Petock, Kim Brown; and the incredible Production, Audio, Video, and Logistic support from Rob Allen, Michael Bonner, and Stacie McCammon. We could have not done it without all of your help. See you in Chicago!

Congratulations to the 2016 Petock Award Winner — Sarah Monteleone, Vice President of Sales Connect-Air International. Congratulations to Sarah Monteleone, Vice President of Sales Connect-Air International, winner of the 2016 Petock Award. In the words of the award's namesake, Marc Petock, "This award is given to the person who exemplifies the willingness to help our industry succeed, shares knowledge, and gives something special back to the industry. It recognizes the person who is unselfish and makes someone else's journey a little easier, and through practice and example, makes the industry a better place. The recipient is a fierce competitor and has the desire to expand and enhance our industry without expectation."

Haystack Connect 2017 Early Bird Registration Discount — Extended to February 28, 2017. Haystack Connect 2017, MAY 8TH – 10TH, 2017, Saddlebrook Resort Tampa & Conference Center. Early Bird Registration Discount: $795! The Early Bird Registration Discount expires at midnight on February 28th. The standard Registration fee is $895. The Haystack Connect 2017 Conference will once again, bring together systems integrators, technology providers, A&E firms, OEMs and end users who are leading the way to advance smart-device applications and the power of data that is helping to create more efficient, sustainable built environment and streamline the interoperation of the systems and devices that permeate our modern world.

Ken's Calendar: New 30 Minutes with Lynxspring. This just in from Lynxspring: The next "30 Minutes with Lynxspring", our monthly webinar series featuring Lynxspring subject-matter experts and special guests, continues Wednesday, February 15th at 12:00 PM CST. There is a lot going on within our industry and at Lynxspring. In this monthly edition, I will look at What's Ahead – what's ahead in the industry and what's ahead at Lynxspring. When: Wednesday, February 15, 2017. Time: 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM CST. Register: Click here to register online for this "30 Minutes with Lynxspring" Webinar on February 15, 2017, 12:00 PM CST. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar session. Please contact Lynxspring if you have any questions. Call Toll Free: 877-649-5969 or send an email to: [email protected].

ControlTrends is the source for HVAC and Smart Building News

In The News: Sound Masking Technology improves employee productivity by creating personal audio spaces and stopping noise pollution. Looks like our friends at Sierra Monitor and Lencore are finding another innovative way to help reduce the spend on the $300 side of the 3-30-300 dollar rule. Having two small children, I am hoping the home version of this comes out soon. This just in: Sierra Monitor Corporation (http://www.sierramonitor.com ) and Lencore (http://www.lencore.com) are creating unique "private audio clouds" for open office environments and medical facilities. Lencore's sound masking solutions for modern workplaces, along with emergency notification solutions, make workplace environments safer and more productive. In addition, Lencore's sound masking solutions are used in medical offices and other facilities where privacy and confidentiality is important.

Congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Young Gun Recipients. ControlTrends is extremely proud of the Young Gun Awards and what we believe to be another important industry initiative to draw young talent to our industry. There is no better way to enhance the image of the HVAC Industry than recognizing young professionals — who, early in their careers, have already made an important contribution or significant impact within their organization — that serves well as career role model. We need to collectively seek parity and positive recognition for our HVAC industry and attract more of the young minds and talent needed to sustain our industry in the years to come. We look forward to the continuing support of the ControlTrends Community to help us identify next year's Young Guns.

ControlTrends Keeps an Eye on 2017 Events with Ken's Calendar. While it has been an amazingly busy and productive year so far, many more events are on the horizon. ControlTrends will continue to post the event information as we receive notice or become aware of the event. Please note that the information is gathered from various sources, and the times, dates, and locations may have changed. Be sure to visit the appropriate website or contact the event coordinator to ensure the most up-to-date information.

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Episode 213: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Jan 22, 2017, sets the final stage for the 2016 ControlTrends Awards to be held in Las Vegas next Sunday evening, with a special show preview with Marc Petock, Master of Ceremonies. We thank our sponsors and the ControlTrends global community at large, for making this year's show the biggest and best ever. Also this week, updates from Schneider Electric, KMC Controls, Optigo, Contemporary Controls, Optergy, EasyIO, and the Niagara Forum London.

ControlTalk NOW Interview with Lynxspring's Chief Communications Officer and VP Marketing, Marc Petock. Marc gives us venerated industry insight into trends impacting and disrupting our markets and the growth of the ControlTrends Awards. As the Master of Ceremonies, Marc shares his excitement as the fifth ControlTrends Awards draws near. Marc also previews Lynxspring's new edge-to-enterprise and IoT solutions and service offerings for building automation, energy management and device-to-enterprise integration to be displayed in Booth # C1680 in the Building Automation and Control Showcase the AHR Expo 2017.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: Schneider Electric Struxureware. Go beyond traditional building management systems with Schneider Electric Struxureware. Large-enterprise building professionals need a comprehensive BMS that breaks down existing silos to optimize energy consumption, maintain healthy and productive environments, update aging facilities, and provide anytime access to information.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: KMC Controls. We're the Experts! For nearly 50 years, KMC Controls has provided state-of-the-art building automation and control solutions to a global network of system integrators and distributors. Our products are controlling buildings of all sizes and types all around the world, including the most sustainable office building in North America. Increasing control, monitoring, and efficiency demands drive the need for flexible building automation systems. Intelligent building control systems reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs, and improve occupant health, comfort, and productivity.

BACnet MS/TP Trouble-Shooting Simplified with Innovative Product Integration from Contemporary Controls and Optigo Networks. BACnet MS/TP Trouble-Shooting Simplified with Innovative Product Integration from Contemporary Controls and Optigo Networks. Vancouver, BC, January 17, 2017 – BACnet MS/TP trouble-shooting can now be done remotely on demand or via scheduled analysis thanks to a one-of-a kind product integration from Chicago-based Contemporary Controls and Vancouver-based Optigo Networks. Using Contemporary Controls' popular BASrouterLX to capture MS/TP traffic and Optigo Networks' Visual BACnet for analysis, technicians will no longer need to be on-site to diagnose MS/TP issues.

OPTERGY Introduces New Product — Proton for Small Buildings! Small Buildings often have BIG Problems. Proton by Optergy aims to transform the market and bring building and energy management to all. If you are coming to the AHR EXPO 2017, in Las Vegas, please feel free to come by our booth for a conversation about what Optergy and its featured product is all about. You can find Optergy at booth C1075 in the Building Automation area.

EASYIO's New Produal Peripherals. We are Proud to Announce that Produal is our New Partner for Building Automation Measurement! EasyIO is proud to announce that Produal is our new partner for building automation measurement. We are working jointly with these experts in measurement to offer you efficient, excellent peripheral products with a five year warranty. With this competent peripheral product program, we now aim to be a wide one-stop-shop for our EasyIO Partners.

Registration now open for Niagara Forum London! Sunday, 26 March 2017 – Tuesday, 28 March 2017 Park Plaza Westminster. Be sure to register for Niagara Forum London while space lasts! You won't want to miss the premier conference about Internet of Things (IoT) technology and the chance to learn more about Buildings IoT, Industrial IoT and other important technology trends. This bi-annual event provides developers, building owners, engineers and executives the opportunity to engage with one another on a variety of issues related to device-to-enterprise applications and automation infrastructure.

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Episode 212: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 15, 2017 introduces Tridium's new President and General Manager, Jim Bland. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards are less than two weeks away and there is still time to vote! And, we want to remind all of our sponsors and attendees to be at the Hard Rock Cafe, on the Red Carpet, before 6:30! Be sure to visit our featured Platinum Sponsors for this week: Lynxspring, Honeywell, Blue Ridge Technologies, and Distech, and by all means, VOTE today!

2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts. If you have not voted yet, you have until January 17 to cast your votes.

ControlTrends Introduces Tridium's New president

Meet Tridium's New President. ohn Sublett, Tridium CTO, introduces new Tridium President and General Manager, Jim Bland to the Niagara and ControlTrends community. Jim joins Tridium from Snapdata.io, a start-up company that designs and develops sensors, data communications hardware and analytics software. He also has managed several national and global businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises.

Lynxspring to Demonstrate New Edge-to-Enterprise and IoT Solutions in the Building Automation and Control Showcase at AHR Expo 2017. LEE'S SUMMIT, MISSOURI (PRWEB) JANUARY 10, 2017. Lynxspring, Inc. (http://www.lynxspring.com), a premier developer and provider of open, IP-control solutions for building automation, energy management, cyber protection, and device-to-enterprise integration today announced they will be demonstrating their new edge-to-enterprise and IoT solutions and service offerings for building automation.

Best way to do lighting controls to make buildings smarter

Catch Up with Bill Dunkleberger and See Cool New Products from Blue Ridge Technologies. On this episode of ControlTalk Rewind we revisit Bill Dunkleberger from Blue Ridge Technologies. Bill shows us some cool new products, introduces us to ControlTrends Awards Best Technical support person nominee Christy O'Neil, and shares his thoughts on the most effective ways to do lighting in Smart Buildings. Bill is nominated for the ControlTends Executive of the Year.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: Honeywell WEBs. Honeywell is Building Automation Systems: With both Honeywell WEBs-N4 and WEBs-AX, Honeywell has the Niagara Framework-based building management solution (BMS) that takes all aspects of your building and occupant needs into consideration to maximize energy efficiency and make management of your facility simpler and more user-friendly. Add the power of Spyder® or Stryker controllers, and you'll have the versatility to choose from a collection of best-in-class control products.

2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: Distech Controls. Distech Controls' EC-Net building management system (BMS) is a comprehensive Web-based platform powered by the Niagara Framework®. The open structure of EC-Net building management system (BMS) creates a common development and management environment for the integration of BACnet®, LONWORKS®, Modbus, and other standards. More than a building management system, EC-Net system provides all the tools you need to gain intelligence into your buildings' performance and arm you with the ability to rapidly react to any situation that may adversely affect energy costs, business performance, and ultimately, your bottom line.

The post Episode 212: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 15, 2017 appeared first on ControlTrends.

Episode 211: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 8, 2017 features our interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, who in his January, 2017 edition, continues his prescient insight into the future of our industry and talks about AB's new Mission Statement to create a change in thinking and attitudes — and bringing satisfaction and comfort to the forefront as the new Measured Variables. Additionally, we review five more nominees for the 2016 Most Impactful Video category. Make sure to Vote for the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, which will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe, January 29, 2017!

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Introducing FIN 4.0. A lot has been going on here at J2 Innovations! We recently announced our game-changing technology FIN 4.0 along with exciting new FIN Certified Hosts platforms. Check out the video below to experience first hand how FIN 4.0 uses tagging, data modeling, and HTML 5 to fundamentally change our industry.

Energy Department Launches New Manufacturing USA Institute Focused on Recycling and Reusing Materials. As part of the Manufacturing USA initiative, today the Energy Department announced its new Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, which will be headquartered in Rochester, New York and led by the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance. REMADE will leverage up to $70 million in federal funding, subject to appropriations, and will be matched by $70 million in private cost-share commitments from over 100 partners.

Ken Sinclair's Automated Buildings January, 2017 Theme: "Our Assets are People, not Technology." Don't miss this prescient interview with Ken Sinclair. We might suppose that it was the relentless rays of disruptive IoT light recently shone on our industry, that inspired Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, to rewrite his Automated Buildings' mission statement, entitled: "Be the Catalysis/Harbinger of the IoT Future of Building Automation." Yet, the real focus of the AB's January, 2017 edition is the concept that people are still our greatest asset, not technology. As Ken reminds us, "We need to focus instead on our only assets, our people who have all been through several technology shifts in their life. They have seen hardware evaporate into software and become data in the IoT cloud or processes acted on at the edge."

2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts. If you have not voted yet, VOTE NOW! You have until January 19th, to cast your vote.

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Contemporary Controls' Understanding BACnet Part 1. Thanks to George Thomas and the team at Contemporary Controls for putting together this eight-part video series "Understanding BACnet." Contemporary Controls is a leading global manufacturer of system building blocks for networking, integrating and controlling automation processes where performance and reliability are important.

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Johnson Controls Smart Connected Chillers. Monitor Johnson Controls Smart Connected Chillers performance from anywhere. With buildings consuming 47 percent of global energy and about half of that coming from chillers, keeping on top of chiller performance is critical, not just for efficiency, but for occupant comfort and productivity. New technologies that form the Internet of Things (IoT) are making it easier than ever to stay on top of chiller maintenance – with data available anywhere, remote monitoring and diagnostics allow service technicians to proactively tackle potential issues, making preventative care and maintenance scheduling easier than ever.

MG350 SmartX Actuator offers great havoc control

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Schneider Electric's SmartX Actuator MG350. The Schneider Electric SmartX MG 350 is the first NEW SmartX Actuator released globally. It is designed to control two and three-way globe valves in a wide range of applications. The MG350 SmartX Actuator is the platform for the future, acting as the foundation of both a SmartStruxure solution and SmartStruxure Lite solution. The critical information delivered by the actuator helps the BMS operate at optimal efficiency.

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Johnson Controls, A New Evolution. In 1885, long before anyone talks about carbon footprints or climate change, Warren Johnson launches a company to explore new ways to harness and conserve precious energy resources. In doing so, he also launches a tradition of customer-focused innovation — a tradition that has inspired thousands of employees for more than 130 years and that continues to drive the success of Johnson Controls.

The post Episode 211: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 8, 2017 appeared first on ControlTrends.

ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 1, 2017 recaps the year's major event coverage, highlights many of the 2016 Most Impactful Videos, and gives a preview of the upcoming 2016 ControlTrends Awards in Las Vegas. As always, we thank you, the global ControlTrends Community, for your continued patronage and support. 2016 was an amazing year for our industry — full of disruption, acquisitions, and growth, and from the early news and activity, and the events on the near horizon, 2017 portends to be even better. Please help us recognize the best products, solutions, and people in our industry. Cast your VOTE for 2016 ControlTrends Awards today!

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Welcome to Alerton — An introduction to Alerton and an Alerton Building. Alerton is totally committed to helping you get the best performance from your buildings. We are a pioneer and an industry leader in providing building management solutions for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment for all types and sizes of buildings. We also help simplify building management by integrating fire, life safety, lighting, access management and other building systems.

2016 Energy Savings Solution Product of the Year Finalist: JCI VSD Active Energy. The patented active energy control Generation 2 Variable Speed Drives from Johnson Controls provides energy savings, quick easier connections, and a fast payback. These globally compliant, innovative and intuitive VSD's allow seamless integration and can be used with Facility Explorer and other Building Automation Systems.

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: DG LOGIK's Project Assist 2.0 for Facilities. DGLogik introduces Project Assist 2.0 for facilities, a step by step wizard that allows users to create an HTML5 interface to manage and monitor facility data. It delivers a faster, simpler and more intuitive user experience, offering full flexibility and customization without diving into the full design and development environment of DGLux5.

2016 Best Technical Support Company — Small Manufacturer Finalist: Contemporary Controls. Talk about customer support, take a look at this exciting offer from Contemporary Controls: December 2016 release – We keep reading about "easy" Modbus to BACnet gateways, but our competitors still require the user to make their own device profiles on a point-by-point basis, which can take hours of development time when you are trying to integrate a Modbus device into a BACnet inter-network. We have a much better solution for our customers – have Joe do the work!

2016 ControlTrends Highlight: On the Red Carpet at the 2015 ControlTrends Awards. 2015 ControlTrends Awards Red Carpet Interviews (Caution: Superstars and Super Heroes Entering Stage Right). Great ControlTrends Awards interviews with Ken Sinclair, Automated Buildings and Brad White, SES Engineering, discuss the Young Guns Awards (Climate Superheroes), the AHR EXPO Industry Service Award, the global growth of ControlTrends Community and Hans Kranz's Hall of Fame induction; along with interviews with Johan Schakenraad, CEO, EasyIO Europe; Allison and Scott Cochrane, Cochrane Supply; Alerton's Amy Doran and Kevin Callahan; and BASSG's Alper Uzmezler.

How to protect your building automation controls systems from hackers

ControlTalk Now Rewind: Fearless Phil Zito. Check out what our friend and Smart Buildings Controls Expert, "Fearless Phil Zito", had to say about his new book and the current state of Building Automation Controls and how hackers are getting into your building automation controls system and what you can do to stop them. Check out Phil's list of his 10 top 2016 articles and podcasts on his Building Automation Monthly website. Phil's mission is to provide the best online Building Automation training to prepare 20,000 people to enter the building automation space by 2025.

Building Automation and Smart Buildings best of

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: A Final Look at the 2016 ControlTrends Awards. The 2015 ControlTrends Awards were held yesterday evening at Orlando's Hard Rock Live, located at the door step to the amazing Universal Studios. Hard Rock Live was a most befitting venue to celebrate the heroes and superstars of our HVAC and the Building Automation industries. Marc Petock and Kimberly Brown co-hosted the awards ceremony that recognized the 2015 ControlTrends heroes and superstars of the HVAC and Building Automation industry. The 2015 seven Top Gun Awards recipients were recognized (separate post to follow) as was Ed Merwin, who received the coveted Petock Award.

Smart Buildings and Building Automation Controls

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Opening Day The Niagara Summit. ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and Podcast for week ending May 15, 2016 is all about DAY 1 @ 2016 Niagara Summit in New Orleans — and another apex moment in the Building Renaissance movement, where over 1300 of the world's top developers, programmers, building owners, engineers and executives have joined Nino DiCosmo and the Tridium staff to participate in forums, presentations and breakout sessions that will set the precedence and pace in the realm of smart, intelligent, and connected buildings. Over 300 developer partners participated in the future of Niagara 4 at the Boot Camp session. The evening Welcome Reception was kicked off in true Mardi Gras fashion with a police-escort led parade ending at the fabulous Champions Square.

ControlTrends Talks to Honeywell's Larry Weber about smart building control

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Larry Weber at CGNA. Honeywell's Larry Weber on Light Commercial Smart Controls — Sustain and Maintain Small to Medium Size Buildings. At the 2016 CGNA Synergy Conference, ControlTrends caught up with Honeywell's Larry Weber, General Manager Building Control Systems (BCS) Honeywell Environmental Control and Combustion. It is quite apparent that Larry and Honeywell have their hands directly on the pulse of the Smart Buildings controls renaissance.

2016 ControlTrends HighLights: The Roger Rebennack Experience. The Roger Rebennack Experience — was held over the Memorial Holiday weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — where over 80 Honeywell customers from all parts of North America joined Roger, Honeywell, and 350,000 racing fans for the spectacular 100th Anniversary Run of the Indy 500. This 3-day extravaganza is unrivaled, mixing the thrill of the greatest race of the year with two concerts, the Indy 500 museum, celebrities, and life-long memories. Contact your Honeywell distributor or representative today and get your engines started for next year's Roger Rebennack Experience.

2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: EasyIO Europe – The Rules Have Changed. The goal of EasyIO Europe is to deliver Energy Management Systems that improve the well-being of people, by optimizing the interaction between humans, buildings, and work. We are committed to provide strategy to energy savings driven by strategic partnerships with technology leader EasyIO and complementary solutions. Our unique Energy Analyzing Dashboard Solution and FG Controllers make us an ideal value-added partner for System Integrators, OEM's. and National Accounts.

ControlTrends covers Smart Buildings and Building Automation Controls Solutions

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Day One Recap Realcomm|IBcon. Ken Sinclair, Automated Buildings and Therese Sullivan, Building Context joined Rob Allen and ControlTrends at the end of DAY 1 outside the San Jose Convention Center, where the Jim Young, Howard Berger, and Lisa Woods and the Realcomm team successfully launched the start of IBcon 2016. Pre-conference events that brought together some of the top visionary experts from around the globe to discuss the latest trends and technologies — and present the world's most advanced, next-gen smart building case studies. IBcon break-out sessions included the Information Systems & Smart Buildings CYBERSECURITY Forum; Intelligent Buildings Boot Camp; and Smart Building Integrator Summit.

ControlTrends covers the 2016 Real Comm Ibcon Smart Buildings conference

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: IBcon Recap. This ControlTrends Highlight takes a deeper dive into Realcomm/IBcon 2016 with Marc Petock joining us as co-host. Our first special guest was Intelligent Buildings' Co-founder, Intelligent Buildings, Tom Shircliff, who shares his insight into some of the new technologies displayed at the show — soon to impact the industry, and the increased emphasis on water. Cyber security must be elevated to an organization's highest priority, and physical measures, often overlooked, are of extreme importance to an effective cyber security program.

ControlTalk Now is the Weekly news source for smart building and building automation controls

2016 ControlTrends HighLights: Episode 200 of ControlTalk Now at JBC 2016. ControlTrends was delighted to bring you our 200th episode of ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending October 9th, 2016, while covering DAY 2 of the Johnson Controls' CBC16! Providence would have us at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland, which was an ideal venue — full of special people to help us celebrate our momentous occasion. Special thanks to Roger Rebennack, Jenny Stentz, Chris Eichmann, Rick Van Buren, Russ Carfagna, John Donahue, Dave Gottfried, Jeff Hurwitz, Joe Chandler, Jim Hayman, Pete Walsh, Paul Burke, and the too numerous to name well-wishers and supporters of ControlTrends, that helped make this milestone happen!

Control Trends cover smart buildings controls company KMC

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: KMC Genius Conference. From Nashville to Chicago, and from JCI to KMC, this has been the week of Smart Buildings Controls meetings. KMC's Genius Conference theme was "Command Your future". KMC rolled out all the stops with a great location, great speakers, innovative ideas, and training on KMC's new light commercial system,the Commander. KMC Commander is the most advanced Internet of Things (IoT) platform for enterprise-level building automation and control. Commander offers cutting-edge integration, analytics, and visualization technology in real-time delivered on your mobile device.

Ken Sinclair's Automated Buildings January, 2017 Theme: "Our Assets are People, not Technology." We might suppose that it was the relentless rays of disruptive IoT light recently shone on our industry, that inspired Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, to rewrite his Automated Buildings' mission statement, entitled: "Be the Catalysis/Harbinger of the IoT Future of Building Automation." Yet, the real focus of the AB's January, 2017 edition is the concept that people are still our greatest asset, not technology. As Ken reminds us, "We need to focus instead on our only assets, our people who have all been through several technology shifts in their life. They have seen hardware evaporate into software and become data in the IoT cloud or processes acted on at the edge."

2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Coverage of the Siemens CPS October Business National Sales Meeting in Chicago. ControlTrends coverage of the Siemens CPS Business National Sales Meeting in Chicago features interviews with John Katzmarszyk, VP Americas, Commercial Products and Solutions, who explains Siemens' effort to be more open, honest, and engaging to their partners, make more products and solutions available, and be more effective business partners. ControlTrends' next interview is with Siemens Territory Manager and ControlTrends Woman of the Year nominee, Ruth Hershey.

The post Episode 210: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 1, 2017 appeared first on ControlTrends.