1. Building Automation and
Controls: What’s New and
What Will the Future Bring?
Presented to the Illinois Chapter ASHRAE
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
By Gaylen Atkinson
President
Atkinson Electronics

2. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
BUILDING AUTOMATION &
CONTROLS,
WHAT’S NEW & WHAT WILL THE
FUTURE BRING?
PRESENTER: GAYLEN ATKINSON
PRESIDENT
ATKINSON ELECTRONICS, INC.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
March 2010
BUILDING AUTOMATION & CONTROLS,
WHAT’S NEW & WHAT WILL THE
FUTURE BRING?
1. Basic control definitions
2. Brief history of HVAC Controls &
Building Automation Systems
(BAS)
3. Current BAS issues and trends
4. What does the BAS future look
like?
BUILDING AUTOMATION & CONTROLS,
PURPOSES OF CONTROLS
 Reduce equipment capacity to maintain
desired ambient conditions, temperature,
% RH, pressure, etc.
 Reduce the amount of human labor needed.
 Keep processes operating at safe levels.
 Operate process to maintain environment
using the least amount of energy possible.

3. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
BUILDING AUTOMATION & CONTROLS,
BASIC CONTROL DRFINITIONS
 Controlled variable = Y
 Control Set point = X
 Controlled medium = water or air
 Controlled device = valve or damper motor
 Proportional band = 1/gain
 Control action may be direct or reverse
(positive or negative slope)
 DDC = Direct Digital Control using micro
processors or computers.
TYPES OF CONTROL
 Feed forward or open loop.
 Feed back or closed loop.
 Two position: (on – off).
 Timed two position: ie heat anticipator T’s stat.
 3-point floating: increase, decrease or stop,
also step & wait w/ micro processor.
 Proportional (0 to 10VDC, 4-20mA and 3 to 15 PSI
P – Proportional only
PI – Proportional + Integral
PID – Proportional + Integral + Derivative
Control Systems During the 1950’s & 1960’s
1950’s:
• Reasonably Accurate Pneumatic Sensors &
Controllers
• Fairly Comfortable Environmental Conditions
1960’s:
• Improved System Design & Performance (VAV)
• Proliferation of Sensor/Receiver-Controller
Concept
• Pneumatic Control Systems Are Industry
“Norm.”

4. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
Control Systems During the 1970’s
1970’s:
• Micro-Chip Analog Electronic Control &
Computerized Energy Management
Systems
• Initial Computer Based Systems Were
Costly & Performed Minimal Control
Functions; Typically Only Monitored
Pneumatic Control Systems
Control Systems During the 1980’s
1980’s:
• Pneumatic systems continue
• Microprocessor based panels with high
density inputs & outputs
• Introduction of “Smart” Controllers
• Proliferation of Application-Specific DDC
Control Modules
• Higher System Capability Per $ Investment
Control Systems During the 1990’s
1990’s:
• Electronic systems replace pneumatics
• Open Protocols Introduced
•BACnet
•LON
• World Wide Web Becomes Popular

5. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
Control Systems 2000 & Beyond
2000’s:
• Internet Dominates BAS systems
• Wireless Technologies proliferate
• Smart Building Systems
• Full Building integration
• Future ????
CURRENT BAS ISSUES &
TRENDS:
 Proprietary and open protocols.
PROTOCOL - PROPERTIES
 Proprietary – individually controlled
 Shared – Strategic alliances
 Open – General use
 Defacto Standard – Industry accepted
(e.g. Ethernet, Modbus, IP, etc.)
 Standard – Agency/Association Approved
(e.g. Lontalk, Bacnet, Arcnet, etc.)

6. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
WHY OPEN PROTOCOL
THAT’S WHY !
LEVELS OF
INTEROPERABILITY
 Coexistance
 Systems don’t interfere nor they cooperate
 Solution Specific
 Requires Joint development & Engineering
 Plug & Play
 Effortless integration of various manufacturing
components
 Interchangeability
 Products are functionally identical

7. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
CURRENT BAS ISSUES &
TRENDS:
 Proprietary and open protocols.
 DDC control hardware is becoming a
commodity
 A BAS is usually part of a building
information systems (I.S.) backbone
 Integration to the internet is a given
INTERNET INTEGRATION
Proprietary
Front-End
Controls Contractor
BAS Salesman Building Engineer
Internet
Open System
Building Manager
Front-End Controller(s)
Application
Controller(s)
Owner
CURRENT BAS ISSUES &
TRENDS:
 Proprietary and open protocols.
 DDC control hardware is becoming a commodity
 A BAS is usually part of a building information
systems (I.S.) backbone
 Integration to the internet is a given
 Control contractors are now system integrators
 Software not hardware is the heart of today’s BAS
systems

8. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
CURRENT BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS
CONT’D:
 New section 2300 replaces division 15 of
specifications
 BAS have the capacity and are being used
for much more than just control
FULL BAS
Ethernet INTEGRATION UPS
Irrigation & Electrical
Alternate Energy
WiFi Wireless Water Management Controls
Rate Purchase
Network Security
Manager
Internet
Card Access
Network
Manager Lighting Controls
Ethernet AHU’s
Fire/Smoke Terminal Units
Control HVAC System Central Plant
LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION

9. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
CURRENT BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS
CONT’D:
 New section 2300 replaces division 15 of
specifications
 BAS have the capacity and are being used
for much more than just control
 Wireless is expanding rapidly
WIRELESS BAS
INTEGRATIONS:
 Point to Point (sensor to VAV box)
 WIFI for using a laptop for commissioning
 MESH wireless networks
 Cellular modems on BAS equipment
 Zigbee, RFID, etc.
CURRENT BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS
CONT’D:
 New section 2300 replaces division 15 of
specifications
 BAS have the capacity and are being used
for much more than just control
 Wireless is expanding rapidly
 Power and control communications on the
same wire is emerging

10. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
SAME-WIRE POWER &
CONTROL
 Simple 120VAC light switching
 Powerline data communication
 24VAC power & network traffic for HVAC
actuators and sensors
 Utility metering & add-on services
 Home automation
CURRENT BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS CONT’D:
 New section 2300 replaces division 15
 BAS have the capacity and are being used for much
more than just control
 Wireless is expanding rapidly
 Power and control communications on the same wire
is emerging
 Internet user expectations drive BAS features
 Full control systems are coming with HVAC
mechanical equipment
 BAS must integrate with user’s management computer
systems, there are many users, not just the building
engineers
INTERNET INTEGRATION
Proprietary
Front-End
Controls Contractor
BAS Salesman Building Engineer
Internet
Open System
Building Manager
Front-End Controller(s)
Application
Controller(s)
Owner

11. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS
CONT’D:
 Knowledge of how to control HVAC and integrate
much more important than any vendor’s system
 Web services such as weather, technical data base and
data processors are more common
 Commissioning, monitoring and trending are common
uses of BAS, also data archiving
 BAS are used in LEED projects for building monitoring
and performance verification
 Smart building systems are driving innovative uses of
BAS into every area of a building
SMART BUILDING BAS
 Knowledge based software for maintenance &
re-commissioning expert system
 Self-tuning control systems are becoming more
common-besides trial & error PID tuning
 Control device manufacturer libraries replace
O&M manuals
 Fuzzy logic & other techniques optimize
building operations artificial intelligence
BAS ISSUES AND TRENDS CONT’D :
 Knowledge of how to control HVAC and integrate
much more important than any vendor’s system
 Web services such as weather, technical data base and
data processors are more common
 Commissioning, monitoring and trending are common
uses of BAS, also data archiving
 BAS systems are used in LEED projects for building
monitoring and performance verification
 Smart building systems are driving innovative uses of
BAS into every area of a building
 M2M networking driving every connected component
to being internet addressable

12. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
M2M
and
End User
Internet-addressable
Internet
TCP/IP
Network Network Network
Manager Manager Manger
Lon or
BACnet
HVAC Lighting Security Access Irrigation
WHAT BAS TRENDS WILL HAVE
STAYING POWER INTO THE FUTURE:
 BAS are part of the building “IS” network, many new
players are entering the market
 Wireless and power-line control will dominate,
reducing installation costs
 Control hardware will be a smaller percentage of
mechanical budget, programming costs will grow
 Internet direction will drive BAS and building controls
OLD CO-EXISTENT
BUILDINGS
Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary
HVAC Lighting System Security System

13. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
End User
Internet
TCP/IP
BACnet Lon
Translator Translator
HVAC Lighting Security Access
FUTURE
TECHNOLOGY???
End User
Internet
TCP/IP
Everything is based on Internet Protocol
HVAC Lighting Security Access
WHAT BAS TRENDS WILL HAVE
STAYING POWER INTO THE FUTURE:
 BAS is part of the building “IS” system, many other players are
entering the market
 Wireless and power-line control will dominate, reducing
installation costs
 Control hardware will be a smaller percentage of mechanical
budget, programming costs will grow
 Internet direction will drive BAS and building controls
 BAS will increasingly become more utilized to manage energy
and resources in a building
 Retro-commissioning both BAS and mechanical, will be driven
by increasing energy costs and change in building usage
 Much more HVAC equipment will come complete with a
control system
 Self commissioning and auto tuning systems will become the
norm

14. Building Automation & Controls March 9, 2010
LINKS FOR MORE
INFORMATION
 www.automatedbuildings.com
 www.bacnet.org
 www.lonmark.org
 www.betterbricks.com
 www.caba.org
 www.ashrae.org
 www.echelon.com
 www.tridium.com
 www.atkinsonelectronics.com
 www.johnsoncontrols.com
 www.honeywell.com
 www.invensys.com
 www.sbt.siemens.com
 www.delta controls.com
 www.automatedlogic.com
 www.tac.com