Date ......... 22nd January 1994
Updated ......... 21st May 1994
What is conceived currently as an "Intelligent Building" is a question on many tongues. There are numerous concepts of how intelligent buildings can usefully be, and what features can be implemented in a building structure.
Some existing systems cater purely for the aspects related to building safety, risk and operating cost minimisation without significant direct benefit to both the Tenants and the Building Operator.
The features are usually a selection or combination of the following
examples.
Automatic Fire warning Systems
Automatic Burglar Alarm Systems
Central Aircon Control Systems
Key Entry Systems
Dynamic Lift program and Control
Systems
Emergency Lighting Systems
Surveillance Systems
Public Address Systems
Within this category there are many companies providing systems which encompass some or most of the abovementioned facilities ,some of whom have a worldwide reputation. However few pay much attention to real integration .
Other companies portray themselves as Building Control Systems providers but the "system" often takes second place in importance and is purely conceived as the "glue" which supports their own product range, be they specific or OEM'd.
A Control Centre is usually employed as the coordination point for the systems employed in a building . Some are supplied with some remote control panels for individual tenant intervention and control if deemed necessary.
For most of these facilities various suppliers , and installers put in incompatible standalone systems. There may be considerable configuration work should attempts be made to integrate many of these facilities.
Recently some attempt has been made in the industry to promote a common standard. Here again rather than a single common standard ,two standards seem to be emerging, BATIbus and BACNET.
BATIbus is a standard being moved in the European market with BACNET being favoured by the US Continent.
A patented commercial offering is also being promoted named "Lonworks"
However with data system intensive buildings utilising very tightly
controlled mains borne R.F. interference filtering there could
be some drawbacks if mains borne communications are used. However
it can be implemented using traditional signal wiring.
Where does that leave the ASEAN countries???
Which horse are they going to back???
Asean normally favours the European standards in general terms when it comes to specifications, but there has been a recent swing towards Americanization.
Indeed in the BAS/Fire system industry ASHRAE membership, skills and training is widely accepted in Asia with members chapters in most local countries.
The Construction Industry and indeed it's Consultants usually package each discipline into an individual work package for quotation, supply and installation with little regard for the possibility of enhanced performance through integration.
Talking lifts and self regulating aircon is technology that has been with us some time. Currently therefore most "Intelligent Building Systems" claimed to be installed are not as intelligent as one would first imagine.
They certainly do go some way towards effective energy conservation but do little or nothing much to enhance the revenue earning capacity of a building .
One recent "Intelligent Building" claiming efficient
energy management still blows hot air off the roof from the cooling
towers associated with the aircon chillers while providing immersion
heaters for a hot water supply.
There are many articles published by advocates of intelligent buildings. These often talk about robots, the proverbial intelligent toilet jokes and many other similar sci-fi scenarios . Well we must remember not to disregard these.
There once was an author H.G. Wells whom at the time wrote a futuristic novel. Indeed today a lot of it is now partially true , although maybe not quite as Wells envisaged it.
Practicality and cost effectiveness must rule the day without the fear of obsolescence round the corner but rather leaving the options for upgrading as newer and enhanced features become available.
Firstly let us assume a developer conceives he should have an Intelligent Building.
Does he really know what he wants??
What are his reasons ??
Which facilities is he intending to cater for??
Do his architects and consultants know how to go about it and get the best out of any design??
What technical input or consultancy is envisaged and at
what stage of design?
Developers and architects cannot be expected to be the wise sages of modern communications and facility technology. They traditionally are the recommenders which document the request to implement the designs and features that are developed and proven by the supplier industry at large.
As the technology involved gets more complex the building facilities consultants have to carry an ever increasing burden of keeping up with all technology in order to interpret this into a cost effective application suitable for the client.
Here tradition points towards change. In effect to achieve cost effective and maximised features within the building the infrastructure is begging to be designed as a turnkey operation thus reducing the in depth "nuts and bolt" understanding required of the building consultant at a very early stage.
This therefore would indicate a move away from separate designs for the FIRE, BAS and SECURITY, Car Parking etc each currently handled in a different way and tendered at different times to different parties.
That is not to suggest that each system should not be capable of standalone operation but to indicate the should operate under an integrated approach which potentially would maximise the cross fertilization of the existing features in combinations.
Often at the tenants behest and with little discussion with the building owner telephones are handled by the telephone company and data distribution handled by a myriad of concerns selling network servers LANs,WANs and the usually array of uncontrolled wires under the floor (or sometimes only under the carpet) not to mention those piled in the risers between floors.
In time many of these cables fall into disuse and are abandoned whilst new cables are stacked on top or along side.
In a multi-tenanted building a tenant may have problems with these installations due to cross modulation and interference from parallel cables of which he is unaware of the signal content or even the destination.
Future designs look towards being carried out completely as a total requirement and calling for all the features that full integration can muster. Then maybe one will see an industry moving forward at a rapid pace and implementing the technology that is readily available.
Suppliers
However were does that leave the traditional suppliers, many whom only specialise in small sections of activity?
Fear not, for they should fit in so long as they can adapt to change. They can work together with a design team in order to support their own products and propose enhanced uses from cross fertilisation.
Very often, smaller suppliers may find themselves at an advantage
not being strapped to a corporate leviathan structure which may
impede fast and flexible movements and change.
What should an Intelligent building offer??
It should offer dynamic and effect energy management according to the prevailing conditions including the unexpected. It should offer the freedom and safety to all inhabitants whilst not affecting security aspects. It should allow for unimpeded evacuation under emergency conditions without sacrificing both security and accountability. It should also and most importantly offer the building developer and operator the opportunity to not only realise the initial investments but also produce a REVENUE ORIENTATED SERVICE to the operator and to the benefit of the Tenants.
In a nutshell it can be conceived like a thinking, caring , comforting ,budget conscious mother taking care of all it's resident family needs.
It should budget and manage its energy requirements dynamically and optimise the wastage factor.
The tenants should be looked after and the needs catered for cost
effectively within the infrastructure capability. This infrastructure
should be adaptable and flexible in its reconfiguration ability
when tenants or requirements change.
How does one go about meeting these objectives?
Luckily most building design consultant companies are now becoming tuned to this new era and are employing specialist staffs whom can understand and interpret the available technology. However there are still hurdles to overcome. Sometimes the building developer himself has problems in understanding the requirements.
Often the progressive moves in building management have been,
in the past, something he has felt necessary to add to the bricks
and mortar shell which keeps out the rain, cold or heat. That
situation has now passed and the building owner accepts that technology
has a role to play in how rentable the property is conceived and
how he can attract long term committed tenancies.
In real terms the property developer has moved a very long way
over the past decade or two in his basic provision of buildings
,and to remain competitive amongst the others he is still accommodating
more and more.
The developer and consultant should agree upon a design requirement which may include physical designs. One such area which has advantages to the building design is that of cables for the communications infrastructure.
Have you ever moved a data intensive office??
The weight of copper cables and connections removed from under the floor and heaped in the cardboard box almost gives one a hernia, not to mention those you leave behind not connected to anything.
Take a thought for the risers in a multi storey building housing data intensive offices. How much weight are they bearing ?
With buildings such as REPUBLIC PLAZA (Singapore ) and KLCC Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur) achieving sixty to ninety storeys, each requiring modems, telephones, faxes and data communications etc as well as all the aircon and other building control lines, card readers, lighting and power that's a lot of weight.
Building designs are expected to cope with this ever increasing
weight of cables and cable ladders.
A Possible Solution
One answer being actively pursued is that of providing fibre optic cables within the risers which are translated on each floor into traditional voltage signals by a Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MUX/DEMUX). These signals are then diverted under the floor through a structured cable format which uses small twisted pair cables to each identical outlet which conforms to a single standard and the operation of that outlet can be defined at the fibre optic Mux - Demux unit.
As such the Communication Highway as we shall call it can be installed at the building stage and becomes a total part of the building for it's lifetime. The administration and cable management becoming a potential revenue source which either is used to offset the cost or generate additional profits.
This returns an element of control back to the building operator whom now knows exactly what cables and weights are being supported by his building.
No longer do ad-hoc groups of subcontractors install a variety of cables over the years sometimes without reference to the building owner.
The operator has the option to value add to the rental as he has now taken on the traditional tenant's role of providing the signal cable requirements including changes and future reconfiguration.
Security amongst a mixed tenant building is enhanced as only the building management group have access to risers etc. The use of fibre optics is also an advantage to security for tenants as it is virtually untappable outside of the tenants own domain. By utilising the "star" principle each tenant fibre is unique and no data tokens or digital signal of any sort pass into a potentially competitive domain.
The advantages to the tenant is that all equipment connections are by RJ45 standard connector.
A reduction in storage/procurement of various interconnections which is common to all tenants and can be administered by the building operator.
Reconfiguration can be implemented upon request to the building management without rewiring and employment of contractors laying cables which traditionally cause interruptions to existing services or lifting of floors.
The IDF Boxes would be the source of connection reconfiguration with the facilities controlled by the changing of functionality by PCB card within the Mux-Demux units which once again only requires the service of the Building Services cable management team.
The elements of configuration, conversion and diversion to other services can be defined within a building services control room under the security and control of the building management team.
The utilisation of a control room is nothing new but in an intelligent building it's role may be significantly enhanced. It may normally be conceived as a necessary wasted space but now can contribute as a revenue earning centre for the operator if true system integrating & total management is employed.
As well as now looking after the tenants configuration needs it can house the integrated building management system. Here due to the merging of all facilities to this room there is an option for enhancements yet again such as giving tenants some share and option in the control of there own environment.
In the meantime the main system can still monitor and control
the situation including monitoring energy usage ,saving or wastage
on a tenant by tenant basis and perhaps adjusting the billing
accordingly.
Enhanced Facilities
The enhancements that can be expected of an integrated system can be conceived as including the following.
Fire Alarm Systems
Burglar Alarm Systems
Safety and Fire Door Monitoring
Air Purity Control Systems
Lift Monitoring Systems
Remotel or Control Room Control and Reprogramming of Lighting, Aircon Levels Etc.
Tenant Utility Meter Remote Reading
and Control
Tenant Telephone Utilities
Tenant data interchange between
computers (LANS, Token Ring ,Ethernet
RS232, RS485,RS422 ,Arcnet and others.)
Control System Computer allocation
as a shared Tenant Application Resource
Additional Business Resource Centre
added with High Cost Equipment
Switching On / Off Electrical Apparatus
by Remote Telephone Access
Switching On / Off Electrical
Apparatus in any internal location within the
Total Building
Individual Tenant specified alarm
systems to Control Centre and/or remote site
Remote Access to Stored Information
or Status
Individual Access Levels of Authority
Decoders can control devices singularly
or multiple by Twisted Paired
Wires, Infrared, Ultrasonics, Coaxial Cables, Mains Line Induction, Radio
Frequencies etc.
Dynamic changes to Lighting &
Aircon control configuration by the use of switch points controlled by the BAS system. This is particularly useful
when office partitions are installed, changed or removed as the services of electricians are not required and no temporary break in supply is needed to carryout
the works.
Advantages
By the employment of a common security card access to areas/floors can be defined together with a log of persons on site.
This access system can cater for individual tenant needs including
timekeeping if necessary. The access card can carry the tenant
company logo and the persons identification data including embedded
photograph which cannot delaminate.
Personnel locators etc can interrogate the security & carpark
systems to identify the status of a staff presence prior to sending
signals and can indicate to the caller the status for the person
being called.
In the case of Fire or other emergency then fast unimpeded evacuation can be achieved . The security system automatically set to a "Not Known " state by the Fire system, can read cards at a fire assembly point to verify the staffs safe evacuation and re-establish the status even on a zone by zone nature if required..
With the personal profile of individuals and access level classification of these persons the Security system can authorise the BAS to operate in a change of mode. For example turn on and off lights and aircon zone for overtime and unsocial hours requests whilst inhibiting movement to unauthorised areas.
Guards can also tour the building during hours of darkness following
pre-planned routes which initiate the turning on of lights in
the front path and extinguishing them behind by the use of zoned
card readers or proximity detectors.
When the chairman of a major tenant arrives at the carpark a lift can immediately be despatched to collect him, transport him to his office floor and never stop enroute thus allowing unimpeded access without threat to his personal security.
A similar scenario can be achieved for bullion and classified document movements etc.
Any staff can be limited to the access areas so some degree by the system either during or outside normal hours according the programmed schedule.
In the case of Fire Control Systems the regulations are usually quite specific and require the normal Fire System to function in such a way which does not allow for significant intervention control which may give enhanced features to the Fire System.
However for the sake of the building operator and tenants there are additional features which can be called on if contemplated in the design element without resort to control the fire system.
The BAS system will normally have many temperature control sensor around the site mainly for control of the VAV boxes in the control lines.These sensors usually have a different calibration and range than the fire temperature sensors.
When a fire breaks out it may be some time before the FIRE temperature sensor should detect it, usually once the fire is well established.
In the meantime the BAS temperature sensors may have assumed that the increase in temperature requires additional cooling from the VAV. This COLD AIR draft can of course assist the fire in getting a hold.
If a second calculation point be employed in the BAS system that activity can be reversed prior to any Fire or Smoke detector activate an AHU shutdown.
At this time if Water Mist units have also been installed, maybe using the main sprinkler supply, the nearest Mist units to the high temperature spot can be turned on.
It is known that water mist used early in a fire can contribute significantly to controlling the fire and preventing it's spread without causing the water damage associated with normal sprinkler operation especially in the modern electronic office environment.
The employment of this operation would flag an alarm on the BAS monitor System at an early stage, certainly before the fire system saturation techniques have been operated.
By using the integrated surveillance & security system a window can also be displayed on the monitor showing a picture at the point of activity and giving the system guard the opportunity of using the pan & tilt facilities at the cameras whilst automatically recording the sequences for later investigation.
Much easier to accommodate within existing regulations is the
ability to read the fire system points status change through an
interface to the Public Address system. The setting of alarm points
can be used to indicate to the Intercom system a requirement to
broadcast preformulated messages or evacuation instructions on
a priority order determined in advance and suited to the immediate
scenario.
Telephones
The installation of a major digital PBX utilising digital telephony would be a useful facility within building. As these can be logically partitioned it is possible to utilise separate tenant billing.
However Shared Tenant telephony services do not fit in with the current monopoly of the telecommunications authorities in some countries. A change in policy and regulations would be required. The advantages would be to permit all the outgoing traffic to be optimised on fibre optic circuits back to the exchange thus saving on the infrastructure costs for the telephone company.
One idea would be for the telephone company to explore a commercial venture opportunity with the building operator.
Deregulation and privatisation of the Telephone authorities is currently taking place all over the world and hopefully the regulatory bodies can foresee a change in regulations would assist in this scenario.
Once digital telephones are in mass usage the total installation
can be much cheaper and cost effective than current analogue installations
especially as it is necessary to convert all analogue circuits
to digital for traffic movements between modern exchanges.
Facilities Integration
The integration of all building controls and services can be seen to be highly desirable in the objective to meet the true cost effective and tenant acceptable Intelligent Building.
It also indicates that personal accountability must be a major key factor in providing for the flexibility. This should not be seen as the application of more intrusion and obstruction to personal liberty but more akin to catering for individual needs in a dynamic way.
This philosophy of course assumes that the security system plays a key role in overseeing and enhancing the facility possibilities of all existing features .
One major building in SE Asia is already utilising this technique by making the Security system and it's console the heart of a single seat operation but retaining the ability for BAS, FIRE, SECURITY, SURVEILLANCE & CAR PARK SYSTEMS to operate normally in a standalone mode.
As most intelligent buildings are likely to be high prestige units some may have landscaped areas, window flower boxes and balcony gardens. These need watering and fertilising due to usage or rain leaching.
By the employment of both humidity and Ph sensors in the soil and an automatic watering system the BAS system can calculate not only if automatic watering needs to be performed but can add calculated fertilisers into the water to restore the ability for the associated plants to thrive.
Many other additional features can be achieved once the full infrastructure has been put in place. The benefits to the Building operator are that he can have a revenue or self financing operation whilst retaining full control of the building in both it's infrastructual cost, maximised security and energy management.
The tenant also benefits as he gets enhanced and compatible facilities,
full security benefits, and a one stop service for all his communications
requirements.
Conclusion
There are many other facilities which can be featured by an integrated system contributing to the "Intelligent Building " of the future, many of which are cost effective enhancements easily available once the concept of integration has been accepted and employed. Specialist companies are now being established to explore the full aspects of turnkey design.
However how far they achieve these aims is not one of technical constraints but of both cost and the ability to achieve consensus amongst all the contributors to our everyday infrastructure.
Read the sequel here
Terrestrial Communications Consultants Pte Ltd
Tel (65) 6566 1050
Block 510 Bukit Batok Street 52, #03-17
Singapore 650510
Reg Office : 190 Middle Rd, #12-07 Fortune Centre,Singapore 188979
E-Mail Address:paulrw @ tcc.com.sg
Copyright © 1997, TCC Pte Ltd
Revised - 09-08-05
URL: http://www.tcc.com.sg/tcc4.htm
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