BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

BY, ROHITH.K B.DESIGN SEM V

INTRODUCTION :
What is building automation system ? Building Automation Systems (BAS) are centralized, interlinked, networks of hardware and software, which monitor and control the environment in commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities. While managing various building systems, the automation system ensures the operational performance of the facility as well as the comfort and safety of building occupants.

Use of technology and process to create a building that is safer and more productive for its occupants and more operationally efficient for its owners.

RELATED SYSTEMS & CONTROLS :

To describe the automation of building & controls there are some related terms :

Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) Direct Digital Control (DDC) Energy Management System (EMS) Energy Management and Control System (EMCS) Smart (Intelligent) Building

OVERVIEW OF BAS :
Early control systems were pneumatic or air-based & were generally restricted to controlling various aspects of the HVAC system. Common pneumatic devices include controllers, sensors, actuators, valves, positioners, and regulators. Due to their large base of installation throughout the 1960s and 1970s, pneumatic control systems are still in place in a majority of existing buildings, especially in established metropolitan areas. Analog electronic control devices became popular throughout the 1980s. They provided faster response and higher precision than pneumatics.

 However, it was not until digital control or DDC devices came on the scene in the 1990s that a true automation system was possible. The automation system was fully functional but was not interoperable or capable of mixing products from various manufacturers. Thus, a given building or portfolio could be locked into a specific manufacturer. This is not necessarily a problem unless the relationship with the associated service provider is challenging.

 By the late 1990s and especially into the 2000s, movements were afoot to standardize on open communication systems. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Airconditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) developed the BAC net communication protocol that eventually became the industry open standard.

WHAT IS CONTROLLED ?
Generally, BAS begins with control of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. For instance, the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is almost always controlled, including control of its various pieces of equipment such as: Chillers Boilers Air Handling Units (AHUs) Roof-top Units (RTUs) Fan Coil Units (FCUs) Heat Pump Units (HPUs) Variable Air Volume boxes (VAVs) Lighting control is, likewise, low-hanging fruit for optimizing building performance.

CHILLER'S

A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid via a vaporcompression or absorption refrigeration cycle. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool air or equipment as required. As a necessary byproduct, refrigeration creates waste heat that must be exhausted to ambient or, for greater efficiency, recovered for heating purposes. Concerns in design and selection of chillers include performance, efficiency, maintenance, and product life cycle environmental impact.

BOILER'S

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including central heating, boiler based power generation, cooking, and sanitation.

AIR HANDLING UNITS

An air handler, or air handling unit is a device used to condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) system. An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling elements, filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to a ductwork ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air through the building and returns it to the AHU. Sometimes AHUs discharge (supply) and admit (return) air directly to and from the space served without ductwork.

ROOF TOP UNITS:

An air handler designed for outdoor use, typically on roofs, is known as a packaged unit (PU) or rooftop unit (RTU).

HEAT PUMP UNITS :

A heat pump is a device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a "heat sink". Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and release it to a warmer one, and vice-versa. A heat pump uses some amount of external power to accomplish the work of transferring energy from the heat source to the heat sink.

VARIABLE AIR VOLUME BOXES (VAV)

Variable Air Volume (VAV) is a type of heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) system. The simplest VAV system incorporates one supply duct that, when in cooling mode, distributes approximately 55 F (13 C) supply air. Because the supply air temperature, in this simplest of VAV systems, is constant, the air flow rate must vary to meet the rising and falling heat gains or losses within the thermal zone served.

LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM

A lighting control system is an intelligent network based lighting control solution that incorporates communication between various system inputs and outputs related to lighting control with the use of one or more central computing devices. Lighting control systems are widely used on both indoor and outdoor lighting of commercial, industrial, and residential spaces. Lighting control systems serve to provide the right amount of light where and when it is needed

Other systems that are often controlled and/or brought under a complete automation system include: Power monitoring Security Close circuit video (CCTV) Card and keypad access Fire alarm system Elevators/escalators Plumbing and water monitoring

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORDINARY BUILDING AND BAS BUILDING

BAS adjusts the inside functional aspects such as lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, etc. automatically with the changes in environmental conditions controlled by computer While planning an BAS, a Building service engineer, an Architect & Hardware Engineer is required. In BAS , the security system, communication system, etc. are coordinated and automatically controlled by computer work station Ordinary building there will be different room conditions depending on the changes in the environmental conditions.

But in case of ordinary building, a Building service engineer and an Architect is enough. The cost of construction of BAS is very high as compared to an ordinary building.

The development cost of an BAS is 8 - 10% higher than that of an ordinary building. But this can be justified by the resulting energy saving, which is only 25 35% of energy required by normal building.

WHAT DOES A BAS LOOK LIKE?

Most of the automation system is behind the scenes as hardware devices mounted to equipment or hidden under floor or in the ceiling. Some personalized control can be made available through thermostat-like devices. From a central management perspective, the BAS resides as software on an operator workstation (computer) or is available as a web page. Various types of controllers manage equipment and portions of the network. Sensors provide input data to the controllers.

HERE IS A GENERALIZED VIEW OF A BAS:

WHO INSTALLS OR SERVICES A BAS?

A properly trained in-house staff can manage the operation and, sometimes, the maintenance of the BAS. However, system design and initial installation is almost always accomplished by controls professionals such as dedicated controls contractors or system integrators. In practice, the controls contractor is a sub-contractor to the mechanical contractor. Sometimes, the mechanical contractor will have a dedicated controls division. Electrical contractors with controls teams are also common and multi-functional system integrators are becoming more common for todays complex facilities

TODAYS BAS TRENDS

When the subject is intelligent buildings, we know that things dont stand still. Here are a few trends influencing building automation: Wireless technology is beginning to replace traditionally wired BAS infrastructure. Enterprise-level initiatives are making the communication protocol of the BAS less important. While it is quite common to replace a pneumatic control system with a direct digital control (DDC) system, pneumatic-to-DDC bridging strategies also exist. More controls are coming to the construction site, factory premounted to equipment. Hardware and software continues to be augmented by energyrelated visuals. There has been tremendous consolidation among BAS manufacturers, leaving relatively few independent players .

CONCLUSION
The BAS is clearly the building of the future. The goal of having an BAS only starts with early planning in the design stage. In many ways, the design and fulfillment of many bulidings or LEED projects today, but it uses technology to provide for a superior space. There are enormous benefits to be gained by creating BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS.