Connected Building Architecture
IP Enabled Devices are Dominating the Connected Building Environment
Almost every building system (HVAC, lighting, security, and communications) uses some form of IT networking for management and control. The technologies for connecting, managing, and automating building systems include servers for hosting management software and controllers for floor level settings. Components can include a wide variety of endpoint devices (such as lighting, variable air volume [VAV] boxes, surveillance cameras, and interactive lobby kiosks) as well as required network infrastructure (cabling, switches, connectors, and related protocols).
Connected Building Solutions realize Unified Physical Infrastructure (UPI) design principles in the form of an intelligent infrastructure that extends throughout a property to both connect technology components and bridge stakeholder needs. These solutions enable linked facility and network systems to be built directly into the building fabric, generating and sharing data over a unified intelligent infrastructure to enhance building efficiency and effectiveness. The connected infrastructure enables building owners and property managers to reduce occupancy costs and enhance workplace experiences for their tenants or employees, and ultimately manage property resources more efficiently and cost effectively.
Physical Network Considerations
Connected Building Data Centers (CBDC) Drive and create the need for convergence for all networks and devices that utilize internet protocol (IP). The CBDC are the focal point of all logical networks and their physical connectivity. It is where the relationship between IP devices, controllers and field bus devices must be defined.
Middleware and Software
Middleware and Software utilize the data that is generated by the building systems and create policies that drive business value.
The Connected Building Data Centers (CBDC) leverages TIA-942 best practices to organize previously disparate building systems’ servers and related equipment in an efficient footprint. The IP network will be as flexible and scalable as the physical infrastructure and accommodate nearly all logical connectivity between controllers, management servers and across building systems. This flexibility equips owners with the maneuverability to effectively select building system vendors and components on a timeline that maximizes business agility. Further, network backbones designed in compliance with current telecommunications standards (TIA-568, -569, and -942) are easier to manage and maintain, sustaining growth and change while providing many years of service.
A consolidated and organized environment for building level server and storage equipment that optimizes space and is supported by adequate power and cooling. The CBDC is sized solely to maintain continuity among critical building systems, usually an order of magnitude smaller than a traditional Data Center. The CBDC must be located in a secure environment which minimizes the chances of security breaches or system downtime and enables tangible improvements in infrastructure efficiency, assuring the integrity and functionality of the connected building data center space.
Telecommunications Room
The telecommunications room (TR) enables the integration of control systems with the IT network and provides a secure environment and consolidation of all network physical connectivity. The TR provides space for IP Distribution Layer Switches. An IP network will be as flexible and scalable as the physical infrastructure and accommodate all physical connectivity between controllers, management servers and across building systems.
The end result is a consolidated and organized environment for floor level active equipment that optimizes space and provides for floor level control of PoE assets.
PoE extends the capabilities of Ethernet by delivering both data and reliable DC power over the same cables to endpoint devices such as VoIP phones, access control and surveillance cameras, and wireless access points. Because PoE converges data and power together over the same cable to each device attached to the local area network, devices can be installed without the need for a dedicated AC outlet. This saves money by eliminating the cost and time associated with AC outlet installations, while providing the flexibility to locate PoE devices where performance is optimum.
Consolidation Points and Pathways
Building systems are converged within a common pathway and then terminated within zone enclosures distributed throughout the building. Zone enclosures are network consolidation points, allowing all cables to be managed and patched in a single enclosure. Such zones can be passive with low voltage only or may include active components.
This architecture differs from dedicated cabling runs typically used in building systems, in which multiple lengthy and redundant cabling routes along disparate pathways, leading to inefficiencies in specification, installation, and maintenance. This converged multi-technology backbone is comprised of copper, optical fiber, coaxial, and fieldbus cabling.
Connected building architectures provide a platform for secure, scalable and interoperable systems throughout an enterprise and represent the “last mile” of connectivity to the devices within the building system infrastructure. A wide range of endpoint devices that are connected include:
• Surveillance Cameras
• Climate Controls
• Energy Management
• Access Controls
• Wireless Communications
• Digital Signage
Open protocols are available for all traditional building control systems (lighting, HVAC, and electrical, etc.) that can easily co-exist and interact with IP-based technologies. Although not all building systems are natively IP, all non-native IP systems should have a migration path for connecting to an IP network. By connecting and harmonizing critical systems and devices, owners can optimize building assets and manage risk into the future.
Middleware and Software
Intelligent middleware technology transforms building operational data into more valuable business information and provides owners deeper visibility into building systems. By integrating building infrastructure and IT applications over the same logical IP network, intelligent middleware technology enables sophisticated monitoring of critical building data. Stakeholders can improve business decisions, achieving greater energy savings and improving operational efficiencies.
It may be necessary to augment existing systems or predetermined system protocols with middleware appliances or services to normalize proprietary environments and to enable them for back office system consumption and analysis.
Connect. Manage. Automate.
The growing interdependence of building system technologies and applications requires the integration of many traditionally disparate and proprietary systems. The UPI approach to physical infrastructure design helps stakeholders manage the risk within the physical infrastructure by intelligently converging physical and logical systems to build a smarter, unified business foundation. This approach uses an open standards-based framework to align, converge, and optimize critical systems – communication, computing, control, power, and security – to deliver tangible infrastructure and business process improvements.
