recent application in building automation

RECENT APPLICATION IN BUILDING AUTOMATION Ibrahim Al Kattan, Adai Al Zarraee and Mohamed Al Bashaireh Engineering Systems Management American University of Sharjah Sharjah, UAE, P O Box 26666 [email protected] 

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the integration of building management systems (BMS) with the internet protocol (IP) network. The facility management systems (FMS) can be remotely accessed to create a holistic solution that would work across disparate FM sections. The industry has introduced various solutions and protocol like BACnet, Modbus, Lonworks, they present point-to-point solution rather than a multipoint-to-multipoint integration solution. Middleware solutions can provide the required intelligent buildings multipoint-to-multipoint integration, and hence IT and FMS technologies are converging into internet protocol (IP). The authors present two industrial applications; (1) the Mediator is used to link various technologies in individual buildings and across multiple buildings through the Internet; (2) NetApp used the Mediator Multi-Protocol Exchange MPX middleware solution to interconnect its dispersed field offices so they can be monitored and controlled from a centralize command and control center. The Mediator is hardware and software solution with Multi-Protocol Exchange (MPX) software does the protocol and message format exchange among the FMS systems. The Mediator’s capabilities, tools, and solutions offerings will be analyzed to demonstrate how Intelligent Building technologies integration can be done. Its applicability and usage based to electricity Automatic Demand Response (ADR) and Smart Power Grid will be explored to demonstrate the real world solution and implementation. Keywords: Intelligent Buildings; Facility Management; Building Automation System; Industrial Cases.

The date paper received (Received “ 09/8/2009 The date paper accepted (Accepted “ 16/9/2010

“) “)

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INTRODUCTION

Building automation technologies are used today to automate almost all aspects of building operations and administration. These technologies are energy management systems such as generators, distributors, and measuring meters to communication systems such as telephone switching, intercoms, and public address systems to various building management systems. Other building automation technologies including fire detection and suppression and security systems such as access control systems and video surveillance systems and other devices such as elevators, BMS, Heat Ventilation and Air Conditions (HVAC) and lighting controls. Building automation systems have gained wide acceptance and are considered an integral part of any building infrastructure today because of the comfort and convenience they provide to the tenants. Intelligent buildings have all the benefits of building automation technologies with the added benefits produced by integrating these technologies. Smart Buildings adjust automatically to their working environment therefore providing cost savings since modification happens automatically through automation tools and sensors without human intervention, they also provide more comfort, better safety and security for its occupants, Richards (2008). Recently the information technology industry and the building automation technologies have started converging to a common physical infrastructure and common protocol, the Internet Protocol (IP). The capacity planning in a telecommunication network of IB may improved by enhancing the inventory control techniques to balance the demand to a certain service level, Herrera (2009).

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1.1 Intelligent Buildings Intelligent Buildings have a high cost saving attractiveness when it comes to energy saving to the point where building owners today consider incorporating smartness into a building as an investment. Because of the cost benefit attractiveness of intelligent building, property developers have started expanding the idea into intelligent cities and communities where technologies such as traffic management, municipality services such as intelligent garbage containers and location based services are implemented and integrated city wide are used to provide benefits to city occupants and runners. The intelligent building is the building that combines advanced technological and management systems that support the flow of information throughout the building, offering high tech building services, and allowing automatic control, monitoring and maintenance the services of the building. To create an IB project, different technologies and processes are required depending on the perspective and role. The processes and technologies include design, construction, operations, networking and telecommunication, security and life safety. Building automation systems and their integration effort can be divided into three layers, as presented by Ehrlich (2009); 1. The lower layer is the building systems layer where all the sensors, actuators, and the individual control system that control different aspects of the building as lighting, HVAC, fire alarm, security, energy management exist. In fact, one way to differentiate between traditional building automation and intelligent building is that building automation stops at this layer with sometimes minimal integration that is required by government regulations between the separate systems. For example integration among the elevator, HVAC, fire detection and suspension systems in case of fire need to be synchronized in order to limit the damage to the building and the occupants. 2. The second layer which is the system integration layer where the building intelligence or smartness comes together. Here is where data exchange and protocol translation between different systems and control units through standard protocol or standard based middleware should be carried out. The coordination in this layer is used to create policies for automatic response and create central command and control stations for operators. 3. The third layer or the top layer is the enterprise layer, where all the business automation applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Facility Management Systems (FMS) and other enterprise systems exist. In this layer the intergration between FM and enterprise system occurs, for example the Microsoft meeting schedule tool which sits to integrate the HVAC systems on the second layer so that air conditions and lights can be automated to switch on just before the meeting and switch off right after the meeting to conserve energy. To achieve high level intelligent solution, integration must be achieved among different system and devices in each layer and across the three layers. Various protocols have become widely accepted and adapted in each of the layers, in the first layer for example, serial communication standards such as RS 232 and RS 485 as well as other vendor dependant proprietary protocols are commonly used. In the system integration layer we can find many vendor specific protocols that are used in the different control systems as well as other protocols that are widely adapted and incorporated by many vendors to the point where they have become a defacto standard. For example Lonworks by Echelon Corporation and BACNet by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning, (ASHRAE) which has even become an ANSI standard protocol. In the Enterprise layer the most common protocols here are middleware technologies which are used to exchange data between business application systems; the most common are OLE, OPC, COM/DCOM, JAVA/RMI, CORBA, and lately protocols such XML coupled with web services technologies are becoming the standard in exchanging data among applications using web technologies, Richards (2008). Integration can be done by using a point-to-point approach which is unmanageable when there are many end points to integrate especially if there are many protocol translations involved. Article “A middleware for web service-enabled integration and interoperation of intelligent building systems” illustrates the possibility of such method and also points out its complexity. Integration in this article is achieved between two different vendors’ BMS systems through the Internet using OPC middleware technology to integrate the BMS with other building system layer devices and web services are used to interoperate the two BMS over the Internet. The sensor and field devices in this article are not addressed and are left to use their own proprietary protocols. Another approach to achieve a point-to-point integration can be done by using a protocol stack such as Building Automation and Control Networks (BACnet) that provides protocol solution across the three layers. Despite this approach being completely standard based it faces the same expandability problems. In this paper the authors will explore the mediator’s provided solution across the three layers and demonstrate how this solution fit to be the glue that combines various building technologies systems. The mediator which is a multi-

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protocol exchanger is a model solution that provides hardware and software means to put all the devices on an Internet Protocol (IP) network and facilitates protocol and data exchange between the integration systems. Therefore it acts as the heart of intelligent building technologies integration. Various Mediator’s case studies will be investigated to demonstrate how intelligent solutions have been achieved using the Mediator multi-protocol exchange. 2.

BACKGROUND

The concept of intelligent building (IB) started in the early eighties, since then, it has been driven by the development of relevant technologies and automation systems. The aim is to increase building performance and make buildings more energy-efficient with minimum costs. Figure 1 shows the technology progress of IB since 1970, Seth (2001).

  Integrated 

CIB

2010   

Integrated 

Building User  Systems System

1995   

Multi‐Function 

HVAC 

DATA 

Security        Single‐ Function 

Voice    

Lights, A/C, CCTV

Telephone, Fax, 

Elevators, Alarms

PCs 

1985    1970 

  Figure 1 Intelligent Buildings Development, Seth (2001) The European Intelligent Building Group defines the intelligent building as “the building that integrates technology in which it creates environmental and efficient facilities for occupants with minimum cost and at the same time allow the owners to achieve their business objectives”. The level of buildings intelligence is based on the sophistication of the technologies used in the building and level of integration among the technologies, Arkin (1997). There are websites that provide building owners and developers with tools to evaluate the level of building intelligence in the form of a questionnaire. When this questionnaire is answered will eventually lead to suggestions that can improve the building intelligence, such a tool which is called Building Intelligence Quotient (BiQ) could be found at the following website www.building-iq.com. Despite the lack of a common definition and measurement tools, building technologies vendors have realized the benefits of having their technologies interoperate and the industry has come up with widely adapted protocols among different vendors such as Modbus, LonWorks, and BACnet. BACnet (Building Automation and Control network) which was initiated by ASHREA has become an open protocol standard and it’s now an ISO standard protocol, Wang (2007). Emirate Towers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is using LonWorks protocol to integrate their Building Automation System (BAS) to the lighting control system, Stuart (2002). In order to ensure the seamless interoperability of their building systems products, building developers need to select technology products that will support industry protocols such as BACnet. BACnet provides the common language that different vendors’ products can use to exchange data and integrate but it’s only suitable for a small scale integration projects since it provides point to point integration between two systems. For large scale integration projects that involve integration between multiple products, industry standards based on middleware provide a better cost effective for long term solution. Middleware acts as an interface between any two products that need to exchange data which provides many added value services with its main purpose being protocol and message format translation between the two systems, Cook

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(2004). Other added value service provided by middleware is simplifying the programming effort to integrate systems by using visual tools that don’t require programming knowledge. Also, they offload processing burden from the end systems and provide network services such as security, delivery and queuing of messages. In addition, they provide code reusability, portability, and maintainability in case of upgrade. Intelligent building middleware solutions need to cover all three layers of building automation systems; the building systems control, the systems integration layer, and the enterprise layer. The automation system layer is where individual building systems controls are found such as HVAC, lighting, utility metering, access control, security, and fire life safety systems. Facility management, energy management, and building automation systems are located in the systems integration layer, middleware must have the ability to normalize data and exchange it between these systems. The enterprise layer provides the link between the business application and the underlying building systems in the form of user interface such as dashboards or historical data, Ehrlich (2008). Mediator is a middleware solution manufactured by Richards Zeta Building Intelligent Inc. a company that was recently acquired by Cisco Systems will be used in this research as a model to illustrate how integration is achieved across the three layers. Mediator is a hardware and software solution that translates data between different systems, using it Multi Protocol eXchange (MPX) framework it has the ability to read and write and interconnect systems that couldn’t otherwise communicate. In the building systems layer, through its hardware the mediator can connect to network and through serial cable and communicates using all common languages in this layer. It can use serial languages protocols such as RS 232, RS 485, BACnet, Modbus, and Lonworks. In the systems integration layer, using the MPX, the Mediator can communicate and interconnect all energy and facility management systems and building automation systems. In the enterprise layer the mediator provides software tools to build web presentation interfaces, dashboards, and drag and drop template based graphics, Cisco (2009). 3.

BUILDING AUTOMATION

Building automation technologies and information technology have recently started to converge towards the Internet Protocol (IP); IP is the standard network communication required to communicate over the Internet and it is the most used communication protocol in corporate networks. The evolution of both technologies starting from 1960 to 2005 and they are converging at the end to the most prevailing IP protocol. Even though information technology is recent compared to the building automation technology which has been around for more than 100 years, information technology has progressed in a faster pace, Sinopoli (2008). Information technology today provides interoperability seamlessly using the Internet Protocol (IP) among different vendors’ hardware systems, running different operating systems over the network or the internet regardless of their physical proximity. In 1960, Building Automation Systems (BAS) were using pneumatic controls, valves, and solenoids to automate building functions. In 1970s, Direct Digital Controls (DDC) were introduced which prompted vendors to develop their own proprietary controllers working in a master/slave fashion. By 1985, peer-to-peer networking was introduced in the BAS industry using proprietary technologies between vendors’ peer networks. In 2000, building technologies protocols such as BACnet which has an IP protocol stack became prevalent allowing BAS to use web client / server technologies. Starting 2003 onward, multi protocol middleware solution like the Mediator started to be used to unify building automation systems with information technology systems opening new doors of synergies between the two industries. On the other hand, information technology systems started in the 1960s with computers being programmed with punch cards, in the 1970s the industry shifted to the centralized powerful mainframe systems as the server attached to dumb terminals as the clients. In 1980s, distributed computing client / server peer-to-peer networking started with IP as the dominating technology while other networking technologies like Novel networking and others still existed. By 1998 onwards, IP emerged as the networking standard and was used on the World Wide Web to network millions of computers around the world in what is known as the Internet. Middleware technologies, especially the ones that provide hardware and software solutions like the mediator, provide the benefit of merging the IT and BAS technologies. In addition, the mediator has the added benefit of providing connectivity means to other methods of communication technologies like the serial connection. The Mediator provides different connectivity options for devices to be linked to the network. This point becomes vital when some kind of retrofit has to be done in order to put all the building technologies on the IP network. Here, the mediator becomes the perfect solution; all the existing investment in building technologies can be preserved by implementing the Mediator with its various connectivity options to link all the sensors and facility management technologies to the IP network. Furthermore, the Mediator, as well as other middleware solutions, provides the link and the protocol translation both among the various low layer building control systems and between the low layer systems and the upper layer enterprise applications where analysis and business intelligence decisions are made.

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3.1 The Mediator The Mediator is a hardware web-based controller. It enables two-way communication between the control system and the devices on the building systems layer. This device monitors and gathers data from various sources -such as metering, HVAC, lighting, security, existing Building Management Systems- that implements different protocols and present it in a single format. On the other hand, the Mediator is able to receive input from the perfectHOST software, at the enterprise layer, and transfer it to commands corresponding to the protocols implemented by the targeted devices. A range of software tools are incorporated in the Mediator to permit such operations. These tools include WebExpress which is a browser-based interface for systems and apparatus offering simple management and real-time data. Another tool is configTOOL, “an interactive, menu driven software application that allows the user to specify the configuration parameters of a RZ M2 or RZ Mediator host system and all connected systems including RZ controllers”, Richards (2009). In addition, a scheduler and alarm messaging tools are available. The main software applications that run the Mediator are the Mediator framework software and the system software. The Mediator framework software provides the core functionality which includes processing, editing, and presenting data as well as HTTP services. It is developed, using Python, to allow dynamic configuration; that, it is not hardcoded and provides the means for modification and extension of the system. The system software is based on Linux kernel which is well suited for critical applications. This software offers various networking capabilities such as HTTP and CGI web server services, packet processing and routing, network protocols like NAT, DHCP, and SNMP. Moreover, it enhances secure communication through:  Logging: Using logging features does not prevent security breaches; however it helps in detecting and identifying the sources of such breaches. Information that should be logged includes system messages, network connection, remote access, and successive failed authentication attempts.  Implementation of protocols: SSL, SSH, and IPSec protocols: these protocols provide encryption and authentication at different levels which limits, almost prevents uncertified persons from accessing the system.  Packet filtering: This technique gives the ability to control the flow of data in and out of the system.  Access control lists: Limit the access permissions to only authorized personnel.  Excluding vulnerable elements: The Linux kernel contains unsecure components. These components are replaced if not needed or replaced by more secure software. The Mediator has many physical interfaces to allow for connection with devices from RZ and other vendors, which promote the convergence of buildings systems and IP, specifically enabling a better convergence among traditionally separated systems. These interfaces give the Mediator the ability to communicate with different devices that implements different protocols and services. RZ Mediator Multi-Protocol eXchange (MPX) is “the solution designed to serve as a unifying platform for intelligent and connected buildings, Richards (2009)” The supported protocols and devices include Modbus, BACnet, DL06 PLC modules, and meters from various vendors. The Modbus protocol support enables data retrieval from any Modbus device’s register. Also, Modbus RTU and TCP Master/Slave modes as well as Modbus RTU meters are utilized using Ethernet and RS-232/485 interfaces. BACnet-compliant devices are incorporated in the system and given the ability to intercommunicate with non-BACnet devices. This happens in two way communication fashion; allowing data and commands exchange between these devices. The Mediator is appropriate for implementing BACnet functionality which incorporates object oriented design. The supported networking methods are over Ethernet and BACnet/IP. In addition, built-in interfaces are available for specific devices from Veris, ABB, and Siemens. Moreover, communication, configuration, and data export via Modem are supported. The mediator usually connects to RZ LAN via RS-485 COM3 port. The connection with third party systems is commonly carried through RS-232 (COM1 and COM2) and RS-485 (COM4 - COM6). There is also Dallas ports, each one could control up to 50 devices. A serial console port allows the mediator to link to host PC. All these tools and interfaces give the Mediator the ability to deal with wide range of events and data in a way that facilitates integration and convergence of building systems toward IP, Richards (2009). 4.

ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

Middleware integration solutions have many advanced usage such as Automated Demand Response (ADR), Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics (AFDD), Intelligent Power Grid, and Predictive Maintenance. But because of the current pressing problems of global warming caused by the increased fossil fuel usage resulting in huge carbon footprint, smart grids and ADR will soon be widely deployed, both of these solutions have integration of smart

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systems as a core component. Both the US federal government and the European Union have announced plans and have formed task forces to implement smart grids to replace their outdated, end-of-life, old fashioned electrical grids. Smart grids add information technology intelligence to the power generation and distribution grid where supply and demand of electricity can be coordinated between producers and consumers. Smart grids will provide better monitoring; such intelligence will make the grid self repairing so when a transmission line fails, power will be supplied from different sources. Using intelligence communication, the grid can also switch on or off power stations or even power generation facility at a client site to temporarily compensate for the lost capacity. It has been estimated that if the grid was only 5% more efficient, the energy savings would equate to eliminating the fuel cost and carbon emissions from 53 million cars, Richards (2009). The smart grid will require many advanced devices such as smart metering, smart substations, and smart distribution devices, these components will need to be networked together and integrated to provide the grid’s intelligence. Intelligent middleware such as the Mediator will take central stage in coordinating the activities of the different components. The concept of demand response is interlinked to the smart grid idea, but unlike the smart grid which is still in conception and design phase; demand respond already exists today in many parts of the US. The way the current electrical grid works necessitates demand to match supply, but periodically demand could exceed supply, for instance, in hot summer days or when there is a failure in power generation station. Electrical companies realized that it will not be economically sound to build high cost power generation plants to meet this periodic upsurge in electricity demand and instead come up with an innovative solution to cut down unnecessary customer usage in the high peak period, customers who subscribe to this scheme get monetary incentives. This is a win-win solution for both, the electrical company will not invest high capital in building new facilities and will preserve the electricity prices since it will not have to increase prices to recover the cost of the capital expenditure. The client will win as well by getting price incentives when implementing this scheme and will contribute to saving the environment by using less power and producing less harmful gases. Demand response works by having the electricity company equipment instruct the client premises equipment to cut down on their power usage by sending them a specified electronic signal through the internet. If we take California as example, Pacific Gas and Electric company (PG&E) engineers will visit the customer premises, inspect its power usage, and advice the customer on how to bring down its electrical usage without losing essential service. Once the low power usage setup is indentified, the customer will automate this configuration using its facility automation technology such as a building automation system or lighting control system and will activate this setup upon receiving the signal from PG&E computer through the Internet. Demand responses reap better benefits by using a middleware such as the Mediator to orchestrate the reconfiguration policy at the customer’s end. Since the mediator is already Internet enabled and supports the latest Internet standards protocols it can easily be configured to poll for the signal from the Internet. When the customer’s facility management systems are not integrated, the reconfiguration could be limited to only lights or to only systems that are linked to the building management system such as elevators, also receiving the PG&E signal and using it as a trigger to reconfigure the clients systems would be a hassle. NetApp a leading storage and data management IT Company has implemented Automated Demand Response (ADR) in its headquarters in California using the Mediator multi-protocol exchange, the mediator was used to set, coordinate, and apply the energy policy reduction among NetApp’s disparate building automation systems, power distribution unit, metering systems, and maintain power supply. It also provided the Internet link to the PG&E ADR server. The solution performed its function perfectly when a signal was received in a summer day from the ADR server, lights were dimmed and temperature set points were raised and therefore reducing the load and getting the incentives, Richards (2009). 5.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

The authors present two industrial applications to demonstrate how IB technologies integration can be can be implemented in the real world; (1) the Mediator is used to link various technologies in individual buildings and across multiple buildings through the Internet; (2) NetApp used the Mediator Multi-Protocol Exchange MPX middleware solution to interconnect its dispersed field offices so they can be monitored and controlled from a centralize command and control center. 5.1 Project 1- Multiple facilities integrations In this project the Mediator is used to link various technologies in individual buildings and across multiple buildings through the Internet. To demonstrate the details of the connectivity, one of the building’s connectivity will be decomposed, the rest of the buildings will have similar setup. 3 Mediators will roughly be needed in each building to provide the connectivity through the Internet and to provide enough hardware expansion ports to cover all the field

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equipment. The Building Automation System (BAS) which is manufactured by Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) and uses N1/N2 Johnson’s control network is connected to the Mediator using the RS232 serial port connection. The electricity metering systems called Quad4, manufactured by Siemens as well as the Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) manufactured by Liebert are connected to the RS232. The generic generator as well as the lighting control use Modbus therefore they could be connected to the RS-485. The chiller made by Trane is connected to RS-485, all the sensors, actuators, controllers, etc are connected to the Mediators digital and analog input and output ports. In this configuration, all Modbus devices work seamlessly with the Mediator since they are IP based, other device used in this configuration such as JCI, Siemens, Trane, Liebert will require their drivers to be activated on the Mediator. Once this is done, Perfect Host which is the graphical programming tool on the Mediator can be used to integrate, manipulate data and parameters in all the systems and field devices, and create synergistic policies between the devices. The Mediator is also used to expose the data to enterprise applications where dashboards and business intelligent tools can be used. The Mediator is Internet ready for all data can be exposed to even geographically dispersed locations over the internet using the latest standard web technologies, Richards (2009). Also, the Mediator could be used to connecting multiple facilities, this setup can be used to control all the buildings control systems from a single Command and Control Center (CCC) bringing huge savings in the amount of labor required to operate all the buildings. Troubleshooting and problems resolution can be done remotely with such a setup. In fact, similar setup is used today to outsource the Facility Management (FM) of many buildings around the world, Richards (2009). 5.2 Project 2- NetApp Field Offices In this project NetApp used the Mediator MPX middleware solution to interconnect its dispersed field offices so they can be monitored and controlled from a centralize CCC. It also uses it to implement the Automatic Demand Response (ADR) in its office. The Mediator Multi-Protocol Exchange (MPX) utilized in every field office to put all the facility management automation systems on the IP network, Richards (2009). In the detailed setup, we can see how the mediator can be used to connect wireless sensors made by TRS wireless systems using the natively supported Modbus/TCP. In fact the Mediator will treat any wireless FM devices as it treats any IP Ethernet device since the function of providing the wireless connection is on the wireless access point device, once the Mediator gets a network connection to the wireless device it will detect it and use the proper protocol to communicate to it. Netapp uses Veris’ IP networked power metering which has an inbuilt interface in the Mediator so the integration is seamless. By using IP power metering, NetApp’s engineers can read these meters remotely in real-time therefore the labor of taking these readings is reduced significantly. The lighting control, the HVAC units, and Roof Top Units (RTU) are natively support by the MPX Mediator since the use BACnet/MSTP. PDU (Power Distribution Units) Rack in the computer room which use SNMP or Modbus/IP are being monitored using the mediator, these PDUs are scattered all over the field office and are monitored remotely so that any power malfunction will be proactively detected and corrected. All the Dallas Semiconductor room sensors are connected to the Dallas bus on the MPX and the Dallas driver will be loaded in order to integrate the sensors into the overall building automation fabric. The MPX in this example is used to provide secured connectivity over the Internet for all the field offices facility automation, and as indicated earlier, in the California office the MPX provides the required connectivity for PG&E automatic demand response, Richards (2009). The strength of this setup is that now all Facility management systems even legacy ones are accessible through the IP network, now the powerful PerfectHost Mediator drag and drop graphical programming tool can be used to create synergistic integration policies across the enterprise. Environmental monitoring, event and alarm management, work order management and maintenance, and scheduling, trending, and predictive analysis and forecasts can be done remotely, from a central location for the entire organization regardless of the location. 6.

CONCLUSION

Many protocols, such as BACnet, Modbas, and Lonworks, have been adapted in building and facility management industry. Some of the protocols have become standards and some became a defacto standard since widely adapted. But all such protocols tackle the integration issue from a point-to-point perspective and prove to be unmanageable when the integration end points increase. To overcome this problem, middleware is proposed as the solution and clearly using standards-based packaged middleware solutions available in the market will provide a cheaper Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as opposed to developing one from scratch. Middleware solutions like the Multi Protocol Exchange (MPX) Mediator provide hardware and a software solution to solve the integration puzzle. The hardware connectivity options come in handy especially in the case of retrofitting a facility where the existing investment in FM

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systems must be preserved but everything is required to be integrated on the IP network. Another case is where it’s more economical to have the field devices run on their own network but provide them with a mechanism to connect them to the IP network. The software is used to perform the protocol and message format exchange as well as provide the tools to create the integration policies between the systems. The strength of the mediator lies in its user friendly programming tools that alleviate the programming complication to graphical drag and drop templates. The FM engineer can then concentrate on optimizing the facility using the middleware instead of being bogged down with technical details. It also provides web presentation tools for creating dashboards and seamless integration with enterprise business applications and therefore providing a complete solution that addresses all three layers of intelligent building systems.

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REFERENCES

1. Adai Masoud Al Zarraee and Mohamed Besher Al Bashaireh, “Recent Applications in Intelligent Buildings”, Capstone Master Project, Engineering Systems Management, American University of Sharjah, May 2009. 2. Arkin H and M. Paciuk. (1997, Sept.) Evaluating intelligent buildings according to level of service systems integration. Automation in Construction, vol. 6. pp. 471-479 3. Cisco Systems Inc. Cisco Acquires Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, Inc. [Online]. Available: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac0/ac1/ac259/richardszeta.html; accessed: Feb. 26, 2009. 4. Cook D. Smart Environment: Technology, Protocol and Applications. New York: Wiley, 2004. 5. Ehrlich P.and I. Goldschmidt (2008, Sept.). The Intelligence Quotient. Engineered Systems, Vol. 25, No. 9 pp. 30. 6. Frost & Sullivan Industry (2008). Intelligent Middleware. [online]. Available: http://www.richardszeta.com/news/intelligent%20middleware.pdf; accessed: may 17, 2009. 7. Herrera, Carlos, Ozdemir Deniz Maruricio Capacity Planning In A Telecommunications Network: A Case, International Journal of Industrial Engineering –Theory, Applications and Practice, Vol. 16, No. 2 2009. 8. Richards E. (2008, May). Delivering Enterprise Energy and Facility Management through an Open Architecture, accessed: may 17, 2009. AutomatedBuildings.com: http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/may08/articles/richardszeta/080427124520rz.htm; 9. Richards-Zeta. Product Catalog. [online]. Available: http://www.richards-zeta.com/integrator/downloads/1005-Product%20Catalog.pdf; accessed: may 17, 2009. 10. Seth D. and P. Eng. Intelligent Buildings in Refit Situations. (2001, Nov. 21). Available: http://www.caba.org/Content/Documents/Document.ashx?DocId=22446. ; accessed: may 23, 2009. 11.Sinopoli J and N. Gifford. (2008, Dec.). Protocol Blenders and Information Creators AutomatedBuildings.com. [online]. Available: http://automatedbuildings.com; accessed: April. 9, 2009. 12. Stuart N.. The benefits of integrated systems: a case study. Open Systems Technologies for Integrated Building Control, 2002. IEE Seminar, pp. 1/1 - 1/7. 13.Wang, S., Z. Xu , J. Cao, J. Zhang. (2007, Jan.). A middleware for web service-enabled integration and interoperation of intelligent building systems. Automation in Construction, vol. 16. pp. 112-121. 14.wikipedia.org. Building Automation. [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_building; accessed: Feb 24, 2009.

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