Ashrae Journal - November 2008 - (Page B42)

BACnet is used at the University of Minnesota to centralize control over building systems. Flexibility, Interoperability By Terry W. Hoffmann, Member ASHRAE BACnet® at the University of Minnesota B ACnet cuts the umbilical cord tethering facilities to single-vendor solutions. Just as most of today’s desktop printers work seamlessly with equipment to gauge its BACnet compatibility before purchasing it. Centralized Command and Control most of today’s desktop computers, any piece of BACnet compatible equipment will work with any manufacturer’s building monitoring and control system. Facilities can select best of breed equipment from a variety of manufacturers to achieve the desired level of control at a competitive price. Meanwhile, interoperability is ensured. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the University of Minnesota invested in building management systems from a single manufacturer. It purchased every generation of that manufacturer’s products from the first to the fifth. As with all building management systems of their era, the systems used a proprietary data protocol to communicate with equipment. B42 By 2002, BACnet was a growing factor in the marketplace. Wanting greater flexibility in purchasing and more centralized command and control, the university began its migration to BACnet. Today, the university operates about 80% of its systems on BACnet and owns systems and equipment from eight vendors. The facilities management team field tests all BACnet enjoys great popularity with universities, government buyers and other entities with vast multibuilding campuses. Earlier this decade, such campuses were often a hodgepodge of different vendors’ systems operating on different data protocols. Facilities managers often had to monitor each building individually. Even then, they might have to keep an eye on half a dozen different monitors. The beauty of the University’s BACnet implementation is that it helps organizations centralize control over all building systems. The integrated system can be operated with single-seat monitoring About the Author Terry W. Hoffmann is director of marketing, Building Automation Systems at Johnson Controls in Milwaukee. B A C n e t ® To d a y | A S u p p l e m e n t t o A S H R A E J o u r n a l November 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Ashrae Journal - November 2008

Ashrae Journal - November 2008 Contents Commentary Industry News Meetings and Shows Feature Articles Reducing Data Center Energy Consumption Building Sciences Feature Articles Sustainable Nature Center Emerging Technologies Special Products Washington Report Special Supplement: BACnet® Today BACnet® Goes Green Seeing the Light with BACnet® BACnet® on Campus BACnet® for Net Zero Analyzing BACnet® BACnet® at Xerox Campus BACnet® in Europe BACnet® for Green Library BACnet® at the University of Minnesota: Flexibility, Interoperability InfoCenter Product Showplace Classified Advertising Advertising Index

Ashrae Journal - November 2008

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