February 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 42

energy-saving solutions from LED
lighting to tankless water heaters. In
2010, the Chicago Park Department
embarked on its most ambitious energy-saving initiative to date-the introduction of Building Automation Systems (BASs)-centralized, interlinked
networks of hardware and software
that monitor and control the environment in institutional facilities.
While few park departments have
yet made the significant up-front investment that building automation requires, BASs, according to Smart Grid
News, now operate in roughly half of
all buildings of more than 100,000
square feet in the United States. And
they are gaining traction among municipalities looking to connect and
centrally control building systems.
The Chicago department selected 37
of its 270 buildings for the first phase
of the initiative. These were " buildings
that dated back to the 1880s and had
the least efficient mechanical systems, "
says facilities director Ellen Sargent.
The $35 million capital improvement
program (paid for through Illinois's
Energy Savings for Capital Project
fund) has now expanded to 51 buildings. The energy savings is expected to
pay for the system within a five-to-10year timeframe-and the department
expects to meet its goal of a 20 percent
energy reduction by 2020.
" In three clicks, " Sargent says, a
BAS operator, overseeing the Web-

based system from a central panel,
" can find out and adjust the temperature in the supervisor's office or in a
preschool room. " The schedules and
reports the system generates assure
the department energy efficiency
while also allowing for quick diagnosis of problems. " And without our
engineers running all over the city, "
Sargent adds.
One of the most striking elements
of the Chicago Parks BAS program
was the department's insistence upon
open code. In a field ruled by proprietary systems, Chicago demanded
that its three vendors use a common
language in their programming to allow the department to add to the system over time through competitive
bids. The vendors, Siemens Systems,
Johnson Controls, and Ameresco, all
agreed to that condition-making
their systems compatible with one
another and open to future third-party extensions. Additionally, as part
of their effort to meet their energy reduction guarantees, the vendors have
overseen the extensive staff training
needed for proper use of the system.
Automating buildings, Sargent
says, is as much a " cultural change "
as it is an energy reduction program.
And her department is only beginning to explore the myriad administrative and operating data their
system is gathering from every
room in every connected building.

HERE TO STAY: BASs, while
still more common in Europe than
the United States, are gaining
traction as energy reduction for
commercial and industrial buildings becomes a greater national
priority.
ON THE WAY: Standard features of building automation will
soon include occupancy sensors to
control lighting, carbon monoxide detectors, and control-panel
alarms for high sump-pump levels
and equipment failures
IN THE WAY: The high capital
improvement cost of BASs puts
the systems out of reach for most
municipalities. Retroﬁtting existing buildings is more difﬁcult and
costly than installing the systems
in new construction.
Maureen Hannan is a Virginia-based
writer and former senior editor of
Parks & Recreation
(BellﬂowerMedia@
gmail.com).

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