Did you know that when you assemble power supplies, controllers, relays, transmitters, and all that other stuff into an enclosure for your control panel, there’s a rule in the NEC that requires your panel to be listed and labeled as an industrial control panel? Article 409 of the NEC is devoted to the installation of industrial control […]
Read PostCategory: Industry Happenings
Controls and Cables in Environmental Air Handling Spaces, Ducts, and Chases
First, let’s discuss controls and their enclosures in air handling spaces, ducts, and plenums. Many times, we have to install items in these spaces and it’s important to consider that anything we put in there should either be non-combustible (metal) or else be listed under UL 2043 for use in air handling spaces. The NEC […]
Read PostGreen Buildings need Clean Electrical Power for Sustainability
Major changes are taking place in the United States as we all move forward to reduced energy consumption and utilization of renewable energy sources in our homes, offices, campus environments, and factories. As new technology becomes available with ever increasing returns on investment many owners are ready to become part of the “Green Movement” that […]
Read PostTHE (RS-485 Network) TERMINATOR Or The Dance of the Data Pulses
If you’re involved with building automation systems you know (unless you’ve been living under a rock like the guy in that insurance commercial) that the modern trend is to connect all your building controls together on networks. Networks make it easy to add or move control nodes as your building control needs change since the […]
Read PostWhat Are Power System VARs?
Most people involved in building automation are familiar with kW, which is the rate at which a building is consuming energy from the power company. But there is another power system parameter known as VAR/kVAR which is less well understood. In this article we will attempt to dispel some of the VAR mystery. The term […]
Read PostDoes Your Building Own its Energy Destiny?
Those of you who have read some of my past blogs have probably gathered by now that I’m fascinated by the intersection of building automation, energy and the coming Internet of Things (IoT) revolution. What captivates me most about this collision of previously tangentially related and/or non-existent industries? The monumental shift of perception I believe […]
Read PostOur Coming Transactive Energy Economy
While scanning through the building automation and energy industry news recently I came across a term I hadn’t heard before. The term, Transactive Energy, piqued my interest and upon reading further I found this article from The Energy Collective website to be excellent in succinctly describing where I believe our electricity market is headed; and the implications […]
Read PostWho’s afraid of the IoT (Internet of Things)?
A few weeks back I blogged about the IoT (Internet of Things) and its historical ties to and implications for the building automation industry. Given factors I discussed there and in another blog where I talked about the democratization of building controls, the intelligence of building automation systems is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, creating […]
Read PostThe Democratization of Building Controls
Yesterday I read an interesting article that focused on a cleantech startup’s recent venture capital funding success story. The company, Enlighted, provides smart lighting sensors and software that reduce a building’s power consumption. This concept is nothing novel to the building automation industry, however, according to the article, Enlighted has taken a bit of a different […]
Read PostWireless is Becoming More Visible
New technology is always in some sense a little frightening and permeated with uncertainty, whether real or perceived. The very nature of it makes us cautious and reluctant to accept it. We then in turn, take smaller steps and fewer risks. While sometimes these new technologies give us cause to pause, it also offers us […]
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