White Paper

Smart Buildings
Terry Hoffmann
Director, Building Automation Systems Marketing

Johnson Controls, Inc.

Abstract
Smart Buildings is a short and snappy term for dozens of intelligent systems that help to
run a facility more efficiently and are now ready to deliver giant leaps in productivity. These
systems including sensors, software, controllers and connections have been rehearsing
for this performance since the days when connectivity, open architecture and interoperability
became new industry buzz words. They have been properly equipped for their new journey.
Their seat belts are in place. And theyre ready to impress top management with their
enhanced abilities to bring a dizzying array of building-related data into crystal clear focus
to better aid in achieving the organizations goals. The great promise of integrations benefits
is finally being realized.

Introduction
Owners are demanding more information about the performance of their buildings so they
can reduce operating costs, meet corporate sustainability goals, and keep occupants safe,
comfortable and productive. They are anxious to take full advantage of recent technology
advancements, which this white paper will explore.
New applications have emerged that allow intelligent, standalone building management
devices to do much more than connect, or talk, to one another over a standard
communications network. These devices are now able to have meaningful conversations
that truly tap into their embedded intelligence. Working together, without human assistance,
they can predict trouble and in many cases take preventive actions to avoid problems. In
essence, smart buildings help owners attain their facility-related goals by optimizing the
capability of all equipment and systems across their entire enterprise.
Intelligent, standalone systems still offer good value for building owners, but good isnt good
enough in this new environment. Their productivity has been hindered because there were
few applications that took advantage of their brain power. The intelligence has to be applied,
and now we have the applications to help these systems live up to their full potential. This
has been the missing chapter in the integration story.
Technology improvements also have allowed greater control over an entire enterprise of
facilities, whether in a single campus environment, spread across the country, or even in
multiple countries. The time is ripe for building owners to receive much more value from
their investment in the many systems it takes to run a 21st century facility.

Smart Buildings is
a short and snappy
term for dozens of
intelligent systems
that help to run
a facility more
efficiently and
are now ready to
deliver giant leaps
in productivity.

How Did We Get Here?

Over the past few decades, the building control industry has made great strides in moving
from proprietary systems to an open architecture that allows devices to become interoperable.
This gives owners more flexibility in choosing components from various manufacturers. If
they decide to replace one vendors system with another or add to the system with another
vendors equipment they can do so without dismantling the existing technology and starting
over. By using a common communications language, hardware and software from different
companies can continue to perform their important building operations functions.
The BACnet and LonTalk communication protocols have taken interoperability to a new level.
As more owners specify building control systems utilizing open, standard communications,
they are more assured of having equipment flexibility. Specialty and legacy protocols
like ModBus and DHP are still part of the intelligent communications framework because
many meters, lighting devices and industrial control devices utilize them. A new set of
protocols dedicated to wireless communications must now be considered as well. Controls

manufacturers have taken a lead in development of these protocols so they are consistent
with the needs of the building management system.

Translation software
called middleware
gathers data from
all automated
systems throughout
an enterprise
regardless of
manufacturer or
communications
protocol and
merges it into a
common platform
for analytics and
reporting.

Most recently, the IT infrastructure has provided the preferred communications highway for
various building systems. In this environment, a temperature control system rides on the same
flexible, secure communications network as the payroll system, the network servers and much
more outside of the facility directors traditional realm of responsibility. The IT operations staff
monitors the traffic to make sure every application is running smoothly at the enterprise level.
This frees up the facility operations staff to better focus on the performance of systems that
provide occupant comfort, security, life safety and other similar concerns.
All of these developments have been leading up to the point where disparate building systems
are beginning to add real-time information to all points along the IT highway, in a universal
language. More importantly, the information about building performance is being translated
into management-friendly displays so that changes can be authorized at a high level in the
organization to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.

Where Are We Now?

The following examples are technologies that are currently available to forward-thinking
organizations:
Managing sustainability goals
Chiller plant optimization
Connecting to smart grids

Managing Sustainability Goals

For decades, building management systems have automated the process of providing just
enough energy to heat and cool buildings according to established criteria and then closing
the valves and dampers until more air flow is required. These energy efficiency measures
contribute to an organizations sustainability goals, such as tracking and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions. But if the data is trapped within the building management system, executivelevel decision-makers may not find it.
Translation software called middleware gathers data from all automated systems throughout
an enterprise regardless of manufacturer or communications protocol and merges it into
a common platform for analytics and reporting. One result is a web-based dashboard display
that offers a visual snapshot of which facilities are experiencing high energy usage, abnormal
maintenance costs, and many other situations that deserve prompt attention.
Executives in charge of sustainability and carbon footprint management are now able to see
the big picture of their organization, no matter how many buildings or geographic locations
are involved. When information is available quickly and can be accessed anywhere, managers
are able to make better decisions that have an immediate impact on profitability.

Chiller Plant Automation

Modern chillers are complex mechanical devices that can be extremely costly, depending
on their size. They have long had the ability to communicate with the building management
system, but until recently this was of limited value because the communication was both
proprietary and included only general information. New technology permits a common
control communication method (usually BACnet), which allows for increased optimization
of multiple chillers across a campus network even if they are from different manufacturers.
Sophisticated control algorithms, compiled from extensive chiller plant experience, enable
chillers to be operated more efficiently than ever before.

This capability is referred to generically as chiller plant optimization. In this control

environment, chillers can achieve much greater efficiency when operating at off-design
conditions which is how they spend 99 percent of their operating hours. For example,
many chillers can utilize colder tower water than in a traditional setting and provide
higher-than-design tonnage when outside temperatures and humidity are less than design
maximums. Both of these reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions when
applied intelligently.
Depending on the level of the intelligence, there can be additional benefits. Intelligent chiller
plant optimization automatically prevents operating conditions that could age equipment
prematurely or compromise reliability by comparing intended loading with manufacturer
recommendations. In addition, with detailed logging and trending, data can be instantly
accessed that will assist in diagnosing and fixing problems quickly. Correctly applied chiller
plant optimization reduces operating costs in both existing and new chiller plants. In an
existing, constant-speed plant, it has been shown to lower energy consumption by about
10 percent. However, in a new plant with variable-speed drives and the proper piping
configuration, energy savings might approach 40 percent as compared to older, non
automated plants.

Connecting to Smart Grids

Truly smart buildings will leverage knowledge that resides outside its walls and windows. The
smart grid is an ideal place to start. Electric utilities have been introducing programs that allow
real-time adjustment of demand in addition to supply when wholesale prices are high or when
grid reliability is jeopardized.
For example, a software conversation between the smart grid and a smart building might go
something like this
Grid: Predictions are for increased temperatures tomorrow. Were expecting high demand
and need your help. Of course, well reward you for cooperating.
User: Okay, is the incentive the same as last time?
Grid: Yes. Well pay you $0.50 for every kilowatt-hour drop from your average electricity
usage.
User: Great! We can offer to reduce our load by 100 kilowatts tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
by activating demand-reduction mode.
Grid: Your offer has been accepted. Hate to cut you short, but another bid is coming in.
Heres another possible conversation between these two smart systems
Grid: Here are the hourly electricity prices for the next 48 hours.
User: Thanks. Since your noon to 2 p.m. rate today is a little steep, were going to try
shedding some load at that time by using the ice we produced last night to cool the
building.

Intelligent chiller
plant optimization
automatically
prevents operating
conditions
that could age
equipment
prematurely or
compromise
reliability by
comparing
intended loading
with manufacturer
recommendations.

Grid: Okay. Thanks for the advance notice. This will lower costs for everyone.
User: Hate to cut you short, but weve got to start planning right away.
Dialogues like this between intelligent systems often require humans to confirm the decisions,
but at least the technology gets the discussion started to make taking action easier for
building operators. Thats quite a leap from just a few years ago. The following diagram
illustrates where we are headed.

Smart buildings
will surely become
a lot smarter in
the future. Skills
and training
must keep pace
with technology
breakthroughs.

Speaking of the Weather

The following example provides another illustration of how a smart building can save energy
by communicating with external sources.
Many organizations have building management systems that collect historical data regarding
energy consumption under certain weather conditions. Why not go a step further and have
monthly utility bills feed into the building management system? Then connect to the National
Weather Services web site to view the weather forecast for the next few days. You should
then be able to project your energy spend and make proactive adjustments where necessary
to curtail expenses.
So when summer temperatures reach extremes, a slight, automatic increase in the temperature
setpoint for office areas will seem perfectly acceptable to most building occupants. This
reduces electrical demand. And, with access to the right historical data and intelligent,
integrated systems in place its easy to calculate the resultant energy savings and carbon
footprint impact.
Useful information for benchmarking or forecasting also can be extracted from trade
associations or other like-minded organizations. Intelligent systems can be trained to seek
these out as part of their daily routines or when in troubleshooting mode.

Proceed With Caution

The delivery of the current state of the art is not for the casual contractor. It requires people
with the unique skill set to blend control with communications and systems integration. Firms
that specialize strictly in information technology, controls or integration most likely will not be
capable of delivering a truly smart building. And for the next generation of building systems,
facility professionals will require access to even more information to take full advantage of
tomorrows intelligent systems. Smart buildings will surely become a lot smarter in the future.
Skills and training must keep pace with technology breakthroughs.

Where Are We Going?

The future looks bright for organizations that put smart buildings to work in the pursuit of
greener facilities. Bright green, as a matter of fact. The following excerpt is from Bright
Green Buildings: Convergence of Green and Intelligent Buildings, a report published in 2008
by the Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) and Frost & Sullivan. The report
emphasizes the many benefits to owners who go beyond merely greening their facilities.
A bright green building is one that is both intelligent and green. It is a building
that uses both technology and process to create a facility that is safe, healthy
and comfortable, and enables productivity and well being for its occupants.
It provides timely, integrated system information for its owners so that they
may make intelligent decisions regarding its operation and maintenance, and
has an implicit logic that effectively evolves with changing user requirements
and technology, ensuring continued and improved intelligent operation,
maintenance and optimization
In bright green buildings, fully networked systems transcend the simple
integration of independent systems to achieve interaction across all systems,
allowing them to work collectively, optimizing a buildings performance, and
constantly creating an environment that is conducive to the occupants goals.
Additionally, fully interoperable systems in these buildings tend to perform
better, cost less to maintain, and leave a smaller environmental imprint than
individual utilities and communication systems.

We have
successfully
transformed from
standalone building
systems with
limited intelligence
to integrated, smart
systems converged
with the IT network.

Yes, smart buildings go far beyond saving energy and contributing to sustainability goals. They
extend capital equipment life and also impact the security and safety of all resources both
human and capital.
Systems will continue to mature as part of the converged IT infrastructure, becoming more
virtual, and comprised almost entirely of intelligent equipment that can self-adapt to the
changing building environment and participate intelligently when called upon.
Now is the time to invest. We have successfully transformed from standalone building systems
with limited intelligence to integrated, smart systems converged with the IT network. They
deliver extensive efficiency benefits today and will redefine the state of the art moving
forward. There has never been a better time to make systems decisions with this end in mind.

Printed on recycled paper.

2009 Johnson Controls, Inc. P. O. Box 423, Milwaukee, WI 53201
Printed in USA PUBL-6278 (10/09)
www.johnsoncontrols.com