For commercial building control systems and for the people who own and manage them, interoperability represents one of the most promising developments since direct digital controls (DDC) were introduced in the early 1980s. But by the time that open, standard protocols like BACnet and LonTalk were available nearly a decade later, building owners and facility managers found themselves locked in their own Tower of Babel. The specialised DDC controllers that managed individual pieces of equipment so well were largely incompatible with each other. System upgrades, whether to accommodate facility expansion or simply to keep pace with technology, meant changing the entire building automation system (BAS), or more likely, adding dedicated interfaces for each new system.

Legislation and standards

There's a lot of talk these days about intelligent buildings, but what exactly is an intelligent building? What are its benefits,and when is an intelligent building solution appropriate? Steve Loughney of Siemens Building Technologies has the answers.

The Government has just completed its consultation phase for amending Part L of the UK Building Regulations. The proposed amendments incorporate plans for implementing the EC Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

The World Health Organisation stated that the definition of health is: “A state of complete well-being and not merely the absence of disease (WHO 2000)”. However, the outbreak of SARS and the increased incidences of MRSA have increased public awareness of the role that air quality has to play regarding health issues and more people are now aware that adverse affects on their health could be caused by poor air quality, often at work.

Two major HFC134a based cooling contracts worth over £750,000 have been completed at one the largest office developments in the City of London.

Hills Electrical & Mechanical plc has secured the contract to install essential Mechanical and Electrical services in the next phase of the fit-out of landmark 180-metre building in the City of London.

The Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) is urging architects, specifiers and contractors to insist that all door closing devices they specify carry the CE mark.

The Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) is urging architects, specifiers and contractors to insist that all door closing devices they specify

Ex-or has just installed an energy-saving automatic lighting control system at the London offices of the Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the Government to help the UK meet its climate change obligations.

A prestigious £5.6 million refurbishment project in the heart of the City of London has been fitted with an air conditioning system from Integrated Control Systems (ICS).

The first of four York ammonia chillers has been delivered to London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5.

Building services contractors at a distribution and office building in Fareham have dramatically reduced installation times by using Oventrop’s new Cocon 4 compact single control valves for fan coil units.

The recently redesigned atrium at the MTV Networks studios in Camden features an effective, allpurpose lighting control solution from Helvar.

The stage is set for RAC 05 with a host of leading companies from across the sector lined up for when the doors open at Birmingham’s NEC on Tuesday 1 March 2005.

The spectacular £70m Sage Gateshead Music Centre has become the first major project in which all three versions of Ackermann Onix underfloor boxes will be installed.

Invensys has formed a new division, Advanced Building Systems (ABS), dedicated to the commercial building management market.

Highlighting the genuine business benefits of apprentice recruitment and training will be a priority for the HVCA during 2005.

SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for building services

New research commissioned by the DTI analyses the impact of increasingly hot summers between now and 2080 on various types of UK buildings and identifies how residential, commercial and educational buildings can best be adapted to limit overheating.

An Adaptaflex promotion on Elkay timers and PIRs is offering contractors the chance to save their customers money on bills.

CCL Veloduct have launched a new variation of the popular Gripple ductwork suspension system designed to boost the efficiency of operatives on site.

It is now even easier to find out about the Kingspan Insulation’s Kooltherm zero ODP range of high performance rigid phenolic insulation products thanks to the company’s recently updated building services website.

Riello has launched a new range of burners aimed at commercial boiler and air-heater applications.

A new 24 page full-colour brochure containing information about its industry-leading R410A VRF technology has been issued by Toshiba Air Conditioning.

Stokvis have announced the latest Econostor gas/oil fired storage water heater, which offers maximum efficiency thanks to its dueltank principle.

Helios have introduced a range of Centrifugal Roof Fans, designed specifically for emergency smoke extraction.

Sanyo have announced the UK launch of their latest generation 3 pipe VRF system, the ECOi 3-Way.

A new heating concept that enhances the indoor environmental comfort by combining fresh air from outside with a building’s installed heating system, has been launched in the UK by IKM, following its successful operation in harsh Scandinavian winter conditions.

VES Andover have launched their major product for 2005, the Ecovent Plus series of heat recovery ventilation units. The new range supersedes the original Ecovent range with the introduction of more model types, improved designs and the option of fitted, pre-wired microprocessor controls.

The UK’s first prefabricated condensing boiler plant, aimed at revolutionising the way condensing heating systems are designed and installed, has been launched by Potterton Commercial, in the form of the new Paraskid.

Daikin Europe have introduced an updated version of their Intelligent Touch Controller (I-controller), which provides building owners, facilities managers and maintenance operators with a refined and energy efficient means of controlling Daikin VRVII, Mini VRVII-S, mixed VRVII/Sky Air and HRV heat recovery air conditioning installations.

Air-conditioning service engineers may no longer need to worry about losing remote controls thanks to the Mimic Universal Remote Controller,which has been launched by Advanced Engineering.

JS Humidifiers is launching a new, economical, mobile, evaporative humidifier for areas up to 1,050m3. The HumEvap Mobile, which is able to evaporate up to 48 litres of water in 24 hours, can be plumbed-in for convenience or filled manually. And at around 50 percent less capital cost than its nearest competitor, the HumEvap Mobile is a reliable and cost effective solution to in-room humidification.