K-12 school buildings that automatically manage and control utility costs 24-hours a day.
The Internet of Things can make the job of facilities managers easier, but getting buy-in may take some time and education.
Building systems are acting more and more like social media, getting smarter, driving energy savings and customer satisfaction. Are you #connected?
Intelligent buildings are the future but they don’t come cheap. Life-cycle costing can help justify the expense, so why aren't more schools doing it?
Intelligent services combine technology, proprietary analytics and expertise in heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to continuously collect, interpret and act upon data from building systems and controls to optimize operational perfor
A Building Automation System (BAS) is what makes an intelligent building intelligent in terms of energy usage. From basic to sophisticated, there's clearly a lot that administrators can do to take advantage of building intelligence to transform their environment.
Why the AV industry and not one of the other building systems trades, such as HVAC or electrical integrators? For one reason, AV professionals are widely recognized as early adopters of new technologies. In recent years, there has been a considerable emphasis on ease-of-use and ease-of-operation. In response, AV programmers, consultants, and integrators have developed unique skills for creating intuitive, user-friendly tools and control interfaces. What users and building managers often do not see is that behind the scenes, to create those seamless interfaces, AV professionals must often corral complex systems that don’t normally communicate with one another — and that’s the crux of the challenge when it comes to integrating disparate building systems.
Being energy efficient has a lot going for it. Students and faculty appreciate the comfortable environments. Staff members enjoy maintaining and servicing an intelligently controlled building. And everyone can feel good about contributing to a healthy, green future. But at what cost? There is plenty of whizz-bang technology that looks great… until you crunch the numbers. Is a 20-year return on investment too long to wait? Or is the alternative too expensive?