Electric.ie January/February 2018

6 ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • Schneider Electric How the IoT Will Shape the Next - By Paul Deans, Sales Engineer - Buildings Automation & Life Sciences at Schneider Electric Ireland The implications of IoT growth on building management ƒ”‡ •‹‰‹Ƥ…ƒ–Ǥ ƒ•– †ƒ–ƒ •‡–• generated by connected building devices provide new opportunities for building owners and facility managers to derive insights from data and dramatically improve building performance. According –‘ ƒ ”‡…‡– •–—†›ǡ ͢͟ ’‡”…‡– ‘ˆ facility managers show interest in implementing new digital technologies like intelligent analytics to improve maintenance decisions and operations, and 89 per cent indicate they expect to achieve a return on their IoT investments within three years. At the same time, global energy ‡ƥ…‹‡…› Ž‡‰‹•Žƒ–‹‘ •—…Š ƒ• –Š‡ Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in the European Union Šƒ• ‡Ž‡˜ƒ–‡† „—‹Ž†‹‰ ‡ƥ…‹‡…› from a nice-to-have to a business necessity. Facility managers worldwide are focused on ™‘”’Žƒ…‡ ‡ƥ…‹‡…› „›…”‡ƒ–‹‰ comfortable and productive work spaces while also reducing energy consumption. This move towards uncovering valuable insights from building data and making adjustments –‘ ‹’”‘˜‡ ‡ƥ…‹‡…› Šƒ• •Š‹ˆ–‡† attention away from equipment manufacturers and into the hands of system integrators and support teams. While the building management system (BMS) still serves as the backbone of any smart building, these systems have become commoditised over the years. The real value of these systems lies in their ability to connect to other devices within the building environment and reveal opportunities to improve ‡ƥ…‹‡…› ƒ† ’‡”ˆ‘”ƒ…‡Ǥ As a result, the shift towards IoT-enabled buildings is fundamentally changing the role of today’s facilities professionals and creating new requirements for them to be successful at their jobs. As smart technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, new questions are being raised. How can it be integrated into „—‹Ž†‹‰ •›•–‡• ‡ơ‡…–‹˜‡Ž› ƒ† strategically? How do we interface it with the many other devices that are in our buildings and homes? Connected technologies that need to be integrated into a modern ™‡”‡ǯ– „‡‹‰ ƒ’’Ž‹‡† Ƥ˜‡ years ago, and didn’t exist a decade in the past. In buildings of the past, the facility manager was the person who handled the mechanics and daily functions of the systems in the buildings they managed. Today’s facility managers are concerned with not only the building systems they have ownership of, but also with the plethora of smart, T ‘†ƒ›ǯ• „—‹Ž†‹‰ ƒƒ‰‡‡– Žƒ†•…ƒ’‡ Šƒ• „‡‡ †”ƒƒ–‹…ƒŽŽ› ‹’ƒ…–‡† „› ƒ —„‡” ‘ˆ –‡…Š‘Ž‘‰› –”‡†•ǡ –Š‡ ‘•– •‹‰‹ˆ‹…ƒ– „‡‹‰ –Š‡ ƒ†‘’–‹‘ ‘ˆ –Š‡ –‡”‡– ‘ˆ Š‹‰• ȋ ‘ Ȍ ƒ†…‘‡…–‡† –‡…Š‘Ž‘‰‹‡•Ǥ  ͜͞͝͡ǡ –Š‡”‡ ™‡”‡ ƒ„‘—– ͜͝ „‹ŽŽ‹‘…‘‡…–‡† †‡˜‹…‡• Ȃ „› ͜͜͞͞ǡ –Šƒ– —„‡” ™‹ŽŽ ‘”‡ –Šƒ –”‹’Ž‡ –‘ ͟͠ „‹ŽŽ‹‘Ǥ Š‹• ‰”‘™–Š ‹• ‘– •—”’”‹•‹‰ ‰‹˜‡ –Š‡…—””‡– –‡…Š‘Ž‘‰›…‘†‹–‹‘•Ǥ ”‘ƒ†„ƒ† ‹–‡”‡– ‹• ™‹†‡Ž› ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡ǡ –‡…Š‘Ž‘‰› …‘•–• ƒ”‡ †‡…”‡ƒ•‹‰ǡ •ƒ”–’Š‘‡ —•‡ ‹• „‡…‘‹‰ —„‹“—‹–‘—• ƒ† ‘”‡ †‡˜‹…‡• ƒ”‡…”‡ƒ–‡† ™‹–Š „—‹Ž–Ǧ‹ •‡•‘”• ƒ† ‹Ǧ ‹…ƒ’ƒ„‹Ž‹–‹‡•Ǥ