Building Automation: BACnet to the Future
According to Schneider Electric’s recent “Security in the Cloud” study, 83 percent of end-user customers surveyed place energy efficiency as a top priority for their companies; and 42 percent see energy efficiency as a means for reducing cost. Since security systems are consumers of energy, traditional security service providers have been challenged to support a positive energy efficiency strategy or green security priority; and thus, they have struggled to positively impact customers’ bottom lines beyond those associated with traditional risk mitigation. This means security becomes viewed as a necessity rather than a beneficial strategist when compared to an organization’s overall business objectives.
To help customers realize their buildings' greater potential, the security integration community should start by leveraging BACnet in the security space and working with other construction trades and engineering teams to fully embrace the benefits of an integrated building.
Leveraging this open and globally recognized protocol provides an opportunity for security practitioners to increase a building’s performance, along with the opportunity to better optimize security. The addition of new services to security also means that security integrators can bring more value to the table and be seen as more of a contributing member of the overall team for an organization.
What is BACnet?
Since the dawn of the modern building, facility managers and security professionals have wanted to best serve their customers and drive business value. Historically, however, it has been difficult to get security and building automation solutions to work together effectively – thereby restricting the potential that can come from such integration. This lack of coordination between two key trades meant customers were left with facilities that operated below their optimal expectations.
What exactly is BACnet? It is an open protocol supported across the world that seamlessly enables two systems to communicate and share information, creating synergies that result in new functionalities. Though nothing new to the building automation segment, inclusion of BACnet in the security space can serve as a soft entry point for security integrators to begin collaborating with building automation suppliers to deliver a truly integrated facility.
Traditional security and building automation integrations have severe limitations and often require custom builds involving wiring and relays that are costly to develop. Proprietary solutions are also difficult to maintain and not flexible enough to support future needs.
With BACnet integration, organizations can share encrypted information between their building management and security systems to gain efficiencies and manage emergency situations. Using open standards to merge building management and security systems enables clearer decisions and faster responses.
Building Automation and Security Integration in Action
In the event of a building fire, for example, facility managers can initiate an alarm from the building management system (BMS), which automatically transmits an emergency message to evacuate the building. This is achieved through the sharing of information through a common protocol rather than custom programming, which is difficult to support and maintain, or relay logic which lacks flexibility and drives installation costs up.
Conversely, security systems can alert the BMS about building occupancy so lighting, HVAC and other building systems can be turned on only when needed, which drives energy and cost savings. The inclusion of BACnet integration also enables a facility's security systems to easily interact with lighting control systems, thus providing critical information to first responders and enabling them to see what they might be walking into during a security situation.
While BACnet interoperability does not usually cross most security professionals’ minds, it should because the opportunities it presents to the industry are significant. Increased functionality for the customer enables security integrators to differentiate themselves in a highly fragmented marketplace; plus, many customers are now asking for integration that goes beyond the traditional security equation. Adoption of BACnet makes this possible and helps to deliver greater benefits and value to these customers.
Integrating access control and BMS on the BACnet protocol delivers a more holistic building integration and automation so facility and security managers can fully leverage the potential of their buildings.
Security integrators can help make this happen by reaching across the table to their building automation counterparts, working with the engineering and construction teams to bridge the historical gaps that have plagued the industry. Working together means gathering as a team with a clear understanding of the customers' goals and strategies, then harmonizing the integration scope of work and lines of responsibility. Only then can siloed construction documents be merged to deliver a greater value.
Steven Turney ([email protected]) is Security Program Manager for Schneider Electric and an active member of ASIS. To read the company's full report, visit http://go.schneider-electric.com/NAM_PB_Buildings_US_201703_Security-Survey-Results-Web-01-Security-Survey-Results-MF-LP.html. Request more info about the company at www.securityinfowatch.com/10482274.
