The 2014 ControlTrends Awards event is only eight days away! The voting phase is over and the votes are being tallied. It will be an amazing and exciting night featuring the heroes and superstars of HVAC and Building Automation Industry. We thank our sponsors for making the ControlTrends Awards possible. Monday, January 26th, 2015 at Chicago’s McCormick Hyatt, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM, though we invite you to get there early to walk the red carpet and elegant ambiance of the Prairie Ballroom to celebrate the 2014 ControlTrends Awards Winners, the Petock Award recipient, and the ControlTrends Hall of Fame inductees.

Voluntary Code of Conduct for Smart Grid Data PrivacyU.S. DOE Releases Voluntary Code of Conduct for Smart Grid Data Privacy. January 12, 2015: President Obama announced the release of the final concepts and principles for a Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC) related to privacy of customer energy usage data for utilities and third parties. The final VCC is the result of a 22-month multi-stakeholder effort which was facilitated by the Energy Department’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in coordination with the Federal Smart Grid Task Force.

Mr. Jones Votes and Gets Ready For The ControlTrends Awards. Voting for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards ends January 15. Click here to vote. Get ready for all the excitment and fun at the 2014 ControlTrends Awards January 26 from 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Prairie Ballroom, and meet the superstars of the Building Automation and HVAC Controls Industry including the very talented Bill Jones, who put together this video.

Ron Vokoun Data Center Predictions for 2015. A very special thanks to Ron Vokoun DBIA, LEED AP BD+C, leads the Mission Critical Market for at JE Dunn Construction for this very insightful post. And to Rick Warner, a.k.a “The Innovator” for making us aware of Ron. With the arrival of a new year, organizations are making plans to address the explosion of enterprise data in 2015. A big question is how those plans will differ from your data center operations this past year.

The Best Way To Control Electrical Plug Loads? Rob Allen Explains. On this episode of 7 Minutes in Control Rob Allen and Michael Bonner show you the best way to control loads at the plug level. Plug-IT delivers a remarkable solution to maximize your energy savings and is an award-winning product that leverages existing Niagara installations! Easily meets the latest ASHRAE 90.1 standards for controlling 50% of wall receptacle plug loads.

Can Your Building Automation Control System Do This? Honeywell might be the only company on the planet that combines building Automation Controls and Access and Security in one JACE, truly integrating ACCESS and Security and Building Automation Controls from one source and one vendor. Savvy systems integrators and owners love the value of this solution. Watch the video below and tell us what you think in comments.

2015 Building Energy Summit — Early Bird Registration Ends January 31, 2015. On March 25, 2015, more than 500 of the nation’s top building owners and managers, along with technology and energy experts, will convene in Washington DC to discuss groundbreaking and innovative solutions for energy efficient buildings. Sign up for the 2015 Building Energy Summit.

Philip Henderson Meet John Petze.Great talk by Philip Henderson, who is the senior financial policy specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Philip is speaking at GreenBuild. One of Philip’s points is that 80% of the buildings that are targeted for Vision 2020 and beyond are already built. Building more energy efficient buildings is great, but to reach the objectives of Vision 2020 we must make existing buildings more operationally efficient.

The post ControlTalk NOW: The Smart Building Podcast/Videocast Week Ending January 18, 2015 appeared first on ControlTrends.

PodCast Show Notes: ControlTalk NOW thanks this week’s sponsors Contemporary Controls and International Solutions of America (ISA). 2014 ControlTrends Awards Nominees Nino DiCosmo, Tridium’s President and General Manager, and Thermokon’s North American Sales Manager, David Alliband, join us this week on ControlTalk NOW, providing unique insights into Nino DiCosmo’s high-profile executive role in running one of the world’s leading software platforms and David Alliband’s vigorous efforts to take the Thermokon product portfolio to the next level in the North American market.

Contemporary Controls is your ideal partner for applying network technology to your BACnet building automation project. The industry is embracing Ethernet connectivity to Direct Digital Controllers (DDC) along with open protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and Sedona Framework.

ISA’s warehouse maintains a large inventory of new and reconditioned parts. From years of experience, we know the parts our customers need most. So in most cases, your parts are shipped within 24 hours — in many instances, the same day — saving you the expense of lengthy down-time.

ControlTrends Awards Finalist Sky Foundryy: Are you drowning in a sea of Big Data? John Petze and his team at SkyFoundry have created a Building Automation Controls analytics package that allow you to easliy find the data that matters to you. Whether you are looking at trends, alarms, or faults SkyFoundry enables the creation of “Sparks” (events) that allow you to interact with your data in powerful ways that make your buildings safer and more efficient.

Lynxspring Nominated for Multiple 2014 ControlTrends Awards! E-news from Marc Petock. We are pleased to announce that Lynxspring has been nominated as finalists in the 2014 Control Trend Awards in several categories. The Control Trend Awards recognize the people, product, and manufacturers in our industry that make the HVAC, Controls, and Building Automation Industry what it is today.

Heads Up! Hackers Hint at Terror Attacks, Release More Data from Sony Pictures. We received this notice from IT World’s Senior Staff Writer, Steve Ragan. Now that we learned of this potential threat, we need to pass it on to the ControlTrends Community for greatest dissemination. Sony’s $60 Million dollar insurance coverage will not be enough to recover from theft of Sony Pictures Entertainment content and the leakage of more than 200GB of data, including pre-release movies, executive emails, sales and marketing data, and nearly everything from human resources.

Niagara Framework Changed Our World! Tridium’s Niagara AX is nominated for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards Building Integration & Automation Software of the Year. And,understandably so. The Niagara Software platform has driven change and innovation — and made the smart connected building, as we able to perceive it, a reality. Tridium’s next gen framework, Niagara 4, whose full release is imminent, is even more awesome.

CTN Interview with Tridium’s Nino DiCosmo, nominated for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards Executive of the Year, Large Manufacturer. Nino DiCosmo is an accomplished global executive recognized for commitment to setting and achieving Tridium’s vision and goals. Nino is an expert at scaling operations, building customer focused teams, and leading innovative product development.

Thermokon — Keeping in Touch with the Future. Thermokon EasySens- EnOcean is nominated for the 2014 ControlTrends Wireless Product/Solution of the Year. David Alliband, Sales Manager, North America is excited about Thermokon’s continued success and the many wired and wireless products and solutions Thermokon has to offer. When Thermokon Sensortechnik GmbH was founded in 1987 by Harald Zygan in Mittenaar-Bicken, Germany, hardly anyone expected the business to grow out of this scale.

CTN Interview with David Alliband, Sales Manager, North America. David Alliband reviews the variety of wired and wireless products available from Thermokon and the HVAC applications the Thermokon products are especially well-suited for. Thermokon has grown from a sensor manufacturer to a solutions provider with a broad range of highly competitive quality products available from a distributor near you.

Rising Plug-in Electric Vehicle Adoption — Impacts on the Grid (Negligible, for Now). December, 2014: Six utilities that participated in DOE’s cost-shared Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program deployed in-home and public electric vehicle charging stations and evaluated customer charging behaviors and impacts on the grid. There are relatively few plug-in electric vehicles on the road today, and as a result the six SGIG projects focused on establishing the charging infrastructure with a relatively low number of stations and evaluated a small number of participating vehicles.

CTN’S Smart Building Tip of the Week: Accruent’s Facility 360 — Become a Driver of Success. Convert your facility from a cost center to a strategic contributor. Great information from Accruent on how facilities management teams can play a more strategic role in organizations.7 Ways to Save Time, Costs, and Energy: Download White Paper. In a world where you must find ways to “do more with less,” finding ways to cut costs can be challenging – and time consuming.

The post ControlTalk NOW for the Week Ending December 21, 2014 appeared first on ControlTrends.

PodCast Show Notes: ControlTalk NOW thanks this week’s Premium sponsors EasyIO and DG Logik. Do not miss our featured interviews with 2014 ControlTrends nominees — Tridium’s CTO, John Sublett, nominated for the 2014 ControlTrends PID Award, shares Tridium’s genuine collaborative philosophy and his own personal passion — that together, have made the Niagara platform so successful. Nominated for Executive of the Year, Lynxspring’s President and CEO, Terry Swope discusses the trust factors and viewing BAS Integration from the end-user perspective — the catalysts for Lynxspring’s growing success.

EasyIO has emerged as a world leader in Open Building Automation integration solutions and manufacturer of Ethernet based, DDC Controllers. Led by CEO Gordon Chen and Mike Marston, EasyIO’s 5 core values are Trust, Quality, People Development, Solid Business Ethics and Leading Edge Innovation. EAsyIO’s new FG series of controllers are Internet-ready field controllers packaged as future IoT solutions for the Energy and Building Facility Control markets.

DG Logik is the game changer in the Internet of Things and the building automation industry leader in designing custom IoT software tools. With deep integration to multiple data providers, DG Logik’s IoT visualizations are guaranteed to help you monitor more effectively, save time, and decrease costs directly translating into increased revenues.

Control Network News from Contemporary Controls. While in Chicago at AHR 2015 make sure to stop by Booth 3531 in the Building Automation and Control Showcase to see and learn about our portfolio of open building automation and control solutions that are cost-effective and durable enough to withstand demanding loads from challenging environments. Contemporary Controls nominated for Five CTA Awards. Read more.

Live Stream Rewind: KMC Simply VAV Controller Training. Doug Miller and Erich Kreuter show you what you need to know about the KMC Simply VAV Controller in this rewind of a live stream from KMC Controllers distributor Stromquist & Company. For more than 40 years, KMC has been designing and producing HVAC controls and building automation solutions. From their headquarters in the heartland of America, KMC makes these products available worldwide. SimplyVAV is our latest innovation. Get your hands on it today!

CTN Interview with Tridium’s John Sublett. As Tridium’s Chief Technology Officer, John Sublett’s contributions to the world’s leading software platform began in 1996, as a founder, and have since helped make Tridium’s Niagara AX Platform the most prolific software platform in the HVAC industry — whose integration community is migrating successfully — and rapidly, into the neighboring Industrial, Data Center, and Smart City markets. John shares his thoughts about the future of integration, the next-gen integrators, the aspirations of the Tridium team, and some the people he shares his career with.

Thermostat of The Year: Entouch is in Touch! The competition for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards Thermostat of the year is heating up. Those in the know, think Entouch Controls, although not as well known as some of he other finalist,could be the best of the bunch. Entouch makes a line of thermostats that are more than just thermostats. Most models come with the ability to monitor electrical loads and digital switches. Add in their easy to use cloud portal and for the cost of most thermostats you have a mini building or home control automation system.

KMC’s SimplyVAV — in the Hunt for a ControlTrends Award! Simple, easy to install and configure, competitively priced: it is easy to see why the KMC Simply VAV controller is a strong contender for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards VAV Controller of the Year. To get in-depth training on the KMC SimplyVAV click here. The SimplyVAV controllers can be installed as standalone controllers or they can be connected to a BACnet MS/TP network. These topics are reference material for control technicians or engineers who are planning, installing, and setting up controllers that are connected to a network.

CTN Interview with Terry Swope, President and CEO of Lynxspring. Terry Swope is one of the most interesting, accomplished, and personally engaging people in the HVAC Industry. Combining his 25 years as a consulting engineer and the 12 years at the helm of Lynxspring, Terry’s unparalleled understanding of the market and the end-users viewpoint explain Lynxspring’s growing success. Having the foresight and drive to improve Lynxspring’s internal business language and then having the willingness to share those resources with Lynxspring’s channel partners fortifies the future growth of this great organization and industry leader. Don’t miss this interview!

You’re Invited to America’s #1 Facility Management Show — $1,195 Value – Yours for Free! You’re invited to America’s #1 facilities show – the National Facilities Management and Technology Show (NFMT) for Free. NFMT will be held March 10-12, 2015, in Baltimore, MD. The NFMT Conference program features more than 120 educational sessions that are entirely free to facilities management professionals. Choose from every topic imaginable: From best practices for reducing energy, to maintenance planning and scheduling, to Finance 101 for FMs, to a review of ADA regulations.

The post ControlTalk NOW for the Week Ending December 28, 2014 appeared first on ControlTrends.

ControlTalk NOW thanks this week’s Premium sponsors Delta Controls and Neptronic. This week’s posts included updated SmartGrid.gov information; Visionary Jim Sinopoli’s Smart Buildings Predictions for 2015; New Products review from ACI’s Barry Gordon; Rob Allen breaks down 2014 CTA Awards nominee Blue Ridge Technologies; and Siemens’ product discussion with Joshua Felperin. Don’t miss our very special interview with EasyIO’s globetrotter, Mike Marston, who provides EasyIO updates from Cambodia.

The Delta Difference: At Delta Controls, the mantra Do It Right is the “how”. It is how we design, manufacture and support our products. It is how we serve our customers. It is how we treat our employees, partners and vendors. And it is how we view business in general and respect the planet we live on. Delta Controls is one of the largest independent manufacturers of building automation systems with more than 300 installers in over 80 countries. For more than 3 decades Delta Controls has offered dependable and user-friendly building control solutions to commercial, healthcare, education, leisure buildings and more.

HVAC products and solutions since 1976. Founded in 1976, Neptronic is a private corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes products for the HVAC industry. Our product line includes intelligent controllers, electronic actuators, actuated valves, humidifiers and electric heaters. Our products are designed and manufactured by over 250 dedicated employees in our 7,500 m2 (80,000 ft2) state-of-the-art facility located in Montreal, Canada.

39 Utilities Share Smart Grid Deployment Results at DOE-EPRI Conference: January 6, 2015: Thirty nine utilities met October 27-29, 2014, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to share results and lessons learned resulting from smart grid deployments supported through funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). This report provides a summary of the conference – the Smart Grid Experience: Applying Results, Reaching Beyond.

Jim Sinopoli’s Smart Buildings Predictions for 2015. DRIVERLESS BUILDINGS. Predictions for Smart Buildings 2015 by Jim Sinopoli, PE, LEED AP Smart Buildings LLC.

Over the last few years companies have developed and demonstrated driverless car technology; Google, Audi, BMW and dozens of other companies and universities have been involved. With the use of cameras, sensors, “decision and driving strategy and logic”, traffic sign recognition, pedestrian spotting and lane departure warnings, many but not all of the technical aspects have been addressed.

ControlTalk NOW interview with special guest, EasyIO’s Mike Marston, from Cambodia. Few people in the HVAC and Building Integration industry enjoy their profession. and are as successful at it, as Mike Marston. Mike’s enthusiasm and pride of ownership are infectious. Led by Gordon Chen, Mike Marston, and Lim Hoon Chiat, EasyIO is on the move with partners in over 30 countries. EasyIO has been nominated for eight 2014 ControlTrends Awards. Watch this interview and see why!

Message from Barry Gordon: ACI Releases New Products for 2015!ACI is always standing by it’s motto to “Engineer a Better Sensor Solution.” We take great pride in our engineering achievements and have invested substantially in new product development. With that in mind, I am excited to introduce our newest product offerings; A/CO2 Series, WPR Wet to Wet DP, and PowerScout(TM) 3037 Series.

Rob Allen Breaks Down 2014 ControlTrends Awards Finalist Blue Ridge Technologies. Rob Allen investigates Blue Ridge Technologies and Unified Lighting Control on this episode of 7 Minutes in Control. Many believe that when a complete Building Automation System (BAS) is required, Unified Lighting Control is a superior lighting control solution. We will know January 26, 2015 if the world-wide ControlTrends Community agrees with this statement when their votes will be heard. Nominated for the 2014 Lighting Integration Provider/Solution of The Year Award, we wish Blue Ridge Technologies all the best.

Siemens Gets Ready for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards. Monday, January 26, 2015, between 6-8, the Prairie Ball Room at the Hyatt McCormick Place will be rocking as the Super Stars of the Building Automation and HVAC controls industry walk the Red Carpet and celebrate the 2014 ControlTrends Awards. ControlTrends Awards Platinum Sponsor Siemens is in the hunt for four Awards at this year’s show. The very talented, Joshua Felperin, stopped by to talk about Siemens entries and give us a run down on the new Siemens Variable Frequency Drive.

Honeywell WEBs AX: In the Hunt for 2014 Building Automation Control System of the Year. Honeywell’s WEBs AX offers a Smart Solution for your Intelligent Buildings applications. WEBs AX connects buildings with maximum efficiency, reduces maintenance costs with centralized control. Additionally, WEBs AX offfers an open, scalable solution that lets you take immediate control of your HVAC control starting with thermostatic control, IAQ control, lighting, on your way to total access and video surveillance integration. The Honeywell WEBs AX possibilities are endless!

The post ControlTalk NOW: The Smart Building Podcast/Videocast Week Ending January 11, 2015 appeared first on ControlTrends.

ControlTalk NOW for the Week ending January 4, 2015. Pod Cast Show Notes: ControlTalk NOW thanks this week’s Premium sponsors Honeywell and Siemens. This week, we review the major trends and events of 2014 — the Year of Disruption. Special interviews with Executive of the Year nominee and industry stalwart George Thomas, founder and President of Contemporary Controls, and Young Gun, Jason Houck, Director of IT and Integration at Hepta Controls Systems.

Honeywell invents and manufactures technologies to address some of the world’s toughest challenges initiated by revolutionary macrotrends in science, technology and society. A Fortune 100 company, we create solutions to improve the quality of life of people around the globe: generating clean, healthy energy – and using it more efficiently. Increasing our safety and security.

Siemens: 2014 European Building Technologies Company of the Year. Siemens offers a complete technical infrastructure portfolio for building automation, energy efficiency, fire safety, security, total building solutions and market-specific solutions in buildings and public places. Siemens offers a comprehensive range of building automation systems and HVAC products for every area of use like heating, ventilation, air conditioning, cooling application, and for every technical requirement.

ControlTrends 2014 Year in Review. We thank the ControlTrends Community for sharing another incredible year for the HVAC and Controls Industry that began with the 2014 ControlTrends Awards in NYC, and took us across the country and around the world to the 2014 CGNA Conference, 2014 Niagara Summit, 2014 Realcomm/IBcon, International Systems of America, Neptronic, Easy IO World Conference in Madrid, as well as our continuing coverage of all the major control trends, from wearable technology to cybersecurity.

ControlTrends is delighted to interview George Thomas founder and president of Contemporary Controls. Nominated for five ControlTrends Awards, Contemporary Controls enters its 40th year in the business! George Thomas and Contemporary Controls are a story that movies are made from. Few people have the personal and professional moxie it takes to build an enduring company from the cliched humble origins of a home-made microprocessor business started in a visionary’s basement, to a thriving international manufacturer of Industrial, Building, and Commercial Automation Components; Communication and Network Devices; and Building Automation Controllers.

George Thomas and his team at Contemporary Controls have weathered every sort of economic and competitive storm that an entrepreneur can expect, and their continued success reveals two very unique attributes: George Thomas and Contemporary Controls are just plain good and just plain smart! Visit George Thomas and Contemporary Controls at the 2015 AHR Show, booth 3531 and get your copy of “Network Communications for Buildings,” a compilation of articles Contemporary Controls has written on Ethernet, IP networks, Modbus and BACnet protocols.

ControlTalk NOW second interview with Jason Houck, Director of IT & Integration at Hepta Control Systems. Jason personifies the next generation of precocious master systems integrators whose career began while he was still in grade school. Jason shares his own experience, the Linux theory of self-accomplishment, and how he became an expert in Design & Implementation of Smart Building Networks, Integration of HVAC Controls, Lighting Controls, Electrical Metering, Fire Alarm Systems, Electrical Equipment and Elevators via multiple protocols such as Bacnet, LON, Modbus, OPC, Obix, and DDE.

2014 ControlTrends Awards PID Finalist Laura Kevitt. See why the World-Wide ControlTrends Community nominated the hard working Laura Kevitt as a finalist for the PID Award. The PID Award, which stands for Passion, Integrity, and Dedication is an honor bestowed on the individual that exudes these qualities. Those in the community that have had the opportunity to work with Honeywell’s Laura Kevitt can attest to her personification of these virtues. Laura, heads up national accounts for Honeywell’s ECC Building Automation Group.

2014 Energy Savings Solution Product of the Year Nominee — Belimo Energy Valve. Belimo’s Energy Valve is a strong favorite to win the 2014 Energy Savings Solution Product of the Year because of its incomparable engineering sophistication and bonafide performance that takes HVAC energy savings to the highest levels. Belimo is delivering the future of energy savings — today! Overview:The Energy Valve is a pressure independent valve that measures and manages coil energy by using an embedded electromagnetic or ultrasonic flow meter, along with supply and return water temperature sensors.

Ken Sinclair’s January 2015 Edition of Automated Buildings: Auto’s Autodidacticism. Another great edition of Automated Buildings is now available! The January, 2015 edition introduces AB’s editor Ken Sinclair’s critical evaluation on how self-learning is rapidly becoming such a necessary and essential tool for the HVAC. In 2011, Seth Godin declared that the internet freed us all from the tyranny of being selected. That it was time to select yourself. We are seeing this self-selection tenet in full motion and experiencing the impact that self-selection has already had on many industries — that have lost their once inalienable gate-keeper rights.

Johnson Controls Chris Eichmann: in the Hunt for ControlTrends Executive of the Year. Johnson Controls, Chris Eichmann is no stranger to success. As a former winner of the ControlTrends Executive of the Year, the hard working Chris, has been nominated as a finalist for the 2014 ControlTrends Executive of the Year – Large Manufacture.I had a chance to catch up with Chris in Atlanta. Check out my interview with Chris to see why he is so popular with the world wide ControlTrends community. Voting ends January 15th, so make sure to vote for your ControlTrends favorites.

Caution: Disruption Ahead! Data Sent to Cloud (Not to BMS) — Daikin Applied Intelligent Equipment. The Daikin-Intel disruption bell tolled rather loudly and clearly at the June 2014 Realcom/IBcon show in Las Vegas. Daikin, one of the world’s largest and most progressive equipment manufacturers, had already rolled out their Rebel Rooftop line, which put them in the pole position (kinda), because merging equipment and controls by utilizing the potency of IoT and new disruptive technology is great and does offer additional value to Daikin’s customers.

The post ControlTalk NOW: The Smart Building Podcast January 4, 2015 appeared first on ControlTrends.