Episode 249: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings Videocast and PodCast for week ending Dec 24, 2017 features two uniquely insightful interviews with Nicole Conklin, Cochrane Supply’s Product Manager, and channel thought leader, Rauline Ochs, from The Channel Company. Also, Troy Meachum of ACR Supply, steps in as 2018 HARDI President; Watch Simon Sinek’s Best Speech Ever on Millennials; and view three top 2017 ControlTrends Most Impactful Marketing video entries from Belimo, Siemens, and Distech Controls.
Troy Meachum Steps in as 2018 HARDI President. Troy Meachum, President of ACR Supply based in North Carolina, has officially taken over as the new Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) President for 2018. Troy Meachum made his message clear, “It is our duty to preserve the legacy of those who came before us and built our companies.” Troy continued, “Let me ask you this, are we going to let some e-commerce giant come and take that all away from us? I don’t think so.”
ControlTalk NOW first guest interview is with Cochrane Supply and Engineering’s Product Manager, Nicole Conklin. Nicole shares her early experiences in the HVACR and Building Automation industries, and her rise through the ranks within one of the most progressive and successful distributors in North America. Nicole is excited about Cochrane’s new notification APP, Raven, scheduled foe launch early in 2018.
Millennials Demystified: How They Can Save Smart Building Controls. As the “gray hairs” in the Smart Buildings Controls Industry begin to retire, we need to attract and keep younger people if our Industry is going to grow. That means we are going to have to understand that the next group coming into Smart Building Controls, the “millennials,” are not wired the way we are. The irony is that they are a creation of our our making, and are motivated and inspired by different things than their baby boomer parents and grand parents.
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with he Channel Company consultant, Rauline Ochs, a high-performance sales and marketing executive with deep expertise in channel and alliances industry research, client consulting and training curricula across IT, carrier service provider and operational technology vendors doing cloud and IoT business in the indirect channel, as well as facilitating The Channel Company’s IoT Advisory Board. With vast channel experience, Rauline helps to write the road map and the playbook when aof channel hits an inflection point and how to drive ROI, capture budgets, and sell to the new set decision-makers. Visit The Channel Company to view upcoming events!
Belimo’s Entry into The ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral (Video, Product Rollout, etc…) of the Year. Congratulations to the marketing team at Belimo for this outstanding video entry into the ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral (Video, Product Rollout, etc…) of the Year As you can see, not only is this a very informative video about a very cool, newer product from Belimo, but it also has a wonderful emotional aspect to the story. Well done Belimo! If you like this video be sure to click here and vote.
Siemens Video Finalist Video for The ControlTrends Most Impactful Marketing Collateral of the Year Award. Here is another great entry into the ControlTrends Most Impactful Marketing Collateral of the Year Award , from the stellar marketing team at Siemens.. Their video entry “Siemens Ingenuity for Life Creates Perfect Places“, is another great example of the marketing talent in the Smart Buildings and HVAC controls Industry. Watch the video, and be sure to vote.
Distech Controls ECLYPSE Controllers’ RESTful API Opens Buildings to Web Services. Distech Controls 2017 ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral of the Year entry: ECLYPSE Controllers’ RESTful API Opens Buildings to Web Services, tells a great story on how to design an intelligent and eco-friendly building, while at the same time improving the occupants’ quality of life and anticipate their needs, and controlling your operating costs and promoting your real estate. Watch the video, and be sure to vote.
Episode 248: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings Videocast and PodCast for Week Ending December 17, 2017 features Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, who continues his query into IoT and the building automation industry. Be sure to cast your votes for the 2017 ControlTrends Awards! Use the voting link below. ACI’s Gas Sensor Tech Tip and Marketing Video; Johnson Controls’ Verasys delivers Competitive Advantage; EasyIO FW-14 — a New Breed of High Performance, Freely Programmable, Wireless Controllers; J2 Innovations’ Gerald Huff nominated forTrainer of the Year, and more.
This is Your 2017 ControlTrends Awards Finalist Voting Ballot! This is Your 2017 ControlTrends Awards Finalist Voting Ballot! You can only vote once, but feel free to send the 2017 ControlTrends Awards Voting Link to your community for them to vote as well. Your name and email provide additional safeguards to assure the voting is fair, and to make sure you are emailed links to future ControlTrends Awards events.
Happy Belated 3D Printing Day! Congress Declares December 3rd “3D Printing Day.” As 3D printing, alias additive manufacturing, becomes more pervasive, when and where will it enter the Building Automation and HVAC industry and how will it impact us? Forget fulfillment centers and overnight shipping, your local distributor will 3D print your parts while you wait. Largest 3D markets so far: commercial and military aircraft parts, GE nozzles, Ford automobile parts, Nike football cleats, jewelry, toys, and dolls. Wonder who will make the first 3D thermostat?
ACI Tech Tips – How to Bump Test a Q5/B5 Gas Sensor. Sensors need to be checked and maintained on a periodic basis, especially gas sensors. ACI’s Tech Support Engineer Dave Weise shows us how to Bump Test the Q5/B5 Gas Sensor. The Q5 Series is a microprocessor based “smart” gas transmitter and the B5 Series is a BACnet® enabled, microprocessor based “smart” gas transmitter.
Happy Holidays and a Great New Year’s Wish from Lynxspring. All of us at Lynxspring want to wish you and yours a very safe and Happy Holiday season and wish you a very prosperous and Happy New Year, too! It has been a very busy year for us and our thanks go out to all of our Lynxspring Business Partners. We have decided it is time to start celebrating the Holidays and to take this month off from having our December 30 Minutes with Lynxspring, our monthly webinar series hosted by Lynxspring subject matter experts and special guests!
EasyIO’s FW-14 — A New Breed of High Performance, Freely Programmable, Wireless Controllers. The EasyIO-FW-14 is a new breed, high performance, freely programmable, wireless Wi-Fi Sedona controller. It has never been easier to extend your BMS because of its wireless possibilities.You will save on labor and wiring. The EasyIO-FW-14 is a perfect fit for vertical markets such as schools and retail, to have extended IO for the F-series controllers, without any downtime during installation as the network can be wireless. It’s ideal for all kind of applications such as fan coils, AHU’s, room and stand-alone applications, featuring SOX, TCOM, FGP2P and BACnet communication protocols.
ControlTalk NOW special guest, Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings. Ken provides unique insight to his December theme #RUIoTReady — and then discusses IoT’s impact to our industry. What is IoT? Why should I care? What does “Ready” mean? Do not overwhelm yourself with worry, because Ken clearly states the moral of his December theme editorial: “As an industry, we need to stop the waste of time in this creation of them and us, we are all in this together, it is not a war, it is a love-in “for Human-Centric Solutions.” Read Ken’s complete editorial.
Meet ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Trainer of the Year — Gerard Huff. As we are in the final phase of voting for the 2017 ControlTrends Awards, vendors are submitting media for ControlTtends to post to help promote their finalist. In this video, from J2 Innovations, meet Gerard Huff, Director of Technical Services and finalist for the 2017 ControlTrends Trainer of the Year. Gerard manages the development and delivery of technical training and documentation. He teachs HVAC, Building Automation, and IoT Solutions. He’s been all over the world this year training End Users and System Integrators, and also training J2 OEM trainers through their Train the Trainer program.
Check out ACI’s Video for The 2017 ControlTrends ControlTrends Most Impactful Marketing Collateral of the Year Award. Check out this video from ACI. It is a great example of the quality work from the marketing teams that made the finals for the ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral (Video, Product Rollout, etc…) of the Year. If you would liketo see more go to the ControlTrends Awards Voting ballot and check out all our finalists and vote!
Check out Johnson Controls‘ entry into the 2017 ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral of the Year Award. Not only has Johnson Controls created a formidable entry into the RACE TO THE SMALL SPACE AWARD, with the Verasys light commercial control system,their stellar marketing team has created a wonderful video showing off the new system,which makes them a prime contender in the ControlTrends Awards Most Impactful Marketing Collateral (Video, Product Roll out, etc…) of the Year. If you would like to see more go to the ControlTrends Awards Voting ballot and check out all our finalists and vote!
Johnson Controls — Maintaining Your Competitive Advantage with New Verasys Features — Dec 19, 2017, 1:00PM CST. Verasys is leveraging smart equipment technology in a way that not only sets the building controls system apart from its competitors, but also supports the contractors’ and building owners’ overarching goals: ease of installation and reduced operating costs. Join us for a one-hour webinar on December 19 at 1:00pm CST to get a glimpse of the recently enhanced simple user interface and see a live demo of the new spaces view.
KMC Genius Summit: Bring More of Your Team! Space is limited for the KMC Genius Summit breakout sessions, so go into the app, sign in and add the sessions you want to attend to your schedule. To get the app, pull up this email on your phone, click the button below, and follow the onscreen instructions. Sign Up For Your Sessions Now!
Episode 247: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings Videocast and PodCast for week ending December 3, 2017 features interviews with Network as a Service expert Ron Victor, CEO and Founder of IoTium, along with Master Systems Integrator Extraordinaire, Jason Houck, CIO of Hepta Systems and The Panel Shoppe. More insights and updates from Functional Devices, Women in HVACR, Honeywell LCBS Connect, Siemens Total Room Automation, KMC’s complete Building Control Solutions, Introducing Niagara’s first Cloud Offering, Ken Sinclair’s December edition #RUIoTReady, and the video announcement of the 2017 ControlTrends Awards finalists.
Functional Devices, Inc. Functional Devices, Inc. has been designing and manufacturing quality electronic devices in the United States of America since 1969. Our goal is to provide high quality products for the most reliable and economical solutions to the needs of our customers, along with world-class support from our sales and engineering experts. Functional Devices has established itself as a leader in the HVAC, Building Controls, Energy Management, Energy Savings, Lighting Controls, and Wireless industries.
Women in HVACR @ HARDI Annual Conference 2017, Aria Hotel, Las Vegas, Dec 2, 2017. Las Vegas, Nevada at The Aria Resort & Casino RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! Saturday December 2nd, prior to the HARDI Annual Conference, Women in HVACR will host a workshop and networking event from 2:00pm to 5:30pm. Women in HVACR exists to improve the lives of our members by providing professional avenues to connect with other women growing their careers in the HVACR industry.
Happy Thanksgiving ControlTrends Community! We wish everyone a wonderful, relaxing, and peaceful Thanksgiving Holiday. For those that must work or serve through the Holidays, we greatly appreciate your faithful service. The history of Thanksgiving Day from Reference.Com: Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States as a national holiday dedicated to being with family and friends to give thanks for all of the blessings received throughout the previous year.
Honeywell LCBS Connect — A Ground Breaking Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control Solution for Service Contracting Professionals. LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control: Improve service to your customers and grow your business with Honeywell’s LCBS Connect. Remote HVAC system monitoring and diagnostics help you better serve your customers while spending less time in your truck.
ControlTalk NOW welcomes our first guest is IoTium’s CEO and Founder, Ron Victor. IoTium provides managed secure network infrastructures for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IoTium’s extensive experience and success in industrial markets allows IoTium to offer a mature solution offering to the BMS and HVAC markets. Eliminate the need for onsite technicians or costly truck-rolls, CLIs, usernames and passwords, or changes to enterprise proxy and firewall policies. With IoTium Orchestrator, you can automatically authenticate, provision and configure your network infrastructure. Policies define what data needs to be sent where and when.
Siemens Total Room Automation — The New Standard for Total Room Control and Cost Savings. Siemens Total Room Automation (TRA) combines room HVAC, lighting and/or shading systems into one, seamless package. As one solution instead of three, Siemens TRA cuts initial product costs, installation costs, and ongoing operating costs, while increasing room energy efficiency and providing optimal comfort for room occupants.
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest is Jason Houck, CIO of Hepta Systems and The Panel Shoppe. As one of the top Master Systems Integrators in the business, Jason gives the ControlTrends Community a deep-dive view of the multitude of products, solutions, and services The Panel Shoppe offers. The Panel Shoppe delivers Custom Control Panels, Tech Services, FIN Stack, Parts & Smarts, Software as a Service, Niagara Support, Analytics, Entrocim, and Custom Graphics.
Dashboards, Enabling Passive and Active Energy Management. Check out this very informative post about Smart Building Controls Dashboards from our friend Steve Guzelimian, the president of Optergy. You can meet Steve at the 2017 ControlTrends Awards and stop by his booth at the AHR Show. Most building owners and operators struggle to incentivize occupants to change their behavior when it comes to sustainability.
KMC’s Complete Building Control Solutions are the Best on the Market: Open, Secure, Scalable, and Easy. We’re the Experts. For nearly 50 years, KMC Controls has provided state-of-the-art building automation and control solutions to a global network of system integrators and distributors. Our products are controlling buildings of all sizes and types all around the world, including the most sustainable office building in North America. KMC is committed to open, secure, scalable, and most importantly, easy building automation solutions.
Introducing the First Niagara Cloud Offering — Learn More About Backup as a Service During our Next TridiumTalk. Learn more about Backup as a Service during our next TridiumTalk: December 14, 2017, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (New York, UTC-05:00). Senior product manager Kapil Sharma will be unveiling Backup as a Service, the first Niagara Cloud offering in a growing suite of services, during our next TridiumTalk. Kapil will offer a first-hand look at how to use Backup as a Service to protect the enterprise from losing valuable Niagara station and configuration data.
Congratulations to the 2017 ControlTrends Finalists — Exciting Video Announcement! Congratulations to this year’s well-deserved finalists! Final voting ballots will be emailed in the very near future. ControlTrends is excited to celebrate our sixth annual ControlTrends Awards this year in Chicago, at the Hard Rock Café, located at 93 W. Ontario Street from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. The Chicago Hard Rock Café nightclub style of venue is especially well-suited for this year’s theme.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings December, 2017 Theme: Are You – IoT Ready? #RUIoTReady. In his December edition of Automated Buildings, owner and editor, Ken Sinclair rewards his readers with the industry’s most current and comprehensive glossary of IoT related terms, definitions, concepts, and related articles (complete with hyperlinks for further exploration). Additionally, Ken writes with unique insight to his December theme #RUIoTReady and then asks a few rather rhetoric questions: What is IoT? Why should I care? What does “Ready” mean?
Episode 246: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending November 19, 2017 features interviews with two of the industry’s most prominent thought leaders, BuildingContext.me’s editor, Therese Sullivan, provides CoreTech coverage and Co-Founder and Partner, John Petze discusses SkyFoundry’s 13 Billion Sq Ft worth of success and the roadmap ahead. Special shout out to Samuel Elkins, Portrait & Commercial Photographer extraordinaire, based in Salt Lake City, UT. More news: Good luck to Phil Zito, who is running full-time with Building Automation Monthly; Project Haystack’s latest update; Belimo releases 6-way electronic pressure independent valve with NFC; Homeland Security Advisory: HIDDEN COBRA; Contemporary Controls announces pre-built CVTRU application now available; and Johnson Controls introduces their VP140 PICV valve series.
ControlTalk NOW first guest interview with Therese Sullivan, Principal, BuildingContext.me. Therese does a fabulous job updating the ControlTrends Community on CORE TECH 2017 and what’s new from Silicon Valley. Iot and OT on big campuses have bright futures ahead, drone cleaning crews keep your skyscrapers clean 24/7, UBER says buku city garage space available for re-purposing, Building Therapeutic Center to be the Largest Net Zero project to date, and much more. Visit Therese at BuildingContext.
The Easy Way to Make The Internet of Things Device Data Just Work! Data, Data everywhere! As the smart building controls world explodes, and systems become more robust, they consume and need a new type of fuel, DATA! But how do you make this data usable? It is kind of like the problem the United Nations had when they designed the UN. You have all these different participants coming together to work, but they all speak different languages. Nothing gets done until they can understand each other. Without some sort of translator nothing happens. Sign up for Memoori’s Making Internet of Things Device Data Just Work! A Q&A Webinar with Project Haystack.
Belimo Releases the new 6-way Electronic Pressure Independent Valve (ePIV) with Near Field Communication (NFC). Now available! Belimo‘s non-spring return 6-way electronic pressure independent valve (ePIV) assemblies with Near Field Communication (NFC) and an ultrasonic flow meter. The ½” offers flow setting to 5.5 GPM and the ¾” with flow setting to 10.3 GPM ideal for ideal for chilled beams and radiant ceilings. The compact valve has the functionality of four 2-way control valves saving space, material and installation time.
Homeland Security Advisory TA17-318B: HIDDEN COBRA – North Korean Trojan: Volgmer. Overview: This joint Technical Alert (TA) is the result of analytic efforts between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Working with U.S. government partners, DHS and FBI identified Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with a Trojan malware variant used by the North Korean government—commonly known as Volgmer. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as HIDDEN COBRA. For more information on HIDDEN COBRA activity, visit https://www.us-cert.gov/hiddencobra.
Contemporary Controls Announcement Pre-Built Constant Volume RTU Applications Now Available. re-Built applications make it easy to utilize a Contemporary Controls‘ BASC22 BACnet/IP Sedona Unitary controller in constant volume air-handling (AHU) or constant volume rooftop unit (RTU) applications. Although the BASC22 is a 22-point freely-programmable controller using Sedona as the control language, it can be made into a configurable controller by installing one of five versions (CvRTUv1-CvRTUv5) of constant volume AHU/RTU applications into the controller from the CvRTU Application Series.
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with SkyFoundry’s Co-Founder and Partner, John Petze. John spells it out — move forward with basic evaluations that are scalable, whether it’s at the edge on a cluster of field buses serving locally, or in the cloud on a huge Amazon server, make your decisions and base your workloads — using proven tools and accurate information. SkyFoundry’s SkySpark deployments have achieved an incredible milestone of ONE BILLION Square Feet worldwide with their Partner Channel, which consists of a network of over 125 authorized systems integrators, specialty engineering firms and OEMs, that implement SkySpark for end users. Read more.
Episode 245: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending November 12, 2017 features another great interview and discussion with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, as Ken reviews his November theme and other key industry updates. Meet Andrew Kearnes photographer, videographer, and vlogger extraordinaire; Jones, Lang and La Salle adds workplace technology expert to expand global Smart Building Program; ACI’s Let’s Get Wet: The Right Way to Do Smart Building Differential Pressure Control; Vykon’s JACE 8000 Trade Up Program; AI wants your job: and UBER and NASA intend to make flying taxis a reality.
strengthen its rapidly growing Smart Building Program with the appointment of Michael Carter as Senior Solutions Consultant. Based in Philadelphia, Carter joins JLL with more than 30 years of experience in building and workplace technologies. Throughout his career, he has led global deployments of Internet of Things (IoT) and smart building technologies in corporate, government, education, multifamily, retail and multi-use facilities.
ControlTalk Now Interview with Ken Sinclair. As we review Ken’s November edition of Automated Buildings, Ken Sinclair introduces the concept of Lygometry, a process of quantifying things you know that you don’t know, and his collection of “A” words, the six words we need to embrace and make part of the IoT journey we all are on. Plus, Ken Sinclair’s and Therese Sullivan’s amazing “Time line Smart Building Automation Evolution with over 100 events linking 1000’s articles of history.” Keep reading! Rewards are great! Many critically important insights from some of the sharpest minds in the HVAC and BAS industry.
stromquist.com is a master distributor of smart building controls
ACI’s Let’s Get Wet: The Right Way to Do Smart Building Differential Pressure Control. I am a video nerd, I believe that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a well-done video gives you everything you need to know to make a good decision and is enjoyable to watch. Our friends at ACI have nailed it on two fronts: 1) the A/WPR is an amazingly easy to install and configure wet to wet differential pressure transmitter and 2) they have created a captivating and informative video to communicate all you need to know about the product without saying a word! I could say more, but just check out the video.
Vykon Announcement: JACE 8000 Trade Up Program Delivers Big Savings! Make the Move from Legacy JACEs and Save for a Limited Time! Dear VYKON partner, If you’ve been wanting to utilize the advances in the Niagara Framework® and harness the power of the Internet of Things, there’s never been a better time for you to get started. The JACE 8000 Trade Up program allows you to move to the more advanced Niagara 4 platform for less by trading up legacy JACE® controllers for significantly discounted JACE 8000s. Multiply your savings by using Niagara 4 to reduce inventory and cost to maintain a building automation system.
Meet the Person Who is Going to Try to Take Your Job….Hint… “It is not a person.” Part of what Ken and I try to do, and the primary purpose of ControlTrends, is to cull the internet for things that can radically affect those of us who play in the Smart Buildings Controls space. Big Data and analytics is something we have been talking about for a while and we are either using it, providing it, or selling around it. At this stage of the game, it has created a business opportunity that many have embraced. Someone has to connect the data to some form of filtering or to an analytics platform to make the data useful. But what happens when data no longer needs a human interaction.
UBER + NASA = Flying Taxis — by the Year 2020. That’s 25 Months (Closer Than You Think) from Now! What do flying taxis have to do with HVAC or Building Automation? Probably not much, maybe some executive that we know or some crack shot technician or system integrator might use one in a pinch, but keeping up with the overall pace of disruptive technology is a good thing. Thinking outside of the box isn’t vast enough anymore, you now need keep your imagination pedal floored.
Episode 244: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and PodCast for week ending November 5, 2017 features interviews with industry experts, Steven Guzelimian, President, Optergy, and Belimo’s Manager of Sensor Solutions, David Alliband. The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act now allows for the hacked — to hack back. Lynxspring is on the move with their JENEsys® Edge 534 Controller; take Belimo’s Americas Lab Tour and sign up for their Sensor Webinar; Contemporary Controls releases their BASemulator; Optergy takes Alarm Management and Building Demand to the next level; Tridium’s 2018 Niagara Summit returns to New Orleans; SkySpark in the News; Ken Sinclair’s November Automated Buildings; and much more!
The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act (ACDC) amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Make Limited Retaliatory Strikes Against Cyber-miscreants Legal in America. The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act (ACDC) amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to make limited retaliatory strikes against cyber-miscreants legal in America for the first time. The bill would allow hacked organizations to venture outside their networks to identify an intruder and infiltrate their systems, destroy any data that had been stolen, and deploy “beaconing technology” to trace the physical location of the attacker.
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest interview is Steven Guzelimian, President, Optergy, who makes products for building optimization and energy management. Steve discusses Optergy’s efforts to build a global brand, by solving the scaling and language challenges associated with the 4.6 million building without BMS or EMS, as well as Optergy’s simple and scalable solution for these issues.
ControlTrends is the source for HVAC and Smart Building News
News From Lynxspring. You have heard about the soon to be released JENEsys Edge 534-N4, our fully programmable Niagara 4 controller with 34 IO built in and expandable IO available. Taking Niagara 4 to the edge with real-time controlthe JENEsys Edge 534-N4 utilizes the same familiar ProBuilder/Workbench software, Niagara 4 programming tools and Fox Protocol you are currently using today. We are in the final release stages and will be releasing it for purchase the first week of November.
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest interview is with Belimo’s David Alliband, Manager of Sensor Solution. David gives our ControlTrends Community an in depth insight to Belimo’s corporate philosophy and their most recent initiative to reinvent sensor technology and how with their phase one release, Belimo has already raises the industry bar for sensors. David also tells us a little more on Belimo’s future product road map that includes a serious venture into wireless technology and zoning.
Belimo Americas Lab Tour — Take a Look at Exceptional Innovation and Quality from Mt. Belimo! Belimo Americas new energy-efficient headquarters is located at on a hillside overlooking picturesque southwestern of Danbury, Connecticut. The 200,000 square foot building is registered with the certification goal of LEED® Gold and serves as a showcase for Belimo and our valued customers. View Belimo’s state-of-the-art HVAC control valve design and testing laboratories – one of North America’s largest!
Thinking about Selling Your Business? Read this First. Ken and I often speak of the “new realities” that face all businesses including those in the Smart Building Controls Industry. With changes coming at all of us faster than a 110 mph fastball with a nasty spin, just like good baseball hitters, we have to try and get an edge by anticipating the next pitch. ControlTrends is about trying to “steal the signs” and give our community an advantage, be it regarding new technology, or new business trends.
Lots of Cool Smart Building Controls Tricks from Contemporary Controls — Just in Time For Halloween. Contemporary Controls has just released its BASemulator which replicates on a PC the operation of the company’s BAScontrol series of open unitary controllers, thereby allowing sequence of operation (SOO) verification without having the actual controller. Using a PC, specifying engineers can now view the same program that will be used on the job to verify that it meets the engineer’s intended sequence of operation.
Lets do Smart Building Control Alarms Right
Optergy: A Better Way to Explain Alarms. When limited information can be used to generate alarms, there is limited ability to add context so that a user can interpret what the alarm means. The higher the alarm count, the higher the frustration levels and the more alarms become ignored. This is a common problem which can be solved with Smart Contextual Alarming. Discover how this can be achieved on your building now at info@optergy.com.
How to Take Control of Your Building Demand Charges. Thanks to Steve Guzelimian, from Optergy, for providing us with this informative post. Demand charges can be confusing. It is an invisible variable that can be costing big bucks when it comes to electricity bills. Even though invisible, it is not out of your control. Most of us understand charges when it comes to Kilowatt Hours (kWh). For example, a motor has a 300kw rating, and therefore every hour it runs at full capacity, it uses 300kWh. An electricity bill then breaks down what parts of the day that energy has been used, and the charges incurred for usage at those times.
Mark Your Calendar For the Niagara 2018 Summit. Dear valued member of the Niagara Community, Mark your calendar and plan to join us in historic New Orleans for Niagara Summit 2018, April 15-17 at the New Orleans Hyatt Regency. Every two years the Niagara Community comes together at the Niagara Summit to learn about Niagara Framework® advancements, get the latest technology news and trends, and network and learn from peers. Attendee registration is expected to open later in November, along with event sponsorships requiring tradeshow booth selections.
ControlTrends Breaking News
SkySpark In The News – Recognized for Technology and Financial Results for Building Owners. With deployments across a wide range of applications, SkySpark continues to be recognized as both a leading edge software platform for IoT applications, and a leading data analytics solution for fault detection & diagnostics and energy management. The articles, research papers and DoE reports highlighted below demonstrate the financial results attainable as organizations use SkySpark to transition to data-driven facilities management.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings November, 2017 Theme: “Agile Adaptive Autodidactic Autonomous Accepted Actions.” In his November edition of Automated Buildings, Ken Sinclair introduces the concept of Lygometry, a process of quantifying things you know that you don’t know, and his collection of “A” words, the six words we need to embrace and make part of the IoT journey we all are on. Plus, Ken Sinclair’s and Therese Sullivan’s amazing “Time line Smart Building Automation Evolution with over 100 events linking 1000’s articles of history.” Keep reading! Rewards are great! Many critically important insights from some of the sharpest minds in the HVAC and BAS industry.
Belimo Webinar: The Importance of Measuring Pressure in Commercial Buildings, Wed, Nov 15, 2017 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST. This Belimo webinar will be conducted by Clayton Plymill, Sensor Application Specialist, will explain why and how to effectively measure air pressure in commercial buildings ensuring occupant comfort. Topics of discussion include the forces that affect pressurization, methods of optimization, installation, and choosing the right pressure sensor. Pressure sensors from Belimo are capable of measuring high and low pressures in a variety of applications with precision to ensure optimal HVAC system performance.
Which manufacturer has taken a page out of legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vine Lombardi’s playbook?
There is a new player in the sensor game, that wants to revolutionize the way sensors are done in smart buildings, do you know who it is?
“Making the turn” is not just a golf term, find out how it relates to John Donahue, Kele and the Smart Buildings Controls world.
As the man, the myth, the legend, Ken Smyers, and I complete our fall travel schedules, we will be getting back to the weekly ControlTalk Now Episodes starting next week. Until then, please enjoy this much shorter version of the show.
Episode 242: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and PodCast for week ending October 15, 2017, features our interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor, Automated Buildings. Ken is a true catalyst and harbinger of change, which he believes will involve our full embrace of IoT. EasyIO releases their FW wireless series challenge; Tridium introduces Niagara Cloud Backup Service and Asset Manager and publishes a White Paper on Niagara in the Industrial IoT; Lynxspring Exchange 2017 Initiatives updates; Siemens’ Ingenuity for Life video; KMC Genius Summit 2018 Hosted at The Langham Luxury Hotel in Chicago, IL, January 18-20, 2018; Acuity Brands Atrius Navigator SDK video; Kele acquires distributor Control Consultants Inc.; Schneider Electric Helping JA World Student Leaders; Optergy’s leadership role in BMS for small buildings; Blue Ridge Technologies’ Completing the BAS – Unify HVAC and Lighting Controls webinar; Honeywell’s President and CEO, Darius Adamczyk, announces portfolio changes ahead; and Stromquist’s Tim Chamblee explains chiller surge.
Introducing Niagara Cloud Backup as a Service and Asset Manager now available. Tridium’s latest advancement means you can protect the enterprise from losing valuable Niagara station and configuration data, and manage your Niagara licenses from one online location. Introducing Niagara Cloud, a growing suite of services that can help you leverage the Internet of Things in new and powerful ways.
New Lynxspring Edge-to-Enterprise Business Initiatives Announced at the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase. Lynxspring, Inc., a premier developer and provider of open, IP solutions for building automation, energy management, IoT, equipment control and device-to-enterprise integration, made several new announcements today at the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase Conference being held October 1st – 3rd at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Siemens — Ingenuity for Life Creates Perfect Places. Something drives us every day to make buildings better With people spending about 90 percent of their lives indoors, there is no place where we spend more time in our life. So buildings are far more than just four walls. They are the places where we learn the most important lessons in life, where we encounter the personalities that inspire us, where the best of our ideas are born. Buildings are the places where we spend time with the people we love. And at the end of it all: They are our homes – and there is no place in the world that feels so special to us.
KMC Genius Summit 2018 Hosted at The Langham Luxury Hotel in Chicago, IL, January 18-20, 2018. KMC is proud to present the 2018 KMC Genius Summit, hosted at The Langham Luxury Hotel in Chicago, IL. We’re bringing together our best partners for two days of world-class training sessions and in-depth technical product training. Not to mention evenings of fun and new networking opportunities! Attending the KMC Genius Summit will open your eyes to new possibilities and potentially revolutionize the way you do business.
Acuity Brands Atrius Navigator Indoor Positioning and Location-based Platform Service Software Development Kit (SDK). Atrius Navigator platform service Software Development Kit (SDK) unlocks location-based (LBS) and indoor positioning services (IPS) within mobile applications. Acquiring data from your Atrius Sensory Network, Atrius Navigator delivers precise, cost-effective indoor positioning solutions, enabling applications that redefine customer journeys and enhance business operations.
Kele, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Control Consultants, Inc. MEMPHIS, Tenn. and BOSTON – Kele, Inc. (Kele) announced today the acquisition of Control Consultants, Inc. (CCI). This strategic combination highlights each company’s long-term commitment to providing industry leading products and solutions to its customers. The combined entity will operate as separate brands, but will leverage the strengths each bring.
ControlTalk NOW interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings. Ken is a catalyst and harbinger, whose goal is to inform his readers of the future of building automation. Ken reviews the highlights of his October, 2017 Theme: “People-Powered Transformation, which is another stellar assemblage of industry expertise, insight, and a host of significant interviews and articles. Ken’s editorial message is emphatic and crystal clear: Embrace the change that is coming! Make your plans now! to attend Ken Sinclair’s education sessions at 2018 AHR in Chicago.
Product Updates, Vital Links, and Latest News from EasyIO’s SK Foo. Hi all! It has been busy for us since the launching of our new products, our wireless range of controller FW series, our server spec FS32 and also our small little green module which converts one Analogue output to two Digital Output the FR-02. Since launching we received overwhelming response from customers and also our partners. We keep improving adding more features to these range of products.
Saving Time is Saving Money with Optergy BMS! Installing building management systems in small buildings can be very cost effective. For end-users it’s easy to imagine a building you know that often leaves lights or HVAC on when the system really should not be running, it’s not hard to see that small buildings can pile up huge bills. In fact much of the buildings load (~70%) can be controlled simply and economically. Visit Optergy today!
Project Haystack Organization Publishes Fall 2017 Issue of Connections Magazine. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, October 09, 2017 — The Project Haystack Organization (www.project-haystack.org), a collaborative community addressing the challenge of utilizing semantic modeling and tagging to streamline the interchange of data among different systems, devices, equipment and software applications, today announced they have published the third issue of their Connections Magazine.
Looking for New Business Opportunities with Tridium — Check this out! You are a skilled systems integrator, and if you are like most, it seems like things are starting to slow down a bit or have just gotten more competitive, either way, there is a space that you can take you skills to that is less crowded. This IIot update, just in from the team at Niagara is worth checking out.
HowCalifornia Title 24 and the other State Energy Codes Effect You and System Design. As a teacher of mine use to say, “nothing is obvious to the uninformed”. And when getting informed is free and the best of the best is teaching you, it is a time to take action and register now for something that is or will be effecting the smart buildings control pro, which is how lighting control is being changed by California Title 24. Visit Blue Ridge Technologies Unified Lighting..
Honeywell Announces Planned Portfolio Changes. A message from Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell President and CEO. Dear Colleague: Today, we announced several important planned changes to our portfolio that will position the Company for sustainable organic sales growth and margin expansion within a more focused set of end markets. You can read the details about these changes – including our intention to spin off our Homes product portfolio and ADI global distribution business as well as our Transportation Systems business into two stand-alone, publicly-traded companies – in this morning’s press release and in our presentation to investors.
Pro Tech Tip: Understanding Chiller Surge. Join, Stromquist & Company’s, master trainer and control pro, Tim Chamblee,as he walks us through chiller surge. Tim teaches you what you need to know about chiller surge, and how to protect your chillers. Tim, with over 40 years in the HVAC service and controls business offers practical tech tips and training, reach out to him directly at tim@stromquist.com, or call him at 1-800-241-9471 to find out about his training classes, or to buy York Chiller parts. Stromquist & Company is a stocking distributor of York chiller parts and would love to help provide these parts when you have a need.
Episode 241: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and PodCast for week ending October 1, 2017 returns to the videocast format and begins with The Role of the OT Master Systems Integrator, by Brian Turner, OTI, followed by the CGNA Fall Synergy Conference summary; Computrols Release of its LX Controller to Replace their Flagship X-Line Controller; LONMARK’s September eNewsletter; Carrier Launches New Digital Solutions for Commercial HVAC Systems; Register for the SCADA Conference; EasyIO Wants to Show You Something New and Amazing — and is giving away controllers and 3-round trip tickets to the 2017 CTA Awards in Chicago– to prove their point; and you’ve to watch CCI’s Jim Stiber’s presentation on EasyIO’s wireless VAV application; and for those who need to get a hold of us, please email us at controltrendscontact@gmail.com.
The Role of the OT Master Systems Integrator, by Brian Turner, OTI. Great read from Brian Turner, OTI (Nominated for ControlTrends Systems Integrator of the Year). A good Master Systems Integrator (MSI) can do a lot of things to help building owners and IT groups navigate the complexities of the Internet of Things, particularly on the Operational Technology side of the house.
Controls Group North America (CGNA) Turns Things Upside Down in Chicago! Controls Group North America (CGNA) met in Chicago on September 7-8, for their 2017, Fall Synergy Conference. “Engagement ²” was the theme of a very focused and elite event to connect and “engage” the Member Distributors and Preferred Vendors of the top controls group in the industry. Scott Cochrane, CEO and President of Cochrane Supply, was the keynote speaker who shared the 50-year journey of his company, “From Parts to Smarts.”
Computrols Releases LX to Replace Flagship X-Line Controller. Today, Computrols announced the release of their latest and most advanced line of HVAC controllers to date. The new LX Controllers are designed to be drop-in replacements to Computrols’ classic X-Line and are 100% backward compatible. Offered in the same point count versions (8, 16, 32, and 64), these controllers introduce the next generation of technology.
Johnson Controls Reaches Out To Their Valued ABCS Channel Contractors, ABCS Distributors, Points Plus Contractors and ARW Distributors. ohnson Controls is happy to announce uLearn, an interactive web platform where employees, distributors and partners can view instructional videos, is up and running. The uLearn site, which promises to be a one-stop shop for how-to and other instructional videos, officially went live earlier this year. Each video is typically between three and five minutes in length and is intended to be used in conjunction with training and other educational tools provided by Johnson Controls. LEARN MORE
LONMARK eNewsletter – September 2017 Empowering Intelligent Control Networking Solutions. LONMARK International is a member-based, non-profit organization that supports open, multi-vendor integration of interoperable systems for products based on the ISO/IEC 14908 series of standards in the lighting, building, smart city, industrial and other industries. In This September Issue: New Certified Professionals, Member Focus, LonMark Updates, Liaison News, and Upcoming Events. Membership to LonMark International is open to any company, organization or individual committed to the development, manufacture, and use of interoperable open, multi-vendor control systems utilizing ISO/IEC 14908-1 and related standards.
Carrier Launches New Digital Solutions for Commercial HVAC Systems. CHARLOTTE, Sept. 28, 2017 – Carrier is introducing a suite of digital solutions that will improve engagement and remote management of commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Customers with Carrier® SMART Service will now have visibility into their system’s performance and energy usage through a new equipment dashboard and mobile application.
SCADA Technology Summit Oct. 4-5, Denver, CO — Register Today. The SCADA Technology Summit is fast approaching. Come visit us on Oct. 4th and 5th and learn about the latest advances in SCADA, Remote Monitoring and Automation technology. Speakers include: SoCal Edison, Newton-Evans Research Corp., Siemens, FreeWave Technologies, UTC, the FCC, LiveData Utilities, and many more. Don’t miss out and sign up today.
EasyIO Wants to Show You Something New and Amazing! Win a WIFI VAV Controller and a VIP Trip to the 2017 ControlTrends Awards in Chicago. With the CTA Awards approaching, EasyIO wants to show you somehow new and amazing. Take your chance to easily win a Wireless Wi-Fi VAV Controller and get it delivered to your door before 13 October 2017. You need to be quick! The first 25 people to register and answer these 8 questions correctly will get a free VAV Controller. And there is more, the three best case studies received before October 30, 2017, will receive three VIP invites to the 2017 CTA Awards at the Hard Rock Cafe (January 21, 2018) in Chicago as guests of EasyIO. Flights and Hotel provided, within USA.
The New VAV Controller and Approach from EASY IO. Many people in the Smart Buildings Controls Industry believe that Jim Stiber of Control Consultants, Inc., might be the best of the best when it comes to VAV controlers and VAV sytems. In this video Jim shares his impression of the new EASY IO FW-8V control solution. The EasyIO-FW-14 is a new breed, high performance, freely programmable, wireless Wi-Fi Sedona controller. It has never been easier to extend your BMS because of its wireless possibilities. You will save on labor and wiring. The EasyIO-FW-14 is a perfect fit for vertical markets such as schools and retail, to have extended IO for the F-series controllers, without any downtime during installation as the network can be wireless.
Episode 240: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending September 24, 2017 features an interview with Tridium’s Ed Merwin, Director, Vykon Automation Energy Security. The 2017 ControlTrends Award Nomination period has begun and Your Ballot is ready for your completion. Tridium released their JACE 8000 IO R, and is now offering a limited time JACE Trade-in, Trade-up program, and be sure to read Kevin Smith’s white paper entitled “Cyber Security and the IoT.” Lynxspring announces their JENEsys® PC 8000 and JACE® 8000 Trade Up Program; and Wayne Tighe joins Optigo Networks as VP of Global Sales; and don’t miss “Using Request and Promise” by Eric Stromquist.
ControlTalk NOW interview with Ed Merwin, Director, Vykon Automation Energy Security. Ed brings the ControlTrends Community up-to-date with several Tridium products and programs including the release of the JACE 8000 IO R, The JACE Trad-in, Trade-up Program, Kevin Smith’s new white paper and webinar on Cyber Security and the IoT–Threats, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned, which is now available for view on TridiumTalks.
Tridium’s Defending Your Business Against Cyber Threats Webinar. Tridium chief architect Kevin T. Smith led the TridiumTalk, joined by recognized industry expert James Johnson as moderator. Kevin overviewed how to develop a strategy to defend against cyber threats, and he detailed the organizational best practices to mitigate risk. Kevin and James took questions, and among the materials available for download are the Q&As.
Critical Facilities Summit — Join Us Oct 23-25 Minneapolis, MN. Join Us Oct 23-25 Minneapolis, MN. Critical Facilities Summit is designed for senior-level professionals responsible for the design, construction, management and operations of Data Centers, Labs, Hospitals, Financials, Telecoms or other mission critical facilities. 35+ sessions, organized into tracks which offer you an unbeatable way to create an agenda that’s tailored to your needs and interests. Tracks include: Cloud and Co-location Trends, Higher Ed, Medical, Labs, and Life-Safety, Optimizing Uptime, Project Spotlight, and The FM-IT Link.
Tridium Announcement: Introducing a Leap Forward for the JACE 8000. New IO solution adds power and offers straightforward migration path. JACE® 8000 IO R is now available. Supported by Niagara 4.3, the new IO R enhances the JACE 8000 by providing a direct connection to simple sensor and device inputs and outputs remotely located up to 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) away. This new capability will allow you to monitor, control, schedule and analyze your building assets like never before.
2017 ControlTrends Awards Nominations have Begun! ControlTrends is excited to announce that the 2017 ControlTrends Awards nomination period has begun. This is your opportunity to ensure your organization’s champions and the great people, products, and solutions in our industry are recognized. Several categories have changed and three new categories have been added to the awards: Progressive Consulting Engineer of the Year (Demonstrated Industry Leadership in Advancing the Smart Building), ControlTrends Most Impactful Marketing Collateral (Video, Product Rollout, etc…) of the Year, and HVAC, Building Automation, or IoT Solutions Trainer of the Year. Click here to begin the nomination process!
2JENE_PC_8000_Trade_Up_PPTLynxspring’s Announces JENEsys® PC 8000 and JACE® 8000 Trade Up Program. Make the move from your legacy JENEsys and JACE Controllers and save $$$ Now! Recently, Tridium announced a special, limited time program that enables you to move from legacy JACE controllers to the JACE 8000 series. And Lynxspring is pleased to support this program. Introducing the JENEsys PC 8000 and JACE 8000 Trade Up Program, a program featuring discounts now through December 22, 2017. The JENEsys PC 8000 and JACE 8000 Trade Up Program enables you to leverage the features and functions of Niagara 4 with the speed of the JENEsys PC 8000 and any JACE 8000 by allowing you to trade up your legacy controllers at discounts on JENEsys PC 8000’s.
Wayne Tighe joins Optigo Networks as VP of Global Sales. Vancouver, BC, September 21, 2017 – Optigo Networks is proud to welcome Wayne Tighe, formerly Vice President of Software Sales at Tridium Inc. of the Software Solutions Group in Honeywell, as our new Vice President of Global Sales. Tighe’s guidance and insight will be key to driving Optigo Networks’ explosive growth in the smart building industry. “After more than two decades working for Fortune 100 corporations, I’m excited to join Optigo Networks at this pivotal moment in the company’s history,” said Tighe. “Optigo’s entering its next phase of evolution. The team is agile and innovative, and the technology has tremendous upset potential.”
Sales and Communication Strategies that Work! With all the great products, support and prices, sales has become more important than ever. In fact, I believe it might be one of the only differentiators left. Sales is harder today than it has ever been. Your clients have more choices and less time to consider these choices than ever. This means low price usually wins and due to lack of access you cannot help them see past the price only mentality. Getting access to a client is very difficult. They simply do not have the time to see most vendors. We all have existing customers that we can get to, and when business is good we tend to be reactive and take care of our customers, which must be done. But what about finding new business? How do you get in front of new customers and how can you be effective when you have these opportunities?
Episode 239: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending September 17, 2017, begins with an exploration of the potential impacts the “Amazon Effect” might have on the HVAC and Building Automation industries. This exploration serves well as a prelude to our interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor, automatedbuildings.com, who discusses the thought and action processes necessary for our industry TO sustain itself in the present, and possibly, with the aid of a technically competent millennial — might allow those early adopters among us — to flourish amidst these incessant and turbulent challenges posed by disruptive technologies. Several reminders for upcoming events: 2017 Lynxspring Exchange; Belimo’s “Code-Compliant Economizing” Webinar; 2017 ControlTrends Awards; AHR Expo 2018; and don’t miss Optergy’s “Turn Your Building’s Utility Use into a Meaningful Story.”
ControlTalk NOW interviews with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of AutomatedBuildings.com continue in full stride, as Ken Sinclair earnestly endeavors to keep our industry abreast of The Future of Smart Building Automation and Data at the Open Intelligence Edge — the two major themes of his September edition. Ken’s “Process of Change” requires us to maintain a continuous tuning mindshift. And, above all, our industry needs to learn how to create relevant and integral value from the data that it has at its fingertips.
Join Us at the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase – The E2E (Edge-To-Enterprise) Conference. The 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase will map out technology, techniques and practices specific to managing and operating today’s facilities smarter, safer, securely, efficiently and at peak performance levels. Discover leading trends, new approaches and experience real-world conversations and discussions. GET REGISTERED NOW!
OPTERGY: Turn Your Building’s Utility Use into a Meaningful Story. When all you have is a utility bill with a single number representing this month’s or quarter’s consumption, it can be extremely hard to understand what story a building is telling about its performance. As a consequence, most people end up dreading their utility bills because they have no insight until the bill arrives and it’s too late.
Belimo’s “The Easy Path to Code Compliant Economizing” Webinar, Wednesday, September 20, 1:00 PM EDT. n this webinar you will learn how Belimo’s advancements in airside economizing address recent changes to the industry’s energy codes & regulations. The patented Belimo ZIP Economizer has been developed for easy use with ZIP Code setup, live display of operating conditions, and self-diagnostics making it the economizer of choice when selecting a code compliant solution for retrofitting your RTU. Click here to register.
The 2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight Video. As we prepare for the 2017 ControlTrends Awards we take a look at the highlights from the 2016 ControlTrends Awards in Las Vegas. As you can see, this is a special event that honors the great people, companies and products that make the HVAC and Smart Buildings Controls industry exceptional. Look for the 2017 nomination ballot and get ready for an even more spectacular ControlTrends Awards event in Chicago.
See the Latest HVACR Innovations, Products and Technologies at the Highly-Anticipated 2018 AHR Expo in Chicago. Showcase features hundreds of products and technologies for contractors, engineers, facility managers, OEMs and other HVACR industry professionals! WESTPORT, Conn., September, 2017 – The future of HVACR will be on display in January when hundreds of new and upgraded products and technologies for the HVACR industry will be featured at the 2018 AHR Expo (International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition) in Chicago.
Episode 237: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending August 27, 2017 spotlights three prominent industry experts, starting with Honeywell’s National Accounts Sales Leader, David Witherspoon, followed by Hepta Systems’ CIO, Jason Houck, and J2 Innovations’ CEO, Jason Briggs. Honeywell rolls out their LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control; 3 Emerging Technologies from Computrols’ Scott Holstein; and don’t miss our special ControlTrends farewell tribute to John Sublett.
Stromquist & Company Hosts Honeywell Roll out Meeting
Honeywell Rolls Out The New LCBS Connect System The wait is over and Honeywell has officially launched their New Light Commercial Building System, the LCBS Connect. Join the fun at Smart Buildings Controls Master Distributor Stromquist & Company and see what all the excitement is about! LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control improves service to your customers and grow your business. Remote HVAC system monitoring and diagnostics help you better serve your customers while spending less time in your truck.
ControlTalk NOW first interview is with Honeywell’s National Accounts Sales Leader, David Witherspoon, who shares with the ControlTrends Community his personal initiation and experience in a family business to his present position in the HVAC and Building Automation industry. David believes that Honeywell has taken the race to the small space to next level with their their new LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control portfolio, a potential solution for light commercial buildings.
3 Emerging Technology Trends in Building Automation — Scott Holstein, Marketing Manager, Computrols, Inc. This article was provided by Scott Holstein, Marketing Manager, Computrols, Inc. Generally speaking, we see technology trends progress at a much faster rate in consumer products like cell phones and televisions than we do in the building automation industry. This is mostly because the building automation industry is slow to adapt to new technology, wanting to see it proven in other fields before implementing it in large-scale commercial applications.
ControlTalk NOW second interview is with Hepta Systems’ CIO, Jason Houck, and J2 Innovations’ CEO, Jason Briggs. Jason Houck is an Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator with Hepta Systems, a premiere MSI taking the leadership role in the Smart Building Controls industry. J2 Innovations’ Jason Briggs tells the ControlTrends Community about the game-changing technology inside FIN 4.0
ControlTrends Pays Tribute to John Sublett. had a chance to interview John, a while back, for ControlTrends People and thought publishing his Episode was the best way to capture some of his accomplishments and get a flavor for how this brillant gentleman has shaped building automation and smart buildings controls. John, thank you! You will be missed!
Episode 236: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending August 20, 2017 features an enormously insightful interview with one of the most progressive and knowledgeable engineers in the HVAC and BAS industries, Newcomb & Boyd’s Donny Walker, PE, RCDD (Registered Communication Distributed Designer). Honeywell surges in the race to the small space with their LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control, and introduces the T4 series thermostat; Altair announces its collaborations with CANDI Controls; Carrier Donates 500 Homes Comfort Systems; Don’t miss CABA’s great invite; and is a Universal Basic Income the inevitable impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
The Future of Smart Building Solutions Delivered: Altair’s Carriots Analytics Integrates with CANDI PowerTools. Altair announces its collaboration with CANDI Controls to offer a comprehensive smart building solution that operates with industry-leading commercial gateways. The new Altair-CANDI solution combines the strength of CANDI PowerTools, which handles the complex protocol and networking problems required to securely integrate and manage edge device communications, with Carriots Analytics’ comprehensive data analytics interface, offering advanced data analytics and visualization for all types of smart building data.
Introducing the New Standard for Simple — Meet Honeywell’s T4 TH4210 Pro Thermostat. Meet the newest thermostat in the T Series family. The T4 Pro non-connected thermostats are designed to simplify product selection, install and upsell. Are you ready to meet your new favorite thermostat. GET TO KNOW THE HONEYWELL T SERIES. Meet the new thermostats and discover all the ways the new T Series fits your business to a T. The Non-connected Solution – Designed with Contractors in Mind.
Ken Smyers and ControlTrends with Siemens Manager Control Products & Systems Ray Siu. Siemens has been a world leader in the thermostat market, particularly, in Europe and Asian markets. Siemens offers an extensive line of room and zone controllers is excited about their RDG160 series for fan coil units (3-speed or ECM fan) and heat pump applications. Stay tuned for more exciting thermostat news from Siemens.
The Impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on Intelligent Buildings and Multi-Dwelling Unit Buildings. Our friends at CABA have an invitation for you! This forum will examine how two large collaborative research projects (each totalling $150,000) looked at the current state of connected technologies and IoT in the intelligent building and multi-dwelling unit sectors. Mr Greg Walker is an accomplished research and business operations professional with many years of experience in science research and strategic business planning for non-profit and Fortune 500 companies. His skill set includes biomedical science and building science research, project management, financial forecasting, sales and marketing, contract negotiations, and personnel management.
Honeywell’s LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control. LCBS Connect Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control Improve service to your customers and grow your business with Honeywell’s LCBS Connect. Remote HVAC system monitoring and diagnostics help you better serve your customers while spending less time in your truck. Features include: Monitor and troubleshoot light commercial buildings from anywhere at anytime; Operate more efficiently by remotely diagnosing problems and providing preventive maintenance; Handle issues before your customers are even aware of them; Grow customer satisfaction and retain service contracts; When you do need to get in the truck, you’ll make one trip instead of several; The efficiencies let you service more buildings without adding staff; and it’s The ideal solution for all your light commercial customers.
Carrier Donates More Than 500 Air Conditioning and Heating Systems to Habitat for Humanity. his summer, homeowners across the United States will beat the heat with the help of Carrier ductless home comfort systems and Habitat for Humanity. Carrier has donated more than 500 systems to Habitat and they will be installed in homes throughout the country to provide cooling when it’s hot and heating when it’s cold. Carrier is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
ControlTalk NOW interview with Newcomb & Boyd’s Donny Walker, PE, RCDD (Registered Communication Distributed Designer) is one of the most informative interviews of 2017. Donny shares his extensive knowledge and experience of our industry, and some of the headwinds we are facing. Many of the disruptive forces making the most significant impacts to our industry are, in many cases, challenges offering the greatest opportunities. With engineers in Atlanta and Charleston, Newcomb & Boyd’s innovative engineering solutions have successfully met the needs of institutional, educational, government, military, and commercial clients for more than 90 years
ControlTrends , Richard Branson, Elon Musk align on jobs
Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Ken, and Eric on Work becoming Obsolete. Ken and I have talked a good bit about “technology eating itself and making work obsolete.” Technology and artificial intelligence are advancing at a blistering pace with 3D printing and robotics. We are increasing the supply of goods at lower and lower costs with less need for human input. How soon before we have unlimited supply and no one has money to buy because jobs have been replaced by technologies.
Episode 235: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending August 13, 2017 features two insightful interviews with Marc Petock, Lynxspring’s Chief Communications Officer & Vice President, Marketing, and Aaron Gorka, Innovation Manager for ANT Technologies. Check out ACI’s European Smart Homes 2017; ControlTrends Discovers Monnit Wireless Sensors at Realcomm|IBcon 2017; Belimo’s Correcting Low Delta T Webinar: Internet of Things (IoT); Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017; The Dark Web Goes Corporate; NIST Cybersecurity for IoT Program; and Therese Sullivan: Appreciating How Metadata Makes Artificial Intelligence Possible.
Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017 Introduced by Senators Mark Warner, Cory Gardner, Ron Wyden, and Steve Daines. On August 1, 2017, the U.S. Government took a significant “lead by example” step forward in the battle of Internet of Things (IoT) security. Chief among the vendor commitments — that must be made to the U.S.Government: That their IoT devices are patchable; that the devices don’t contain known vulnerabilities; and that the devices don’t contain hard-coded passwords.
ACI’s European Smart Homes 2017 will be taking place in London, UK, on 25th & 26th of October 2017.Join European Smart Homes 2017 conference on 25th & 26th October in London, UK and hear John Hutchins’ presentation entitled “Smart Homes and Utility Customer Experience – exploring the link between smart homes, connected devices and better customer experience for utility customers.”
The Dark Web Goes Corporate, by Josh Fruhlinger, CSO. By Josh Fruhlinger, CSO. The “dark web” is a phrase strikes an ominous tone, conveying an impression of a marketplace where anything is for sale: hacking tools, weapons, drugs, child pornography, even freelance assassination services. And according to experts we spoke to, all of that’s still true. But something has changed in the way the dark web does business. If there was a time when venturing online to buy these illegal items was like taking your life in your hands in a dark alley, today the experience in quite different.
ControlTrends Discovers Monnit Wireless Sensors at Realcomm|IBcon 2017. One of the really cool things about covering shows like Realcomm|IBcon is that we quite often get first looks at new vendors and technologies. Although wireless sensors are not new to Smart Buildings, Monnit’s approach and product offering are. Check this video out to see why. Monnit remote monitoring systems can be setup in just a few minutes and our intuitive interface makes managing your system a snap, and Mommit’s optimized RF communications platform provides superior wireless range for covering large areas.
Ken’s Calendar: Belimo’s Correcting Low Delta T Webinar, Wednesday, August 23 at 1:00 PM EDT. Chilled water provided from a utility plant is commonly used in a building’s HVAC system in lieu of installing chillers. This results in lower return water temperatures which decreases the efficiency of the entire chilled water system resulting in the condition known as “Low ∆T Syndrome.” In this webinar we will review the design of a district chilled water system and discuss a study of a building where “Low ∆T Syndrome” was corrected at the point of water to air heat transfer.
NIST Cybersecurity for IoT Program (20.8 Billion Connected Devices in Use by 2020). Though each of us, in our own way and at our speed, has willingly or unwillingly, become more acclimated and accepted the rapid proliferation of IoT devices connecting us to the data bases in the clouds, it is still a challenge to fully comprehend the impact this hatching reality will have on our personal lives and professional careers — and we probably should know a lot more. Among the many sources of valuable insight and guidance available to ControlTrends Community, the NIST’s Cybersecurity for the Internet of Things is certainly one of the best.
Therese Sullivan: Appreciating How Metadata Makes Artificial Intelligence Possible. Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContext.me, and our ControlTrends’ eyes and ears from Silicon Valley, takes us on a data journey that begins at the ethereal origins of Artificial Intelligence (Dartmouth, 1956) and delivers us to metadata and Project Haystack — introducing some of the label makers in between.
ControlTalk NOW’s first interview is with industry veteran Marc Petock, Lynxspring‘s Chief Communications Officer & Vice President, Marketing. Marc first updates the ControlTrends Community on the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange, which is open to everybody. This will be the best Exchange ever. Everything is good: Location (Scottsdale, AZ); Speakers (Roberta Gamble, Frost & Sullivan; Tom Schircliff and Rob Murchinson, Intelligent Buildings; and Mark Jewell, Selling Energy); can’t miss technology and product updates, and an all-star cast of Vendor-Sponsors. Marc also addresses Cyber Security, Edge Controllers, and the 2017 ControlTrends Awards.
ControlTalk NOW’s second interview is with Aaron Gorka, Innovation Manager for ANT Technologies, who extends the ControlTrends Community a special offer with Ant Technologies. ANT Technologies software portfolio is designed to make contractors more profitable. Aaron grew up in the contracting world — working with his father in a family business environment. He knows the business and financial challenges firsthand. ANT Technologies has the curated software tools: Management of Projects, Service Tools, and Tenant Energy Billing — that will make contractors more efficient and, more profitable. Click here to find your local CGNA distributor and take advantage of Aaron’s special ControlTrends offer that he made during the podcast.
Episode 234: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings PodCast for week ending August 6, 2017 features more great insight from energy expert, Mark Jewell, and two deep-dive interviews with AutomatedBuildings.com’s, Ken Sinclair, and Optergy’s president, Steve Guzelimian. Make sure to register for upcoming webinars from Belimo, ACI’s, and Schneider Electric.
ControlTalk NOW guest Mark Jewel, renowned expert trainer and coach, business consultant, and solutions designer. Selling Power magazine recently ranked Mark’s company, Selling Energy, as one of the nation’s Top 20 Sales Training Firms. Mark has influenced energy efficiency decisions in three billion square feet of real estate in his 25+ years in this industry and has trained countless controls manufacturers, distributors and contractors how to differentiate themselves with segment-specific, concise messaging and more effective approaches to driving their revenues and margins.
ControlTalk NOW’s first interview is with Ken Sinclair who reviews his August edition of AutomatedBuildings.com. Ken takes us on a profound tour of the dogged progression towards autonomous devices and autonomous buildings. Ken’s editorial first links us to the relevant technology thought-leaders, while the body of the August edition provides an excellent array of perspectives from various industry experts. Ken even spices things up a bit with some info on CryptoCurrency, Blockchain, and Bitcoin. The once cloud-bound flow of data is in flux. The edge is fogging up, and Hey You! — Get off of my Cloud!
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest interview is with Steve Guzelimian, President, Optergy. Steve offers the following analogy with regards to combining BMS and EMS Analogy: “It could be said that operating a building is analogous to driving a car. If the driver has visibility of the road, feedback from gauges and a steering wheel, they will be in full control. Take away the driver’s road visibility or feedback from gauges; they will crash or run out of fuel. Remove the driver’s steering wheel, and inevitably the car will crash on the first corner. BMS is the steering wheel, EMS is the visibility and feedback.”
New Belimo Website Coming August 7th! Register Now for August 16th, 1:00 PM EDT, for Informational Webinar. On August 7th, Belimo will launch a new and improved website. You can place orders faster, save project lists, download multiple data sheets and have full access to your account files. Join Belimo August 16th at 1:00 PM EDT for an informational webinar on the features of the newly released Belimo website. You will experience how easy it is to access marketing materials and enhanced e-commerce functionalities. The webinar will conclude with an interactive question and answer session. Please join us and provide your feedback and questions. Register Now!
Converging Smart Building Systems and IT with Siemon. So many systems, so many cables, so many wires, it get’s so complicated so fast. Fear not, we had a chance to catch up with Bob Allen from Siemon the company that among other things has a Smart Building Cabling Solution. In this video Bob explains Siemon’s revolutionary approach to making cabling easier, faster, and more efficient. Do you want to reduce capital expense, increase operational savings, and improve the tenant experience? Siemon ConvergeIT is a unified intelligent building (IB) cabling solution that combines Siemon’s proven quality with advanced copper and fiber cabling technology to create a structured cabling system that converges critical data, voice, video and low-voltage building systems onto a single unified physical infrastructure, providing significant cost savings and sustainability over the life of the facility.
Schneider Electric Webinar Invite: August 9th at 1PM EST to learn about Square D VFDs. Join Scott and Brandon on August 9th at 1PM EST to learn about Square D VFDs. This webinar will cover all Square D VFD offers in iPortal, the selection tool, stocking program for S-Flex and the ATV 600 line and an overview of other Square D offers. The webinar will be approximately one hour in length. RSVP and add to your calendar!
ACI’s LIVE Temperature Transmitter Webinar 8/16 at 10:30 A.M. CST. ACI’s TEMPERATURE WEBINAR FEATURING TRANSMITTERS AUGUST 16|10:30 A.M. CST. The ACI 2017 Webinar Series continues Wednesday, August 16th. ACI’s Sales Engineer, Brant Kasbohm, will discuss the differences between ACI’s Temperature Transmitter models. During the webinar, Brant plans to highlight the important differences between Class A & Class B RTDs while diving into details regarding our transmitters and their improved accuracies. Brant will also cover ACI’s NIST Certification process and why it’s a key component in the overall performance and long term reliability of our temperature transmitters. Register Now!
Episode 233: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending July 23, 2017 humbly thanks the ControlTrends Community for breaking the 2 million views milestone (from over 50 countries). Mark Jewell’s Award-winning Sales Efficiency Training opportunity is still available. This week’s special guests are Silicon Valley’s Josh Bradshaw, Director of Strategic Alliances at Radius Innovation & Development, and Therese Sullivan, owner and editor of BuildingContext.me. Contemporary Controls’ free BACnet Discovery Tool (BDT) is available; EasyIO’s FS-32 Server Class Edge Controller release: Tridium’s IDC White Paper “Finding Value in Your IoT Data;” Johnson Controls Reinvents the Thermostat — GLAS (Nest-buster); and Lynxspring Announces New Technology Solution and Distribution Partner, Australia’s Conserve It, and register for the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange & Technology Showcase.
Our first guest on ControlTalk NOW is Siliocn Valley’s Josh Bradshaw, Director of Strategic Alliances at Radius Innovation & Development. Radius Discovers, Designs, Develops and Delivers bleeding edge technology innovations. Radius is the innovation and development consulting capability of Jabil ($18bn – Fortune 100 – advanced manufacturing leader). Radius’ extensive capabilities accelerate innovation projects to market in a fraction of the time, from months to weeks. Josh personally invites the ControlTrends Community to visit Radius and see and experience how technology can be put to work for you. Josh’s email address is Josh.Bradshaw @RadiusInnovation.com. Make sure to use “WFIM” to your best advantage.
Technology Trends in Building Automation – Drew Mire – NFMT 2017. Check out our friend Drew Mire, from Computrols, at the 2017 NFMT(National Facilities and Managment Technology). In this video Drew, focuses on three primary examples of technological advances in commercial real estate: mobility + wireless, connectivity, and machine learning. Each example is explained in layman’s terms along with examples of where we see them in our everyday lives. He then shows how these new technologies are starting to be utilized in commercial real estate, with a focus on building automation (HVAC, Lighting, Access Control). Nice job Drew!
Contemporary Controls’ BACnet Discovery Tool is Better Than Ever. The popular Contemporary Controls BACnet Discovery Tool (BDT) has several new features available for download. For those unfamiliar, BDT is a free BACnet/IP application for Windows that is easy to install and use. The vendor-neutral tool is instrumental as a means of discovering and verifying communication with MS/TP devices that are being accessed through BACnet/IP routers such as the BASrouter or the BASrouterLX.
ControlTrends Hits Two Million WordPress Views! A very special thanks to the Global ControlTrends Community as we take a moment to celebrate going over two million views on our ControlTrends WordPress Site! With our 1.5 million views on YouTube and 5,000 subscribers, along with our Vimeo viewers and PodCast only listeners, we are now reaching out to 52 countries! Thank you all once again.
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest is another chief technologist from Silicon Valley, Therese Sullivan, owner and editor of BuildingContext.me. Therese brings amazing clarity and insight to what’s really going on in this period of market disruptions and some of the important pivot points companies like Google are taking as they react to pushback to their unwanted gmail-perusaling. Also, don’t miss our second Silicon acronym of the day, “FOMO.”
Newcomb and Boyd at 2017 REALComm|IBcon. Someone once asked American gangster and bank robber, John Dillinger, why he robbed banks and his answer was “because that is where the money is.” Using that same logic, it makes sense that Smart Building Control Pros go to RealComm|IBcon. This is the place where you will find the latest Smart Building technology, where you will find potential customers, and where you will find great solution providers — like those offered by one of the premiere consulting engineering firms on the planet, Atlanta-based, Newcomb and Boyd. In this video, I catch up with Donny Walker and Steve Wiggins, two of the brightest people in the Smart Building Controls business. Hear what they have to say about analytics, retro-commissioning, and much more. Great job guys!
New White Paper Examines IoT Analytics Solutions. IDC Technology Spotlight: Finding Value in Your IoT Data. Introducing a new white paper by International Data Corporation (IDC), renowned provider of market intelligence. This look at Finding Value in Your IoT Data offers insight into Internet of Things analytics solutions—including Niagara Analytics 2.0. Determining which data is valuable and which is irrelevant is becoming a critical success factor for IoT projects. Be sure to download IDC’s new white paper, and use it to guide your business strategy and investment in an analytics solution.
Johnson Controls Reinvents the Thermostat — Introducing GLAS, Utilizes Windows 10 IoT Core, Cortana Voice Services, and Azure Cloud. Heating and cooling account for roughly 48% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most families. In the commercial building sector, the cost is approximately 40%. Johnson Controls, one of the leading providers of HVAC, Fire and Security systems in the world, is changing how spaces are viewed and controlled. As the inventors of the first thermostat, Johnson Controls has innovated once again with GLAS. Utilizing Windows 10 IoT Core, Cortana voice services, and Azure Cloud, GLAS is a simple to use, elegant thermostat that brings leading energy savings and air quality monitoring to everyday spaces. Johnson Controls is reinventing the thermostat and our lives.
Lynxspring Announces New Technology Solution and Distribution Agreement with Australia Company Conserve It. LEE’S SUMMIT, MISSOURI, USA AND MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (PRWEB) JULY 18, 2017. Lynxspring, Inc., a premier developer and provider of open, IoT solutions for intelligent buildings, energy management, and device-to-enterprise integration, and Conserve It Pty Ltd, a leading supplier, developer and distributor of industrial and building automation products, solutions and services, today announced a new partnership and strategic relationship to distribute and provide Building, Industrial, Energy Management and IoT Solutions to the Australian, New Zealand and Asia Pacific markets.
EasyIO Europe’s July 2017 Newsletter — Powerful FS-32 Controller Available Now! he EasyIO-FS-32 is a high performance server class controller with a quad core processor and 8GB flash. Its software capabilities are very powerful with HTML5 graphics and multifunctional adapter widgets. The built-in VPN client/server makes your connectivity safe and unique for BMS controllers. Download datasheet.
Secure Your Access to the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange & Technology Showcase! We’re Ready for You — Save $100. Please Join Us! 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase. Join us for 2-1/2 days with an agenda that is packed with demonstrations and presentations on the latest technology, techniques and practices specific to managing and operating today’s buildings and facilities. Hear from dynamic keynote speakers on IoT and Energy as well as industry presenters on subjects relevant for today’s business environment and experience a showcase of leading products and services from a variety of leading technology providers. Register Now!
Episode 232: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending July 16, 2017, features our interview Smart Building Industry expert Matthew Schwartz, P.E., CEM, CBCP, Senior Associate, with Altura Associates. Make sure to take advantage of the ControlTrends Community’s special offer for Mark Jewell’s on-line Four-Day Energy-focused Boot Camp. Register for Greenbuild ABX 2017 and Belimo’s Fire & Smoke,Codes and Standards Webinar; Bueno Systems and Rycom live from RealComm|IBcon 2017; DOE releases Building America update; Meet Mexico City’s leading MSI, MRSolutiones; and ProLon’s new Flex Controllers.
GREENBUILD ABX 2017: EVERYONE, EVERY PROJECT, EVERYWHERE, WE ARE ALL IN. Boston Nov 8th-10th Register Now! Greenbuild is the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. The ideals and passion of the green building community come alive at Greenbuild. The buzz is contagious. Greenbuild brings together industry leaders, experts and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable building in their everyday work, and a unique energy is sparked. Participants are invigorated. Inspired. They find themselves equipped to return to their jobs with a renewed passion and purpose. Register here!
Mark Jewell update! Don’t miss Mark’s Four-day Energy-focused Sales Boot Camp — Available ONLINE — Discount Code Available to ControlTrends Community. Special offer from Wall Street Journal best-selling author and award-winning sales trainer, Mark Jewell. More than a thousand professionals have taken Mark’s four-day energy-focused Sales Boot Camp over the last five years. More than 10,000 people have taken one- or two-day versions of this training. This month, for the first time time in five years, Mark is making his award-winning four-day sales training available ONLINE, both a virtual remote version of the actual 7/24-7/27/17 San Diego event, and afterwards online/on-demand for anyone who can’t make those four days in July. As a special accommodation for us, he’s making this training available to the ControlTrends Community for a reduced rate of $920.00. Sign up here and enter the discount code ControlTrends when registering to receive this special rate.
2017 RealComm/IBcon Highlight: Using data analytics to monitor elevators? And bringing the data through your single pane of glass frontend? Why not? In this RealComm|IBcon interview, hear how Leon Wurfel from Bueno Systems & Casey Witkowicz from Rycom are using analytics to transform smart building operations. BUENO is the Australian leader in data and information driven operational property services, offering a new approach to operations, maintenance and sustainability. Rycom Corporation is more than just a technology company. Rycom could be your biggest competitive advantage.
ControlTalk NOW’s featured guest is Matthew Schwartz, P.E., CEM, CBCP, Altura Associates, a mechanical engineer with diverse energy management experience encompassing new construction commissioning, building automation and controls, energy modeling, retro-commissioning, and energy auditing. Leveraging a background as a design-build contractor, Mike is skilled at achieving energy conservation using innovative technologies in the built environment in ways that recognize the importance of human capital.
Ken’s Calendar Free Webinar: Fire & Smoke, Codes and Standards. This webinar will cover the codes and standards governing maintenance and replacement of actuators on Fire & Smoke Dampers. Review of the NFPA 80 & NFPA 105 requirements on how to properly repair dampers and replace non-operable actuators in order to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Discussion to include International Fire Code testing requirements and UL 555 (Fire) and UL 555s (Smoke) regulations on new construction. Learn potential ways to uncover defects in your Life & Safety systems while verifying your practices are up to code. Click here to register for the webinar on Wednesday, July 26 at 1:00 PM EDT
DOE’s Building America: Bringing Building Innovations to Market. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America Program has been a source of innovations in residential building energy performance, durability, quality, affordability, and comfort for 20 years. This world-class research program partners with industry (including many of the top U.S. home builders) to bring cutting-edge innovations and resources to market.
Mexico City’s Premier Master Systems Integrator at 2017 IBcon. We had a chance to catch up with Mexico’s premier smart buildings controls system integrators, MRSoluciones out of Mexico City, our amigos Alfredo Melnik and Carlos Roman, at the 2017 IBcon product showcase. Alfredo and Carlos give us the 411 on what customers are looking for in the Smart Buildings and Building Automation Controls Market in Mexico and their thoughts on the 2017 Realcomm/IBcon show. MRSoluciones was a finalist for the 2016 ControlTrends Master Systems Integrator of the Year Award, and Alfredo and Carlos have been contributors on ControlTalk Now and are valued members of the global ControlTrends Community.
CGNA Web Institute Training Webinar Introduces ProLon’s New FlexIO Controllers. CGNA Web Institute Training Webinar Introduces ProLon’s New FlexIO Controllers, presented by ProLon’s Daniel Kerwin, Business Development Manager. The new FlexIO controllers are available from your nearby CGNA Distributor and will enable ProLon contractors to integrate new many new options/sequences (i.e., Chiller Start/Stop; control multiple exhaust fans; enable lighting based on system occupancy; monitor humidity levels; etc) to our existing products and really expand the capabilities of ProLon.
Episode 231: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending July 9th, 2017, highlights Mark Jewell’s on-line Four-Day Energy-focused Boot Camp. Take advantage of ControlTrends Community’s special offer. EasyIO introduces their Asian-Pacific VP, Simon Mahoney; Vykon Enterprise Security Updates available; Belimo’s Energy Valve Solves Low Delta T and Leverages IoT; Women in HVACR’s 2017 WHVACR Conference filling up a fast; ControlTrends Beatles Repost; Fearless Phil Zito’s How to Communicate with IT Webinar; JENEsys Edge 534 Controller delivers Niagara to the edge; Tridium’s Jim Bland interviewed at RealComm|IBcon; and DGLogik rolls out significant updates to Project Assist 2.0.
EasyIO Introduces Simon Mahoney, Vice President, Asia Pacific. We welcome Simon Mahoney to EasyIO, as Vice President – Asia Pacific. Simon comes to us with almost 30 years experience in the building automation industry having worked around the world, in the U.K., Australia and for the last 12 years in Asia. Based in Singapore, Simon will lead the business development and marketing efforts in the Asia Pacific region, building the distribution channels and creating market awareness for the complete EasyIO product range.
VYKON Enterprise Security 2.3 Update Now Available. Dear valued VYKON Partner, We have released a VYKON Enterprise Security 2.3 update, along with an updated Niagara AX 3.8 platform (3.8u2) that supports this release. VYKON Enterprise Security 2.3u1 is a best-in-class access control and security system that goes beyond access control for total integration. Customers can use VYKON Enterprise Security 2.3u1 to centralize operations and unify the building ecosystem, while protecting everything inside.
Belimo Energy Valve — Solving Low Delta T and Leveraging IoT. In this 30 minute webinar you will learn about the new Energy Valve that is now an IoT device utilizing advanced cloud-based analytics to leverage captured system data to provide savings and the most efficient operation. The Belimo Energy Valve is a pressure independent valve that measures and manages coil energy by using an embedded electronic flow meter and supply and return water temperature sensors.
Mark Jewell’s Four-day Energy-focused Sales Boot Camp Available ONLINE — Discount Code Available to ControlTrends Community. Special offer from Wall Street Journal best-selling author and award-winning sales trainer, Mark Jewell. More than a thousand professionals have taken Mark’s four-day energy-focused Sales Boot Camp over the last five years. More than 10,000 people have taken one- or two-day versions of this training. This month, for the first time time in five years, Mark is making his award-winning four-day sales training available ONLINE, both a virtual remote version of the actual 7/24-7/27/17 San Diego event, and afterwards online/on-demand for anyone who can’t make those four days in July.
Women in HVACR — Seats for 2017 WHVACR Conference Filling Fast! REGISTER TODAY! Seats are starting to fill up fast for WHVACR’s first time stand-alone conference at the Tarrant County College Center for Energy Excellence in Fort Worth, TX. Register today! Keynote Speaker: Elizabeth McCormick — Topic: “YOU. In the Pilot’s Seat.” As a former US Army Black Hawk pilot, Elizabeth flew command, air assault, rappelling, top-secret intelligence missions, and also transported high level government VIPs including the Secretary of Defense.
How the Beatles are influencing Smart Building Controls and the Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance
ControlTrends Beatles Repost — 60th Anniversary of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Since it’s the 60th anniversary of John Lennon and Paul McCartney teaming up, we thought we’d give this most appropriate post another play. Join us as we celebrate the Beatles and stretch our Liverpool experience into what’s happening in the Smart Building Renaissance. What’s exciting about the Beatles is that they took different styles of music and made it into their own thing — that was something new, and incredible, and thrilling.
How to protect your building automation controls systems from hackers
Fearless Phil Zito’s How to Communicate with IT Webinar. You will learn: Secret #1 The IT Roledex . Learn who’s who in IT and discover why talking to the right person makes all the difference in your conversations with IT. Secret #2 The Reverse Question. How to get to the heart of the objection and have the IT group tell you why they are not approving your request. Secret #3 The Exact IT Skills You Need to Know. The tricky thing about IT is that there is so much to learn! In this webinar I will teach you exactly what you need to learn about IT.
Delivering Niagara to the Edge The JENEsys® Edge 534 Controller. There’s a New Programmable Controller from Lynxspring! The JENEsys® Edge 534 IoT Controller is a fully programmable Niagara Controller with 34 IOs built-in and expandable up to 306 IOs, delivering edge connectivity, interoperability, data access and analytics for today’s buildings, energy management, machine-to-machine applications and IoT environments.
Tridium’s Jim Bland at RealComm|IBcon. How is Tridium adapting and particapating in the IOT and Smart Building Controls Renaissance? Watch this conversation and see what the future holds for Tridium. Jim joins Tridium from Snapdata.io, a start-up company that designs and develops sensors, data communications hardware and analytics software. He also has managed several national and global businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises.
DGLogik Rolls Out Significant Updates to Project Assist 2.0. DGLogik has rolled out significant updates to Project Assist 2.0, enhancing the performance of your development experience, end user experience, and increased support for Niagara 4. The update includes: Schedule interface: Enhanced support for Niagara 4; Touch-friendly enhancements: better mobile experience for alarming and Niagara 4; New widgets: BQL grid, Control widgets such as slider, toggle, and switch; Custom actions on any widget: Data actions, Navigation, Hyperlinks; Ability to duplicate Templates; and Performance improvements and bug fixes.
Episode 230: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending July 2, 2017 features interviews with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of automatedbuildings.com, and best-selling author, Mark Jewell who is offering the ControlTrends Community a reduced rate for his July 24-27, 2017 virtual live internet training course. Video interview coverage of 2017 RealComm|IBcon continues with IOT’s Brian Turner, Hepta Systems’ Jason Houck, and Bedrock’s John Guardiola. EasyIO introduces industry leading FS-32 Server Class Controller, and take advantage of Lynxspring’s Early Bird registration for their October E2E Conference, in Scottsdale, AZ.
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest is Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of automatedbuildings.com, who shares his thoughts on his July edition theme, Building Health, and another look back at the 2017 RealComm|IBcon. The Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment created HPIs to rate a building’s health, while building health into every aspect of occupied space has become (perhaps) the most predominant buzz-theme in our BAS Industry. In his July edition, Ken Sinclair, owner editor of automatedbuildings.com, has assembled a rich collection of perspectives from Building Health experts. And, the insight is utterly amazing.
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest is Wall Street Journal best-selling author and award-winning sales trainer,. Mark Jewell. More than a thousand professionals have taken Mark’s four-day energy-focused Sales Boot Camp over the last five years. More than 10,000 people have taken one- or two-day versions of this training. This month, for the first time time in five years, Mark is making his award-winning four-day sales training available ONLINE, both a virtual remote version of the actual 7/24-7/27/17 San Diego event, and afterwards online/on-demand for anyone who can’t make those four days in July.
As a special accommodation for us, he’s making this training available to the ControlTrends Community for a reduced rate of $920.00. Just enter the discount code ControlTrends when registering to receive this special rate.
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to work with a renowned expert trainer and coach, business consultant, and solutions designer. Selling Power magazine recently ranked Mark’s company, Selling Energy, as one of the nation’s Top 20 Sales Training Firms. Mark has influenced energy efficiency decisions in three billion square feet of real estate in his 25+ years in this industry and has trained countless controls manufacturers, distributors and contractors how to differentiate themselves with segment-specific, concise messaging and more effective approaches to driving their revenues and margins. This Boot Camp will supercharge your controls career, and it has never been more time-efficient or cost-effective to attend. To register, visit www.SellingEnergy.com and click on the Boot Camp link under in-person trainings.
Wanted: Power Partners for the SCTE•ISBE Energy 2020®/CABA Smart Zone at Cable-Tec Expo®. The electric atmosphere of SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo® is a galvanizing force for advancing the industry toward the cost-saving goals of Energy 2020®. And, the landmark energy program will get an added energy boost at Expo 2017 courtesy of CABA, the Continental Automated Buildings Association.
What to do When a Master Systems Integrator wants to Put All Your Systems on a Single Pane of Glass. Somethings are great in theory but are disastrous in reality. Bringing all your building systems under one front end, or “single pane of glass,” is one of those things that sounds great, but does it really work? What are the pitfalls? The unintended consequences? The benefits? In this video John Guardiola,from Bedrock, and Jason Houck, Hepta Systems, answer these questions and offer perspectives and advice that are priceless.
Join Us at the 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase – The E2E (Edge-To-Enterprise) Conference. The 2017 Lynxspring Exchange and Technology Showcase being held October 1st – 3rd at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona, will bring together system integrators, contractors, building operators and facility managers, engineers, service technicians, OEM’s and IoT executives and practitioners. The EARLY BIRD Registration Fee for Lynxspring Exchange 2017 is $595.00 per person.
EasyIO’s NEW FS-32 Server Class Controller. The EasyIO-FS-32 is a high performance server class controller with a 1.2 Ghz quad core processor, 512 MB RAM and 8GB flash memory. Its software capabilities are very powerful with HTML5 graphics and multifunctional adapter widgets. The built-in VPN client and server makes your connectivity safe and unique for BMS controllers.
The Smart Building Controls Renaissance. How to Survive as a Distributor in the Smart Building Controls Renaissance. We talk a lot about how quickly things are changing in the world of building automation and smart building controls. In the Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance, the big question we are all asking is how to survive and thrive in these new realities. We have looked at this from the perspectives of systems integrators, consulting engineers, and owners. But what about the proverbial middleman, the distributor? We had the good fortune to catch up with Brian Turner, who has taken his company ControlCo, a successful, well established controls distributor, and reinvented and reorganized the company as a way to embrace the new realities of the Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance.
Episode 229: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 25, 2017 features an indepth review of our video coverage of the EasyIO’s 2017 Global Partner Event in Manchester, Cochrane Supply’s Controls-Con 2017 in Detroit, and the RealComm|IBcon conference in San Diego. The disruption and new challenges to our BAS industry and HVACR are real and global. Yet, with each potential threat, there is opportunity — and our interviews with Paul Oswald, Brian Turner, Ken Sinclair, and others provide valuable testament and insight to where the trends are likely to take us next. Also added, more video highlights from 2017 RealComm|IBcon, a Room Controller Q & A from Schneider Electric; Tridium Update Release of Niagara 4.3; Lynxspring’s Intro to Data Modeling and Haystack Tagging; and three posts from our new “Making HVACR More Interesting Series.”
Catching Up with CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald at RealComm|IBcon. Thanks to the team at RealComm|IBcon for letting us fill in on Conference Live. In this video we had the chance to catch up with one of our favorite people CBRE/ESI’s Paul Oswald. We love talking to Paul because of his experience as one of the premier master systems integrators in Smart Building controls.
Room Controllers, How Much Do You Know? Take the Schneider Electric Q & A. What exactly is a “Room Controller?” It’s fully configurable and application specific Terminal Unit Controller. It has built in space temperature with an option for remote temperature sensing. In addition, it can be configured with on board humidity and occupancy (PIR) sensing or those sensors can be external to the controller.
Tridium Update: Release of Niagara 4.3 Ushers in Significant Innovations! Dear valued VYKON Partner, Tridium has released the third version of Niagara 4. Niagara 4.3 introduces enhancements that make it easier to manage and deploy templates, along with several other new features. Most notable about this release are the significant innovations built on Niagara 4.3, including: Backup as a Service (BaaS), our first Niagara Cloud offering launching in mid-July; VYKON Integrated Analytics 2.0u2, with analytic chart enhancements and key defect fixes; Support for JACE® 8000 IO R in both a 16 and 34 point module; and JACE 8000 expansion module Hardware Development Kit (HDK), new for developers.
Introduction to Data Modeling, Haystack Tagging and the Benefits. 30 Minutes with Lynxspring Webinar Series. There is no question that data is impacting the building automation, energy management, and smart buildings markets. The data produced by equipment, systems, and smart devices now has more potential value than the devices themselves. However, with all the data now available at our fingertips, it turns out that it’s one thing to have access to data; it’s another to make it useful and actionable.
Ken and Eric, the ControlTrends Guys, Interviewed on RealComm Live at 2017 RealComm|IBcon. Ken and I, the ControlTrends Guys, normally the interviewers, had the table turned on us — as we became the interviewees, at the 2017 RealComm|IBcon in San Diego. Jerry asked us some challenging questions that allowed us the opportunity to highlight the ControlTrends Community, review the hot button trends in our industry and how they relate to the RealComm|IBcom Community, as well as talk about some of the great people, solution providers, MSIs, and vendors leading the way in the Building Automation industry.
Making HVACR More Interesting Series – Comfort in a Flash: Carrier to Join National Apartment Association’s Maintenance Mania® Competition. ControlTrends is committed to promoting our HVAC industry, which according to a 2015 report from the HVACR Workforce Development Foundation, cited there were 220,734 HVACR job postings in 2014 – twice as many as in the oil and gas industry (109,323), making HVACR one of the fastest growing industries in North America. We have a fascinating and challenging industry and we must do what we can to attract and inspire more of the young workforce to join the HVACR industry.
Making HVACR More Interesting Series: National Signing Day Comes to the Skilled Trades from the NEWS. ControlTrends’ second post in our Making HVACR More Interesting Series, is from an insightful article written by Nick Kostora, Staff Writer, at the NEWS, who captures the innovative spirit behind one of the most exciting moments in the career of a student becoming a skilled tradesmen, by using media event momentum typically associated with the sports world, to create an equally awesome event for the future HVAC professional, the National Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day.
Episode 228: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 19, 2017 was recorded in San Diego, CA, at the RealComm|IBcon 2017 event. Join guest host Marc Petock and three special interviews, muRata’s Tom Takesian, Memoori’s Jim McHale, and Intelligent Buildings’ Rob Murchinson as we discuss some of the most prominent take-aways from the show. Congratulations to Lynxspring’s JENEsys IoT Edge Controller for winning the 2017 RealComm Digie Award BEST TECH INNOVATION INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS.
RealComm|IBcon Pre-Conference Event Opens with CRE Cybersecurity Forum in San Diego. ControlTrends is joined by Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of AutomatedBuildings.com and Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContrext.me, as we review some of the highlights of RealComm|IBcon’s Day 1, starting with the CRE Cybersecurity Forum, which brought the best cybersecurity minds in the business together — to address the most impactful cyber threats, share their wealth of industry experience and knowledge, and help attendees set cybersecurity benchmarks and strategies for their organizations.
RealComm|IBcon 2017 General Session Conference Kickoff: Technology – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – The Pace Increases! Keynote speaker Larry Smarr gave a humorous and mind-blowing summary of technology’s past, present, and future. Larry is the founding Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), a UC San Diego and UC Irvine Partnership. He began his research career nearly 50 years ago in relativistic astrophysics and in 1985 became the founding director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at UIUC, birthplace of NCSA Mosaic which drove the Web.
RealComm|IBcon 2017 Sets New Industry Precedents — DAY 3, Smart Buildings Best Practices Showcase, Vendor Show, & Educational Breakouts. Jim Young, Howard Berger, Lisa Woods, and team RealComm continue to set the new and significant standards in the Professional Trade Show, Networking, and Educational environment. It was all there, teed up for your ease of attenance: Cyber – IT and Real Estate Information, Real Estate Investment Management, The Changing Workforce, Innovation Tech Tours, and so much more! Stay tuned for more ControlTrends video coverage of this amazing event.
ControlTalk NOW first interview is muRata’s Tom Takesian. Murata is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of advanced electronic materials, leading edge electronic components, and multi-functional, high-density modules. Murata innovations can be found in a wide range of applications from mobile phones to home appliances, and automotive applications to energy management systems and healthcare devices.
ControlTalk NOW second interview is with Memoori’s Jim McHale, the Managing Director, Owner & Founder. Memoori is a consultancy company based in Stockholm providing independent market research, business intelligence and advice on Smart Building technologies. Memoori presents a brand new report, building on our portfolio of building technology related research. This independent study makes an objective assessment of the Prospects for the Internet of Things market in Smart Buildings from 2016 to 2021.
ControlTalk NOW’s third interview is Rob Murchinson of Intelligent Buildings, LLC. Intelligent Buildings, LLC is a Smart Real Estate professional services company. About Intelligent Buildings, LLC: We provide planning and implementation management of next generation strategy for new building projects, existing portfolio optimization and smart community development. Additionally, we consult with future-minded solution providers who seek to be more attuned to owner’s next generation strategy, including product development and go-to market strategy.
Episode 227: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 11, 2017 features our coverage of Controls-Con 2017 in Detroit, MI to celebrate Cochrane Supply’s 50th gala anniversary. Cochrane Supply & Engineering was founded in 1967 and has grown into a multi-award-winning company and a Leading Industrial IoT Supplier. Much more video coverage of Controls-Con 2017 to follow. Check out Mark’s Cool Tools and Tim Chamblee’s training video on the EnTouch thermostat. And, stay tuned, as ControlTrends travels to San Diego, CA to cover the 2017 Realcomm|IBcon.
Mark’s Cool Tools is Back with a Special Limited Time Offer on the Greenlee Gorilla Pressing Tool. In this episode of Mark’s Cool Tools Mark shows us the new line of Gorilla pressing tools from Greenlee. They are tool kits for pressing fittings used with PEX, Copper, and Steel pipes, and are designed for joining pipes safely by eliminating the need for an open flame and a hot work permit on the job site.
Entouch products and training at stromquist.com
Tim’s Tech Tips: How to Make Entouch More Than a Thermostat. Tim Chamblee, Stromquist & Companies lead trainer, shows us a low cost, very effective way to use the Entouch Thermostat as a light commercial control system. Got a Church you need to provide a solution that controls and saves energy? Tim will show you how in this video. In addition, gain rich analytics with the ENTOUCH.ONE platform, and control energy consumption for your entire facility environment including: HVAC Control that allows users to create set points and schedules, monitor equipment, extend asset life and reduce maintenance.
Welcome to CONTROLS-CON 2017! — Cochrane Supply Takes Distribution to the Next Level while Celebrating 50th Anniversary! Welcome to Detroit! Welcome to Detroit! Home to Henry Ford and the American Automobile Industry, Motown Music, the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, and Cochrane Supply! ControlTrends is at the amazing MotorCity Casino Hotel in downtown Detroit to attend CONTROLS-CON 2017 proudly hosted by Cochrane Supply & Engineering. CONTROLS-CON 2017 is a fast-paced, education-packed event will bring together hundreds of integrators and end users from throughout the United States and Canada to explore the latest technologies and possibilities of Building Controls and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Controls-Con DAY 1 — Industry Experts and Thought Leaders Take Center Stage. Cochrane Supply Celebrates 50th Anniversary. Controls-Con DAY 1 began with Scott Cochrane and the Cochrane Supply team welcoming industry experts from all across North America to their dynamic education-based event, and ended with a heart-rending gala celebration of its first 50 years of success. It was very apparent to the 500 plus attendees by night’s end, that Cochrane Supply is well on its way to 50 more years of pace-setting success. Scott Cochrane and Don Cochrane Jr. and the entire team at Cochrane Supply have redefined the role of the controls distributor and taken the leadership position in delivering building automation solutions and achieving customer satisfaction.
Controls-Con DAY 2 – Business, Technology, and Educational Tracks – Evolution From BAS to IoT to a New Business Model and More. The Business Track, hosted Tridium’s Ed Merwin, featured six different expert perspectives that provided real-life, inspirational business testimonials of how Industrial IoT has changed, and continues to change their business models. The Technology Track, hosted by Tridium’s James Johnson and Kevin Williamson, along with Cochrane’s Mike Mitchell and the Cochrane Tech Services team, discussed Solutions, Shortcuts, and Best Practices concerning Analytics, Niagara Edge, and Cyber Security.
Cochrane Supply 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration. Cochrane Supply celebrated it’s 50th Birthday with an amazing gala event. Join us as we talk with the Don Cochrane Sr., Scott Cochrane, and Don Cochrane Jr. at this momentous event. Cochrane Supply & Engineering was founded in 1967 and has grown into a multi-award-winning company and a Leading Industrial IoT Supplier with locations in Madison Heights (MI), Redford (MI), Grand Rapids (MI), Toledo (OH), Cleveland (OH), and Louisville (KY). Cochrane Supply is proud to be your source of building controls products and hardware to connect to the Internet, as well as software and world-class support to enable and successfully implement functional integrations.
Episode 226: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending June 4, 2017 throws a little Scottish Enlightenment, Manchester United football, and Beatles nostalgia into mix, along with our video coverage of EasyIO’s 2017 Global Partner Event; also featuring an in-depth interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings; Therese Sullivan’s insightful coverage of Haystack Connect; Phil Zito offers a course for Information Technology for BAS Professionals; Upcoming events include Cochrane Supply’s Controls-Con 2017 and a don’t miss RealComm|IBcon in San Diego; Webinars from Optigo (Visual BACnet) and ACI (Gas Webinar); and ControlTrends People is back with Automation Integrated’s Jeff Houpt — and much more.
The Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance in Full Force — The Global EasyIO Partner Event to Begin in Manchester, UK! The Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance is all about making buildings better, more intelligent, more connected, and above all, the best places possible for people to live, study, and work. Where better to begin our renaissance reference than in Edinburgh, Scotland, known as the Athens of the North, a remarkable and proud city that led the 17th century world into a new age of enlightenment.
Global EasyIO Partner Event Kicks Off with Manchester United Versus Crystal Palace Premiership Football Match. EasyIO’s origins and its global growth are success stories worthy of review. The authors of those EasyIO success stories are long-standing, well-recognized industry experts, now writing the newest best sellers in buildings automation industry — and ControlTrends is here in Manchester UK, to bring the message home.
Global EasyIO Partner Event Day 2, The Rules Have Changed! Introducing the FW Series Wireless Solutions, New Quad-Core Processor Server Class Controller. Day 2 introduced EasyIO’s World Class Leadership team spearheaded by Mike Marston, VP of EasyIO Holdings Pte Ltd., Lim Hoon Chiat, CTO/R&D EasyIO Holdings Pte Ltd., Johan Schakenraad, President & CEO EasyIO Europe, B.V. and Guido van Erp International Sales Manager, and Bullzevents. Lim demonstrated wireless wizardry for retrofits and Jim Stiber of Control Consultants, Inc., reviewed VAV and CVAHU applications for the new FW-8V. Guest Presenters included David Kipling, Vice President of Jabil Circuit Inc. (US), Andrius Jasiulionis, Automation Engineer, Helgevold Electro (Norway) and Scott Muench, VP Marketing, J2 Innovations (US).
How the Beatles are influencing Smart Building Controls and the Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance
The Beatles and the Smart Building Renaissance. Join us as we celebrate the Beatles and stretch our Liverpool experience into what’s happening in the Smart Building Renaissance. What’s exciting about the Beatles is that they took different styles of music and made it into their own thing — that was something new, and incredible, and thrilling. As more companies get behind the idea of the Smart Building Renaissance, we will continue to see new players reordering different approaches to the variety of buildings that make up our industry with new technologies.
Happy Memorial Day and Thank You — to all the Veterans! Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Did you know: Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time. Source: www.history.com
Haystack Connect and IoT World Set Foot on Common Ground — Therese Sullivan, Building Context.Me. It’s a new day. Visibility is good, as dust from previous storms and battles has settled across the plane. Observers wait in the shadows. An imposing hero figure steps into the open. Everyone knows that whatever went on before—that’s over. And something new has just begun. The story of the new sheriff bringing order to a lawless place is a common plot for Western films.
EASY IO: CPT Trainings in the UK – EasyStack in The Netherlands. We are very pleased to inform you about the upcoming trainings we scheduled in June: 26 & 27 June: CPT Tools & the F-series – London (city), UK. 29 & 30 June: CPT Tools & the F-series – Leeds (city center), UK. 28-29-30 June: EasyStack – Gemert, The Netherlands.The CPT training is the best way to get to know how to work with CPT Tools and the EasyIO F-series. Training is fun and a great opportunity to meet our team, and most important of all: it’s free for EasyIO Partners.
How to troubleshoot BACnet networks
Learn How to Use Visual BACnet to Troubleshoot a Smart Buildings Controls Network. Ken and I had a chance to check out Bueno Systems and the cool BACnet troubleshooting tools from Optigo at Haystack Connect. If you work with building automation controls networks that use BACnet, this free webinar is worth checking out. From Monica at Optigo Networks: To improve energy analytics, you need a deep understanding of your building network. When Australian energy analytics company BUENO Systems used to start working with a new building, they would have no idea what was happening on the building’s network. Now, with Visual BACnet, they can assess the health of a customer’s network and ensure it is working in prime condition, well before adding their analytics.
ControlTalk NOW interview with Ken Sinclair. In his June edition of Automated Buildings, owner and editor Ken Sinclair, asks our industry at large — if we are really getting the gist of how IoT is turning the building automation industry, and us along with it, inside out. Using a slight of phrase, “Sensing the Change,” Ken then asks what makes better sense and offers the greatest value, the good old sensor on the wall, or the “smart-sensorized occupant?” P.S. Happy 50th Anniversary to Ken and Jane Sinclair!
LIVE ACI GAS DETECTION WEBINAR — Wednesday, June 7th, 10:00 AM C.S.T. as detection has been a rising topic in the HVAC industry. As a new topic of discussion, people want to know more in order to better understand the monitoring and detection of many harmful gases. In ACI’s next installment of the 2017 Webinar Series, we break down the key elements that should be used when selecting the proper products and locations of the sensors and controllers when used in your application. Hear from one of ACI’s top Technical Support Engineers at our next live video webinar. REGISTER HERE!
ControlTrends People is Back: Check out Jeff Houpt from Automation Integrated. ontrolTrends People is back! You will remember that CTP is a project I am very passionate about. On the podcast we do a deep dive into the lives of the people that make our Industry great. Previous episodes include the likes of Marc Petock, Mike Marston, Lim Hoon Chiat, Ed Merwin. I believe that success leaves clues, and that one of the best ways to get better at anything is to study the lives of people that are already masters. On this episode we talk with one of the most respected master systems integrators in Smart Buildings, Jeff Houpt. Jeff is the President and CEO of Automation Integrated based in Oklahoma City.
ControlTrends People is back! You will remember that CTP is a project I am very passionate about. On the podcast we do a deep dive into the lives of the people that make our Industry great. Previous episodes include the likes of Marc Petock, Mike Marston, Lim Hoon Chiat, Ed Merwin.
I believe that success leaves clues, and that one of the best ways to get better at anything is to study the lives of people that are already masters. On this episode we talk with one of the most respected master systems integrators in Smart Buildings, Jeff Houpt. Jeff is the President and CEO of Automation Integrated based in Oklahoma City.
Jeff is a brilliant thinker and strategist. Hear how Jeff’s early life help shape the way he sells and relates to people. Jeff explains what makes Automation Integrated unique and what it takes to be successful in today’s Smart Buildings Controls market. Jeff coined the phrase “we are in the integrity economy”, hear why those might be the six most important words you can embrace as the Smart Buildings Controls Renaissance continues to evolve.
Episode 225: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending May 14, 2017 captures the essence and impact of the 2017 Haystack Connect event held at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, FL, last week. The 2017 Haystack Connect was about our industry becoming “Haystackable.” And, as many INTEL-igent people are realizing, both the stakes and the pay-offs are too high to ignore. Imagine a building, a city, or a country where all the devices, controllers, and server-side web APIs — are driving data to its highest potential. The 3-day convergence of industry experts, systems integrators, specifying engineers, and end-users was amazing. Just watch the videos — and be sure to stay tuned to ControlTrends as we bring you coverage of EasyIO’s Global Conference from Manchester, UK!
2017 Haystack Connect Begins on a Huge Note — A Thriving Community Assembles in Mass — Industry Gravitas, Systemic Benefits, and EcoHaystack Fun. ControlTrends coverage of the 2017 Haystack Connect begins among hundreds of industry experts, systems integrators, specifying engineers, and end-users — all mingling in a vendor-rich reception, an amazing and exciting testament to the growing Haystack community and ecosystem. As key Haystack Connect organizer, Marc Petock tells us, “This year’s theme is ‘Data Gets Real,’” and there will be many real-world examples featured, where Haystack is being used to deliver large-scale, high-level management strategies and solutions.
2017 Haystack Connect DAY 2 — Project Haystack Shifts into Overdrive: “Beyond Buildings: Data Models and Project Haystack.” ControlTrends is joined by Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContext.me, in summarizing amazing Day 2 of 2017 Haystack Connect — which shifted into overdrive as Keynote speakers Rita H. Wouhaybi, Systems Architect, Intel and Milan Milenkovic, Principal, IoTsense, took the early morning stage and helped to bring the enormous macro potential of Project Haystack into perspective. It is quite clear that there are no boundaries when it comes to data and scaling opportunities — and scaling strategies. A full complement of breakout sessions followed till 5:30 PM, with themes ranging from Industrial IoT & Connected Buildings, to Project Haystack on the Energy Path, to Large Scale IoT Architectures.
DAY 3 at 2017 Haystack Connect — Meet the Power, the Progress, and the Players of Project Haystack by Day — Rockstars by Night! This ControlTrends video proves that our industry is full of superstars by day and rock stars by night. DAY 3 at 2017 Haystack Connect was another fire-hose day of new information, new perspectives, and technical insight beginning with opening remarks from Scott Muench, Vice President, J2 Innovations, followed by a special presentation from Keynote speaker, Rawlson O’Neil King, Communications Director, CABA “Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things.” Donny Walker, PE, RCDD, Partner at Newcomb & Boyd and Rawlson O’Neil King join ControlTrends and Therese to discuss some of the highlights from DAY 3. A sumptuous closing Gala Dinner was followed by the fantastic Interoperable Blues Band.
EasyIO World Conference, May 21-23, 2017, Manchester United, UK. EasyIO is changing the way building automation is deployed and is also reducing the cost. This Global Partner Event will unveil and officially release awesome new products and features to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings. We have a reputation to hold up for our amazing event programming, so this edition will definitely not disappoint you. Amsterdam, Madrid and Paris were previous hosts. For this year the surprising city of Manchester will be the place to be. We would love to invite you.
Episode 224: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending May 7, 2017 features interviews with Leroy Walden, President and Chief Consultant, Highrose Consultants; Fred Gordy, Director of Cyber Security, Intelligent Buildings; and Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings. Also in Episode 224: 2017 CGNA Synergy Conference highlights; EasyIO’s Global Event update and the 9-video EasyIO Training Video series is now available; 2017 Haystack Connect starts May 8th; and much more!
A Note to the Smart Buildings Controls Industry. This just in from Lynxspring’s Marc Petock: Lynxspring is pleased to announce that we will be demonstrating our latest edge-to-enterprise and IoT solutions at Haystack Connect 2017. The biennial Conference of the Project Haystack Organization is being held this year at the Saddlebrook Resort Tampa, May 8 through May 10, 2017. These solutions will be demonstrated in Lynxspring’s Booth # E11. Lynxspring is a founding member and holds a seat on the Board of Directors of Project Haystack, and is a Sponsor of the Haystack Connect 2017 Conference.
ControlTrends takes a deep-dive into CyberSecurity with our interview with two top industry experts, Leroy Walden, President and Chief Consultant, Highrose Consultants and Fred Gordy, Director of Cyber Security, Intelligent Buildings. Listen in, as Leroy and Fred advise the ControlTrends Community about attending industry events that are real opportunities to get up-to-speed with threat assessment, risks, and best practices — to deal effectively with the cyber terrorism. Both experts caution that the liability to safeguard networks is being shifted onto the shoulders of the system integrator integrating the building automation system into the network. Be sure to contact Leroy Walden at (lcwalden256@gmail.com) — to take advantage of Leroy’s $100.00 discount for the 2017 Realcomm|IBcon Conference and Smart Buildings Integrator Summit, June 13th-15th in San Diego, CA.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings May, 2017 Theme: Our second interview is with Automated Buildings owner and editor, Ken Sinclair, who discusses the many IoT challenges and trends facing our industry along with his May theme, “The Uberization of Comfort, Satisfaction, and Wellbeing.” “Occupant self-love” continues to improve its presence and functionality — integrating itself more readily into our building automation industry with a host of IoT applications that input the human whereabouts — and its condition, into the building network of things. Click here to read another great edition of Automated Buildings.
ControlTrends Interview with ACI’s Barry Gordon at the 2017 CGNA Synergy Conference. ControlTrends had the opportunity to visit with Barry Gordon, Senior Sales Engineer at ACI, who was excited to tell us about ACI’s new DLP Low Pressure Transmitter. The DLP Series is based on a piezoresistive, silicon sensing element which senses Differential Pressure and provides an analog output. The hinged cover on the DLP can be easily opened using the integrated locking tab on the side of the enclosure. This allows for easy access to the zero function and field selectable ranges and outputs.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: Catch all the excitement as the global ControlTrends Community crowns the 2016 Light Commercial Controls Solution of of the Year Award winner. In this case, it will take two crowns as both KMC Controls and Proton Optergy get recognized for their outstanding solutions. KMC’s mission is to “provide innovative, intuitive building automation and Smart Buildings Controls solutions from responsive and supportive people,” and the KMC Commander delivers as an open building automation and Smart Buildings control system that is open, secure, and scaleable. “Proton by Optergy became the first true open supervisor and controller that can interoperate with any BACnet unitary controller and is 100% web based. It has all the needed tools to setup, operate and maintain the system, and has all of this at economical price points.”
The Complete EASYIO FG Training Series. In this 9 part video training course, Mike Marston shows you everything you need to know to get up and running with one of the most powerful controllers in Smart Building controls — the EASYIO FG controller. Learn how to program the controller, and create graphics and analytics. Click here to go to the EASYIO FG Training Course.Great job Mike!
The EasyIO Global Partner Event agenda has been set with the following speakers: David Kipling, vice president of Jabil Circuit Inc. (US), Andrius Jasiulionis, automation engineer of Helgevold Electro (Norway), Jason Briggs, CEO of J2 Innovations (US). And of course, key people from EasyIO will tell you all about where we are going as a company: Johan Schakenraad, President & CEO of EasyIO Europe B.V., Mike Marston, vice president of EasyIO Holdings Pte Ltd., Lim Hoon Chiat, CTO/R&D EasyIO Holdings Pte Ltd., and EasyIO Tech Team. But there’s more than just the conference: an informal pre-event gathering at the Hard Rock Café on Sunday evening May 21, dinner and awesome entertainment on Monday evening, May 22, and an exclusive VIP training for CPT Tools and EasyStack on Tuesday, May 23. Check out the full program.
Episode 223: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Apr 30, 2017 takes on a special dimension as we videoed the show on location at the CGNA Synergy Conference at the Peabody Hotel, in Memphis, TN. Additionally, EasyIO releases VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh and Live Wiresheets; Hepta Systems’ Jason Houck, Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator on ControlTalk Rewind; Acuity Brands Introduces SiteView Energy Solution; AHR interview with Dimitri Papadopoulos of Johnson Controls; ControlTrends Rewind with Therese Sullivan; and new Edge Controllers from Lynxspring.
ControlTrends CGNA Vendor interviews with Earl Doyle, Director, Product Management & Smart Systems Efficiency, VERASYS, Johnson Controls’ Plug-and Play Controls System for Light Commercial Buildings; Josh Felphrin, Senior Sales Manager, Siemens’ TRA and BT300 Solutions; Gina Elliott, Marketing Manager, Small to Mid-Markets, Schneider Electric’s New Building Insights, Small Building & Energy Management System; Aaron Gorka, Innovation Manager, ANT Technologies’Paperless, cloud-based, operational technology for HVAC & Control Contractors; Barry Gordon, Senior Sales Engineer, ACI’s New DLP Differential Low Pressure Transmitter; Maggie Talbert, North East Regional Sales Manager, Functional Devices’ new products and continued partnerships; Bill Dunkleberger, President, Blue Ridge Technologies’ BACnet Unified Lighting Solutions; and Mike Sackett, Executive Director, CGNA Elite — Industry’s Elite Working Together.
EasyIO is CHANGING the Game — Again! VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh and Live Wiresheets. EasyIO is CHANGING the Game — Again! This time with VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh, Live Wiresheets, and you can mix wired and wireless, all running BACnet IP, with free tools and no extra fees. Does it get any better? And you get to keep the labor and wiring savings, as we are not charging a premium for this awesome device. See this in Manchester, UK, May 22-23, 2017, at the Global EasyIO Partner Event.
Acuity Brands Introduces SiteView Energy Solution! Real-Time Power Metering to Manage Energy Consumption and Costs. ATLANTA – April 25, 2017 — Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) today introduced its SiteView Energy solution, which combines power metering devices and a digital dashboard, to create a detailed, real-time look at actual energy consumption within a building. The SiteView Energy solution takes advantage of software that is hosted within nLight ECLYPSE smart building-ready controllers, also from Acuity Brands, to help building owners track and analyze weekly, monthly and yearly energy data to identify trends and savings.
Catching Up with Dimitri Papadopoulos and Johnson Controls at the 2017 AHR Show. ControlTrends interview with Dimitri Papadopoulos of Johnson Controls, who tells us all about Johnson Controls’ new Niagara Analytics and the Johnson Controls new technology on display at the 2017 AHR Expo. Johnson Controls featured their FX Supervisory Controllers, which are web-based supervisory-class controllers in the Facility Explorer product family. FX Supervisory Controllers manage networks of field controllers using open communication protocols, such as such as BACnet®, LONWORKS®, and N2 protocols.
Edge Controls the Smart way to do Smart Building Controls: Lynxspring explains at the 2017 AHR Show. ControlTrends stopped by the Lynxspring booth at the 2017 AHR product show case. See what Marc Petock and Chris Ryan had to show us about the edge and Edge controllers. The Edge is the next great frontier in making smart building controls smarter.
Smart Buildings ControlTalk Rewind: Therese Sullivan. On this episode of ControlTalk Now Smart Buildings Control Rewind we feature Therese Sullivan, editor buildingcontext.me. Therese is writer/technologist and marketing professional providing news and analysis for commercial building system integrators, facilities managers and real estate professionals about innovations in building automation with emphasis on data analytics, mobile apps, cloud services and wireless networking.
Episode 222: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Apr 23, 2017 features interviews with DLR Groups’ Ruairi M. Blackwell; Drew Mire, CEO of Computrol; and Scott Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Supply. Big, big week in the HVAC Industry — several new products and releases from Honeywell, Belimo, Sierra Monitor Corporation, and KMC Controls reminds of their last order date. Johnson Control named 16th Best Corporate Citizen and Lynxspring receives Frost & Sullivan Excellence Award; Memoori – Cimetrics Podcast: Creating transparency from Building Analytics; and Fulham acquires Control Network Solutions.
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest interview is with Ruairi M. Blackwell a principal with DLR Group’s Chicago location. Ruairi leads the Building Optimization enterprise within the firm. In this role, Ruaiari is responsible for growing Building Optimization as a distinct DLR Group service area while contributing his expertise in high performance building design to benefit clients in the firm’s core market sectors. Ruairi is a respected high-performance building design expert and his aim is to elevate the built environment and restore order to the climate for future generations. Additionally, Ruairi specializes in commissioning services for new and existing buildings, building energy assessments, high performance building design, energy modeling/advanced building simulation, and measurement and verification consulting.
Frost & Sullivan Applauds Lynxspring’s Strategic Thought Leadership and Technical Excellence, Making it a Top Contender in the Smart Buildings Market. SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Based on its recent analysis of the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart buildings market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Lynxspring with the 2017 North American Award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership.
KMC Controls REMINDER – End of Life – Last order date May 1st! “As announced last year, end of life for the KMC Controls legacy BACnet controllers BAC-58XX and VAV’s BAC-7XXX is less than 2 weeks away. I know you may already be using the next generation Conquest controllers…but I wanted to send one last reminder. If you need to order these devices you must place your order no later than May 1, 2017…or sooner.”
Belimo Proudly Announces New Products and Innovations for 2017 — Get Your Access to New Pricing and Media Files. For over 40 years, Belimo has successfully focused on the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning markets. Our relationships with you and our employees are based on trust and adding value with a focus on sustained prosperity rather than short term gains. Our innovative products have always been designed to help you achieve your objectives better, faster and more economically. Investing in new technology has been a key to our success and Belimo proudly announces these new products and innovations for 2017.
Sierra Monitor Corporation Launches Cloud-Connected Network Discovery and Management Appliance for Facility Automation. BACnet Explorer NG appliance enhances device and network commissioning and integration for installers and system integrators. MILPITAS, Calif., April 18, 2017 — Sierra Monitor Corporation (OTCQB:SRMC), a provider of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions that target facility automation and facility safety requirements, today announced the availability of the BACnet Explorer NG, the industry’s first cloud-connected network discovery and management solution for BACnet networks.
Creating Transparency From Building Analytics. Great stuff from Memoori. Our friend Therese Sullivan, from Building Context, turned us on to this great Smart Buildings Resource. Here is the Audio Stream from the 4th Free Webinar in the 2017 Smart Buildings Series, sponsored by Project Haystack. Creating Transparency From Building Analytics. This was an in-depth Q&A Webinar with James Lee CEO & President of Cimetrics. We discus Jim’s recent article “Analytics Creates Transparency” and his thoughts on why he thinks analytics is the key that the industry has been waiting for to unlock the true business value from building technologies.
ControlTrends Breaking News
Honeywell Introduces New and Improved Variable Frequency Drives. Honeywell is pleased to announce the introduction of the SmartVFD HVAC2 line of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) available to all Commercial Distributors. This new offering provides a reliable, high-performing VFD that minimizes HVAC energy consumption on fans and pumps. Honeywell’s SmartVFD HVAC2 provides maximized energy savings and monitoring capabilities at an affordable price, with quality products backed by a strong 3-year warranty and solid technical support.
Fulham Acquires Control Network Solutions to Bring DALI® Control to Customers for Emerging Smart Lighting Products. CNS’s Smart Light Management Software and Technical Expertise Helps Fulham Meet Growing Demand for DALI-enabled Clever LED Drivers and Smart Lighting Controls. HAWTHORNE, Calif. – April 19, 2017 – Fulham Co., Inc., a leading supplier of lighting components and electronics for commercial and specialty applications, today announced the acquisition of the assets of partner company Control Network Solutions (CNS), the UK-based creator of the elitedali smart lighting control and management system.
Functional Devices and Contemporary Controls Smart Building winners
ControlTrends Award Highlight: 2016 Peripheral Product of The Year. Catch all the excitement as Smart Building Controls Powerhouses Contemporary Controls and Functional Devices are Awarded the Peripheral Product of The Year. Contemporary Controls designs and manufactures the system building blocks for networking, integrating and controlling automation processes where performance and reliability are important. Functional Devices, Inc. has been designing and manufacturing quality electronic devices in the United States of America since 1969.
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with Computrols’ CEO, Andrew Mire, who took the helm of VP of operations in 2014, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2017, where he manages corporate operations, Computrols’ dealer program, and remote job operations. In 1983 Computrols began providing first-rate professional technical service for large building automation systems. A complete dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction has provided valuable lessons that have carried the company for years. Simplicity, flexibility, and power are the Computrols cornerstones of success, and it is this first-hand knowledge of what’s important to customers that drives product development even today.
Hanging Out with Scott Cochrane at the 2017 AHR Show. I had a chance to catch up with one of the smartest people in Smart Buildings controls at the Distech booth. Check out what Scott Cochrane had to say about Building Automation Controls, why Cochrane is now handling Distech Controls, and the CONTROL-CON 2017 Event hosted by Cochrane Supply & Engineering, CONTROLS-CON will take place June 8th and 9th, 2017 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. This fast-paced, education-packed event will bring together hundreds of integrators and end users from throughout the United States and Canada to explore the latest technologies and possibilities of Building Controls and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Future Shock: Something to think about! Excerpt: Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected. In the US, young lawyers already don’t get jobs. Because of IBM Watson, you can get legal advice, (so far for more or less basic stuff), within seconds. With 90% accuracy, compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So, if you are studying law, stop immediately. There will be 90% fewer generalist lawyers in the future; only specialists will be needed.
Episode 221: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Apr 16, 2017 features an interview with one of the most venerated experts in the Building Automation Industry, Leroy Walden, President and Chief Consultant Highrose Consultants, LLC. Updated Ken’s Calendar details upcoming training, webinars, and major industry events; more 2016 ControlTrends Awards video highlights; new DLP pressure sensor from ACI; EasyIO’s Mike Marston and Lim Hoon Chiat discuss new product release and the upcoming EasyIO Global Conference.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: The PID Award. Join all the excitement, and I do mean EXCITEMENT, as the most exciting man in the smart buildings controls industry Roger Rebennack and Mike Marston from EasyIO (both former recipients of the PID Award) light up the crowd and announce this year’s PID Award winners.
ControlTrends Keeps an Eye on 2017 Events with Ken’s Calendar. While it has been an amazingly busy and productive year so far, many more events are on the horizon. ControlTrends will continue to post the event information as we receive notice or become aware of the event. Please note that the information is gathered from various sources, and the times, dates, and locations may have changed. Be sure to visit the appropriate website or contact the event coordinator to ensure the most up-to-date information.
Our interview this week is with Leroy Walden, LEED AP, President and Chief Consultant Highrose Consultants, who has worked in the Building Controls and Automation industry since 1978, beginning with Robertshaw Controls as an Applications Engineer. Leroy recently retired from a leading systems integration firm to pursue his passion for tracking the growing uses of technology in sustainable building operations. Listen in, as Leroy brings specific insights to smart devices and equipment and how open-source integration platforms will transform building maintenance in the coming decades. Contact Leroy ASAP (lcwalden256@gmail.com) — to take advantage of Leroy’s $100.00 discount for the 2017 Realcomm|IBcon Conference June 13th-15th in San Diego, CA.
ACI’s Differential Low Pressure Sensor has Arrived — The DLP is Available Now! ACI is combining all the best features from multiple products to create an all-encompassing differential pressure option that should make a huge impact! Every aspect of this product was analyzed and designed to maximize the value it will present to you!
Connexx Energy to Participate in US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration Smart Technologies Mission to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Lee’s Summit, Missouri, April 5, 2017: Connexx Energy (www.connexxenergy.com), a recognized developer and implementer of smart building, energy and IoT data management and visualization solutions, announced today that it will be participating in the Smart Technologies Business Development Mission to Hong Kong and Taiwan being organized by the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: The Light Commercial Control System of the Year. Light Commercial Solution of the Year Winners: KMC Commander and Proton, Optergy. KMC’s mission is to “provide innovative, intuitive building automation and Smart Buildings Controls solutions from responsive and supportive people,” and the KMC Commander delivers as an open building automation and Smart Buildings control system that is “open, secure, and scaleable.” “Proton by Optergy became the first true open supervisor and controller that can interoperate with any BACnet unitary controller and is 100% web based. It has all the needed tools to setup, operate and maintain the system, and has all of this at economical price points.”
EasyIO’s Mike Marston and Lim Hoon Chiat Discuss the FW Wireless Controller “That Will Change the World!” This is the first video of a series from EasyIO’s Mike Marston and Lim Hoon Chiat, who share their visions of the FW Series wireless controllers — that they believe will change the world of Building Automation. Lim cites how WiFi, the defacto protocol for wireless networking, has been around for over 20 years, and because it’s so pervasive and each generation is inherently compatible, it’s ideally suited for the HVAC and Building Automation industry.
EasyIO’s Mike and Lim Preview Next-Gen Smart Sensors and Introduce the Early Guns Education & Learning Program. EasyIO’s Mike Marston and Lim Hoon Chiat continue their discussion on the differences and nuances between M2M and IOT, smart sensors and edge devices, and the impact that wireless will have on the future of HVAC and Building Automation. Also, Lim’s amazing insight into programming starter kits and educational programs to kick start our next generation of system integrators and HVAC technicians.
Let’s Go to England: Last Chance for Discount to EASY IO. Manchester (UK) May 21–23, 2017. This EasyIO Global Partner Event will unveil and officially release awesome new EasyIO products and features to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings. We’re gonna reveal all the secrets of our five(!) new controllers that are coming up: the WiFi controllers FW-14 and FW-8, the WiFi VAV controller FW-8V, the powerful FS-32 and the FR-02. Register Here!
Haystack Connect 2017 Update! Keynote Speakers & Technical Program & The IBB is Getting Back Together! Make your reservations for Haystack Connect 2017! There are, technically, a lot of reasons to attend Haystack Connect 2017. Now, we added some fun ones! See below. Register Today! 3-Day Technical Conference at the Saddlebrook Resort Tampa: See the very latest software and hardware solutions for the Building Industry exhibited in the Vendor Showcase. Meet and network with leading experts in our industry that are implementing real solutions that combine diverse devices, systems, data and protocols.
LIGHTFAIR 2017 PHILADELPHIA — PRE-CONFERENCE MAY 7-8, TRADE SHOW & CONFERENCE MAY 9-11. Trade Show + Conference + Networking = See It All. LIGHTFAIR 2017. The world’s leading manufacturers will be showcasing their latest products in IoT (Internet of Things), intelligent lighting, LEDs, decorative lighting, daylighting, exterior lighting and more. Experts from around the world will be leading courses on the forward thinking topics in lighting design and technology.
DDC Training with the BAScontrol22: For Colleges and Training Centers Interested in Providing Direct Digital Control (DDC) System Training. April 2017 – For colleges and training centers interested in providing Direct Digital Control (DDC) system training, Contemporary Controls recommends using the BAScontrol22 unitary controller and the free Sedona Application Editor (SAE). The BAScontrol22 is an ideal controller for training technicians on programming DDCs and use of unitary building automation controllers.
Increasing Efficiency for Better Business — New Siemens Website Launches Next Week! Mark your calendar for next week. That’s when the new Siemens partner’s website will launch! The new site will replace the Vantage, Beacon and Infolink sites which you may have used in the past. By the end of next week, all links will take you directly to the new site. What can you expect? A product-centric site that is organized around the products you sell and the information you need to succeed; Updated content and a systematic approach to managing important assets; and Account registration that has self-service capabilities.
Episode 220: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Apr 2, 2017 features video coverage of the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Young Gun recipients and Belimo’s Award-winning Energy Valve. News of the Week: Roger Rebennack takes over as CEO at Jackson Controls; Honeywell releases WEBs-N4.2.36.38; 2017 Project Haystack Announces Keynote Speakers; EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United, UK, Early Bird Tickets now available; CABA’s upcoming Intelligent Buildings & Digital Home Forum in Silicon Valley; Stromquist’s Tim Chamblee Valve training; Eric Kreuter explains KMC’s SimplyVAV; Siemens’ Talon Building Controls Systems overview; and Ken Sinclair’s April edition of Automated Building.
Honeywell Announces Release of WEBs-N4.2.36.38. Honeywell is pleased to announce the release of the WEBs-N4.2.36.38 software that is packaged with Spyder, Stryker Venom and BACnet FF Tstat programming tools. Main Features: * This is a packaged release with Honeywell tools within the Niagara N4.2.36.38 software build. * This release Fixes software issues after the release of WEBs-N4.2.36, including the CCN driver issues. * There is no cost to upgrade for existing N4.x users. However for other users of AX (3.8 and below) software, please use SMA part number to upgrade to N4.x software.
Project Haystack Announces Keynote Speakers and Technical Program for Haystack Connect 2017 Conference. This year’s conference will bring together industry leaders, end-users and corporate representatives involved in automation, control and Internet of Things applications to share the latest techniques for managing, presenting and analyzing the vast amount of data generated by today’s smart devices and equipment systems in applications including intelligent buildings, energy, HVAC, lighting, remote monitoring, and other smart-device applications. Rita H. Wouhaybi,Ph.D., and Milan Milenkovic are the Keynote Speakers for the third biennial Haystack Connect Conference 2017 beginning May 8, 2017 at the Saddlebrook Resort Tampa.
Congratulations to Roger Rebennack! The “most exciting man in the controls industry” and our friend Roger Rebennack is moving on from Honeywell to become the CEO of Jackson Controls in Indianapolis. Roger has been at Honeywell for 30 years and spent time in the Alarm Monitoring Security & Fire division, the HBS Branch Division, Environmental Controls Division and at Tridium. Rog will bring his skills and passion to Jackson Controls, who is the Honeywell Indiana Authorized System Distributor (ASD) and has been a HVAC controls distributor for 40 years that handles Honeywell, Vykon, Johnson, Belimo and Tridium.
EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United, UK, May 21, 2017 — Early Bird Tickets for EasyIO Global Conference now available! Our Global EasyIO Partner Event in Manchester (UK) is coming up May 21-23, 2017. The conference will unveil and officially release awesome new products and features — to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings. Consider this is your official invitation! EasyIO is changing the way building automation is deployed and is also reducing the cost. This Global Partner Event will unveil and officially release awesome new products and features to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings.
CABA Intelligent Buildings & Digital Home Forum — April 26-28, 2017 in Silicon Valley. Attend the CABA Forum — this April 26-28, 2017 in Silicon Valley, and learn about the latest research in our industry from the many research analysts and research firms attending. Industry thought leaders will be providing their insights during the many technical panel discussions and during the four (4) connected home and intelligent buildings research workshops.
Everything You Wanted to Know about Control Valves… but were afraid to ask. Valves, Valves everywhere. If you work with Building Automation or Smart Building Controls or do HVAC maintenance in buildings you cannot escape control valves. Join Stromquist & Company‘s master trainer Tim Chamblee as he trains control pros on everything they need to know about control valves. If you are interested in attending one of Tim’s classes call Nancy at 800.241.9471 and ask for a schedule.
VVT Retrofit made easy
The Easy Way to Do A VVT Retrofit. Variable air volume projects can represent tremendous opportunities for contractors serving commercial and institutional customers. But even in today’s world of open system communications, digital VAV projects have been unnecessarily complex. Until now. Watch as Eric Kreuter explains SimplyVAV, KMC’s digital product that fits that universal replacement need and does so in a fashion that is nearly as straightforward as that old thermostat. It is, in fact, your ticket to today’s digital VAV project marketplace.
Siemens’ TALON Building Control System – Making the Most of Your Building Investment. Today’s buildings are becoming increasingly complex. Building automation systems don’t just control the basics. They regulate airflow, monitor energy use and are being called upon to integrate with security, lighting, and other systems throughout buildings to deliver comfort, safety and energy efficiency. Choosing a TALON® system can help you get the most out of your building, today and tomorrow.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: The Young Guns. ControlTrends is extremely proud of the Young Gun Awards and what we believe to be another important industry initiative to draw young talent to our industry. There is no better way to enhance the image of the HVAC Industry than recognizing young professionals — who, early in their careers, have already made an important contribution or significant impact within their organization — that serves well as career role model.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings April, 2017 Theme: In Search of the “Make Me Happy Button” – Claiming our Piece of the Productivity Puzzle. Most of us see that the forces driving much of our industry are changing faces, morphing from the owners’ countenance to the occupier’s smile or frown. The seriousness of these new metrics, criteria, and occupant feedback cannot be underestimated. In this April edition of Automated Buildings, Ken Sinclair, owner and editor, continues his elucidation on this most worthy topic.
The Belimo Energy Valve Wins Energy Savings Solution of The Year. The Belimo Energy Valve was awarded the 2016 Energy Savings Solution of the Year the 2016 ControlTtends Awards. This is not the Belimo Energy valve’s first win in this category, having won in 2014 and 2015. This unique control valve combines the Belimo pressure independent flow strategy with a supply and return temperature sensor which allows the valve to control off of Delta T. Not only do you have BTU data but you can gain an additional 20-30% energy savings. Well done Belimo.
What is Scrum and Why is it Important? In Ken Sinclair’s April issue of Automated Buildings.com. Brad White from SES Consulting answers this question in a very timely article called Cope with the IOT Revolution by Staying Agile. I encourage you to read this article to understand the importance of this video and why Scrum might be the tool you need to keep up with the Smart Building IOT revolution.
Episode 219: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 19, 2017 Congratulates Distech Controls, Honeywell Spyder, Blue Ridge Technologies, and EasyIO. We bring you AHR Coverage of Functional Devices and Siemens’ 2017 Automation Partner Summit from San Antonio, TX. Don’t miss the latest updates from Vykon Enterprise Security, EasyIO CPT, and Lynxspring.
Sporting a 10-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, Josh Felperin, Siemens’ Senior Sales Manager, tells us what’s in store for the 350-plus Summit partners attending the 3-day Siemens Partner Summit. Featuring DXR training; golfing at the on-site JW Marriott TPC course; various breakout business sessions and technical sessions, mixed with major league fun and evening entertainment, this is the Siemens event of the year.
The 2016 ControlTrends Awards VAV Controller of The Year — Goes to Distech Controls. Who makes the best VAV Controllers on the planet? According to the global ControlTrends Community that would be Honeywell and Distech. Congratulations to these two fine companies for being selected as co-winners of the 2016 ControlTrends Awards VAV controller of the year.
ControlTrends watches on at the busy Siemens’ Talon Partner Vendor Show as Bob Byron demos the latest features of Siemens’ RDY2000 commercial thermostat. When used with the Siemens QPA CO2 sensor, the RDY2000 can provide a very well-priced, yet very effective solution to meet ASHRAE’s minimum fresh air requirements.
VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisor Updates. Dear VYKON Partner, Tridium has issued a software patch for a recently discovered technical issue affecting VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisors that use an MSSQL database. When updating these VYKON Enterprise Security Supervisors to version 2.3.19.5, the update does not complete, and the MSSQL database is rendered unusable.
Siemens’ Senior Sales Director, Building Automation, Scott Hamilton shares with us that this is the 20th Siemens Partner Summit, celebrating the accomplishments of the best integrators and control contractors in the country and how grateful Siemens is for their partnerships and success. Later, at the Awards Banquet, these high-performers would be recognized for their continued growth and success. Scott must be getting it right — he’s already got a boulevard named after him!
EasyIO March Newsletter — Updates for CPT Tools and FG firmware. CPT Tools and the firmware of our FG series got a major update. In this newsletter we will share the most important things of that update with you. By clicking on the blue buttons below, you will be able to download the latest versions. If you are interested in more details, you can have a look at the change log.
Blue Ridge Technologies Wins Lighting Control Solution of the Year. Congratulations to Bill Dunkleberger and the team from Blue Ridge Technologies for being Awarded the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Lighting Controls Solution of the Year by the global ControlTrends Community. Bill and his team provide a very powerful and easy to use lighting solution. Blue Ridge has developed an approach called Unified Lighting Control. Unified Lighting Control completes the BAS, incorporating lighting and HVAC controls on the same network. This network consolidation eliminates surplus hardware required for stand-alone and gateway lighting control.
30 Minutes with Lynxspring Webinar Series — Niagara 4 Hierarchies. Join Lynxspring for the next “30 Minutes with Lynxspring”, their monthly webinar series hosted by Lynxspring subject matter experts and special guests scheduled. Due to schedules, this month’s session will take place on Wednesday, March 22nd at 12:00 PM CST. Amanda Toomey, IEC Developer and a member of Lynxspring’s Training Team will look at Niagara 4 Hierarchies. Amanda will examine all facets of creating a user-friendly data-model-based navigation tree in Niagara 4, using the new hierarchies feature.
Check out new products from Functional Devices
Functional Devices Rocks the 2017 AHR Show. Ken stopped by the Functional Devices booth at the 2017 AHR Show and spoke with Maggie Talbert, Functional Devices‘ North East Sales Manager, Inc. Maggie reviews several new products including the PSH550-UPS-BC. Functional Devices, Inc. a leading manufacturer of high quality, contractor-friendly products since 1969, was a co-winner of the 2016 ControlTrends Peripheral Product of the Year
Episode 218: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 12, 2017 features our interview with one of the most knowledgeable experts in the HVAC Industry, Scott Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Supply & Engineering out of Detroit, MI., who welcomes the ControlTrends Community to join Cochrane Supply in celebrating their 50th anniversary in grand style this June, at the Controls-Con. Register now for the EasyIO Global Partners May Event in Manchester, UK and 2017 Haystack Connect, in Tamp, FL; CGNA and Schneider Electric present Building Insights; Tridium’s Software Maintenance Agreement update; and more 2016 ControlTrends Awards video highlights.
CGNA Web Institute’s Presentation of Schneider Electric’s Building Insights – Control and Management – A Game Changer for Small Buildings. CGNA’s Jim Hayman and Peter Phan host David Moody, Schneider Electric’s North American Sales Support Manager, who rolls out a new Schneider Electric solution — to be made available from a CGNA Member Distributor near you. Introducing Schneider Electric’s Building Insights — a cloud-based Solution for Multi-site Energy Management that is a game-changer for small buildings.
Tridium Announces Important Changes to Niagara 4 Software Maintenance Agreements. Dear VYKON Partner, The best way to reduce risk and stay current is to pair Niagara with a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA). This is especially true with Niagara 4 because of all that’s new about this next-generation software release. Please note that effective April 1, 2017, Niagara 4 SMAs will change in the following ways: * Restriction from stocking extended maintenance: Due to the nature of the extended maintenance model, Tridium will restrict the stocking of extended maintenance parts. * Removal from WEB Channel: Those with the ability to access and purchase through WEB Channel will not have the option to purchase extended maintenance parts via WEB Channel. * Maximum maintenance period: Maintenance cannot be purchased for any period beyond December 31, 2025 (i.e. 10 years from the release of Niagara 4). Please contact us if you have questions. As always, we appreciate your business.
ControlTrends is the source for HVAC and Smart Building News
IFSEC Global — Nominate Your Pick for the Most Influential People in Security and Fire 2017. Nominate your pick for the most influential people in security and fire 2017! We’re giving away £100 Amazon vouchers for the 5 most well-argued nominations. This year we’re revamping the process: nominations only count if accompanied by explanations and we’re breaking the list down into categories to make it more representative of the industry as a whole. Results will be announced in the IFSEC Security Briefing on 11 April 2017.
AWE USA 2017: Auggie Award Nominations Now Open — Augmented and Virtual World SuperStars. AWE USA 2017 is shaping up to be our biggest event yet. We’ve just added Google Tango, Oculus, Sketchfab and Unity to our line up which already included the likes of ODG, Samsung, Meta, Intel, Microsoft, Huawei, Wayfair, NASA and more. Check out all of the participating organizations on our website. Santa Clara, California May 31-June 2, 2017. Register here.
ControlTalk NOW Interview with one of the most knowledgeable experts in the HVAC Industry, Scott Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Supply & Engineering out of Detroit, MI., who welcomes the ControlTrends Community to join Cochrane Supply in celebrating their 50th anniversary in grand style this June, at the Controls-Con 2017, proudly hosted by Cochrane Supply & Engineering. CONTROLS-CON will take place June 8th and 9th, 2017 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. This fast-paced, education-packed event will bring together hundreds of integrators and end users from throughout the United States and Canada to explore the latest technologies and possibilities of Building Controls and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Meet the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Executives of The Year. One of the evening’s most exciting highlights is the Executive of the Year Award. Special Congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Executive of the Year — Small Manufacturer: Terry Swope, Lynxspring and Troy Schwenn, ACI and the 2016 ControlTrends Executive of the Year — Large Manufacturer: Jenny Stentz, Johnson Controls and Martin Villeneuve, Distech Controls!
EasyIO Global Partner Event will unveil and officially release awesome new products and features to further enhance building and energy solutions for all types of buildings. ndor/easy-io/03/easyio-world-conference-manchester-united-uk-22-may-2017-early-bird-tickets-for-easyio-global-conference-now-available/”>EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United, UK – 22 May 2017 — Early Bird Tickets for EasyIO Global Conference now available!
The 2016 ControlTrends Awards Building Automation Controls System of The Year. Watch all the excitement as Johnson Controls wins one of the most prestigious awards of the evening, the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Building Automation Control System of the Year Award. Special thanks to our guest presenters — Realcomm|IBcon’s Howard Berger and Lisa Woods.
Haystack Connect 2017 Promo Video — May 8th-10th at Saddlebrook Resort, Tampa, FL. A Unique Conference: The building automation, energy efficiency, and IoT markets have a variety of events. Some are under the control of a single manufacturer. Some are large conferences where the needs of systems integrators, technology vendors and their customers are lost in a sea of unrelated products and content that are not relevant. Haystack Connect directly serves the needs of the community that is on the leading edge of applying smart data, smart devices, smart equipment and smart building technologies to create a more efficient and sustainable world. Register here.
Episode 217: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Mar 5, 2017, features an in-depth interview with Master Systems Integrator, Jason Houck of Hepta Systems and coverage of the Sedona Alliance update from Contemporary Controls; Automated Buildings’ March edition; KMC Controls at 2017 AHR; SK Foo, winner of the 2016 ControlTrends Support Person of the Year, Small Manufacturer; CABA’s “Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things” research project; Intel® becomes a Founding Member of Project Haystack; 2016 ControlTrends Hall of Fame Inductees; and Mena CMO 2017.
In the News: The Sedona Alliance. Downers Grove, Illinois (January, 2017) – The Sedona Alliance, which represents the interests of developers and users of an open control language technology called Sedona Framework, has launched a website at www.sedona-alliance.org. Developed by Tridium Inc., Sedona Framework is a software environment designed to make it easy to build smart, networked, embedded devices which are well suited for implementing control applications.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: The Hall of Fame Inductions. Watch the 2016 ControlTrends Awards highlight of the evening as Jack McGowan, Steven Bushby, and Ken Sinclair are inducted into the ControlTrends Awards Hall of Fame. In recognition of his career contributions to the BACnet protocol, Steven Bushby was also inducted into the BACnet International Hall of Fame. Be sure to check out the bonus track at the end of the video.
Mena CMO 2017: Championing Digital Ecosystems. Guy Hughes-Wilson, Vice President of Sales – Western Europe from BBC Worldwide is keynote speaker for ACI’s MENA CMO Conference: Championing Digital Ecosystems, scheduled for the 15th to 16th May 2017 in Dubai, UAE. Guy is the true definition of a modern marketer who is responsible for commercial revenues across all BBC platforms; (TV, online, app and mobile) for clients in Western Europe, and for leading the sales teams based in London and Paris. In the 2014/2015 year, Guy delivered 55% of the annual revenue growth.
ControlTalk NOW Interview with Jason Houck, CTO at Hepta Sysytems. Jason discusses Hepta Systems‘ early adoption of IT expertise and Hepta’s continued recognition as one of North America’s top Master Systems Integrators — and some of the award-winning projects that serve as Hepta Systems’ bonafide credentials, Additionally, Jason tells the ControlTrends Community about the The Panel Shoppe.
CABA completes “Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things” Research Project. The Continental Automated Buildings Association is pleased to announce that it has completed its “Intelligent Buildings and the Impact of the Internet of Things” research project. This landmark research study was a major initiative of the CABA Research Program, which offers a range of opt-in technical and advisory research services designed to provide industry stakeholders with collaborative research and R&D opportunities. The CABA Intelligent Buildings Council, a core working council of CABA, commissioned the landmark research project to examine the impact of IoT related to intelligent buildings.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings March, 2017 Theme: “Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness.” Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings continues his thought process on how our industry is very well-suited to utilize the evolving social media connections available to us, in terms of feedback — to participate in the wellness and productivity campaigns emerging from every aspect and dimension of the building space. As Ken’s March, 2017 Automated Buildings theme suggests: “Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness,” we need get more active in understanding and processing these new user-metrics, because we are in a prime position to take advantage of the benefits.
KMC Controls at 2017 AHR. With a record attendance, it was no wonder AHR 2017 was so impactful for so many. For us at KMC, the people we had the pleasure to meet and the conversations we had were fantastic. Plus, the feedback we received when sharing our innovative solutions solidified our optimism for the rest of the year (and beyond!) In our booth, we shared product enhancements and features for our latest IoT and automation solution. KMC Commander, KMC Conquest, KMC Connect, KMC Connect Lite, and KMC Converge.
Project Haystack Organization Announces Intel® Joins as a New Founding Member. This just in… Richmond, Virginia – March 3, 2017 – Project Haystack (www.project-haystack.org), a non-profit, 501(c) organization focused on developing common standards to streamline the interchange of data among today’s smart devices, systems and equipment, today announced that Intel® has joined the Project Haystack Organization as a Founding Member and will hold a seat on the Board of Directors. “Having Intel join the Project Haystack Organization is very exciting for us,” said John Petze, Executive Director of Project Haystack.“
2016 ControlTrends Awards Highlight: Best Tech Support Person and Small Manufacturer of The Year. Watch the excitment as Pete Walsh from Columbus Temperature Control Co. and Jim Hayman from CGNA present the Best Technical Support Person of the Year Award — Small Manufacturer, to SK Foo from Easy IO, and Vendor of Year — Small Manufacturer, to Contemporary Controls. Congratulations and Great Job!
Episode 215: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Feb 19, 2017 features interviews with EasyIO’s VP Worldwide Sales, Mike Marston, and Automated Buildings owner and editor, Ken Sinclair. Don’t miss Therese Sullivan’s coverage of the ControlTrends Awards, Optergy’s Proton video, BACnet International’s Awards, and the new records set at the 2017 AHR Expo.
Therese Sullivan, Mike Marston, Ken Sinclair, 2017 AHR Expo Records,
Therese Sullivan’s “How 2016 CTA-Goers Made It Their Night.” By Therese Sullivan, editor of BuildingContext.me. To watch Ken Smyers and Eric Stromquist manage every detail of the ControlTrends Awards is a lesson in how to be the ultimate hosts. They made it happen on January 29, 2017, at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, NV. But, as if by magic – and there was a lot of that — the party moved out of their hands and seemed to be owned by everyone else in the room at large. The way the community is embracing this event is a sure sign that the CTAs will live on for many years to come. The CTAs have become an important night to many, and serve a variety of community-building functions.
ControlTrends covers the Optergy smart building control system
A Sneak Peak at Proton Optergy. ust got this video from our friend Steve Guzelimian. Steve is bringing the Proton Optergy smart buildings solution to North America. Proton won the global ControlTtrends Awards for Light Commercial Solution of the Year, and is a viable competitor in the “Race to the Small Space“. After seeing this cool video, look for Optergy to be a competitor in the Most Impactful Video Award at the 2017 ControlTrends Awards. You can hear what Steve had to say about Optery’s North American Strategy on the November 20th Episode of ControlTalk Now The Smart Buildings Video and Podcast.
ControlTalk NOW’s first interview is a ControlTrends Awards wrap-up with EasyIO’s Mike Marston, on his way to Australia, after finishing a 2-day training session in Pittsburgh, PA. EasyIO is people, products, and applied technology on the move. Congratulations to EasyIO for winning four ControlTrends Awards. The EasyIO FW-14 wireless controller is only getting better! Register now for the EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United UK – 22 May 2017.
ControlTalk NOW’s second interview is with Ken Sinclair, who reviews the Connection Community Collaboratory session at the 2017 AHR Expo, the ControlTrends Awards, and previews the theme of his 2017 March edition of Automated Buildings “Engaging Satisfaction & Wellness.” Ever insightful, here’s a piece from Ken’s editorial: “I am in awe of the power bestowed upon us and our potential as an industry to have a significant impact on the wellness and overall satisfaction of the occupants of our automated, connected, smart, living, buildings. Increasing satisfaction and wellness by engagement means creating a dialog path that flows both ways and is a giant first step for our industry’s entry into the productivity puzzle and its lucrative paybacks.”
BACnet International Awards at the 2017 ControlTrends Awards
The 2017 BACnet International Awards Presentation. As we begin our video highlights from the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, we want to give special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor BACnet International. The BACnet protocol is at the heart of so many of the building automation and smart building control systems, that we thought it only appropriate to begin with a tribute to the dedicated, hard working men and women that make BACnet so great.
using People and Smart Buildings Technology
Ken Sinclair’s Connection Community Collaboratory at AHR Expo 2017. “Power to the People, Power to the People, Ride on…”These lyrics are in a song written by the great John Lennon. If John had known our friend Ken Sinclair or attended his Connection Community Collaboratory, the lyrics would have been more like this: “Power of the People, Power of the People, Ride on” Everyday we see technology advancements in the Smart Building’s controls market, better controllers, better software and better analytics. Is there a correlation between how good a technology can be and the people that use it? This is just one of the questions that, the ever insightful, Ken Sinclair, poses to a group of Industry Experts at this year’s Connection Community Collaboratory, entitled “The Power of People, an Industry Discussion.”
2017 AHR Expo in Las Vegas Breaks Three All-Time Records For Overall Show Attendance, Size. WESTPORT, Conn., February 17, 2017 – The International Exposition Company announced today that the 2017 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), held January 30 through February 1 in Las Vegas, has officially broken three of the Show’s all-time records. With 68,615 attending the 2017 Show, AHR Expo superseded its former all-time attendance record of 61,674 (set at the 2015 Show in Chicago) by 11.2 percent. This number was also 28.7 percent greater than the overall attendance (totaling 53,324) at the last AHR Expo held in Las Vegas in 2011.
Episode 214: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Feb 12, 2017 features highlights from the 2016 ControlTrends Awards including the Women of the Year Award co-winners Johnson Controls’ Renee Joseph and Tridium’s Jenny Graves. Congratulations to 2016 PID Award Winner, Sarah Monteleone from Connect-Air International and the 2016 Young Gun Recipients. Get the latest on Sierra Monitor’s and Lencore’s Sound Masking Technology; registration for Lynxspring’s next 30 Minute webinar; Early Bird registration for the 2017 Haystack Connect has been extended till February 28th, and keep current with industry events with Ken’s Calendar.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Woman of the Year Co-winners: Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls and Jenny Graves, Tridium. One of the truly great highlights of the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, was Jenny Stentz and Gina Elliott presenting the newest ControlTrends Awards category, the Woman of the Year. Twelve of the most distinguished and successful women in the HVAC and Building Automation industries were recognized for their outstanding career achievements: Sarah Monteleone, Connect Air; Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls; Lisa Hickey, Belimo; Angie Jarvis, ProLon; Jenny Graves, Tridium; Amy Doran, Alerton; Annette Clayton, Schneider Electric; Laura Kevitt, Vykon; Monica Ferraro, Distech; Ruth Hershey, Siemens; Lindsay Baker , Comfy; and Therese Sullivan, buildingcontext.me. From this amazing group of women, special congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Woman of the Year Co-winners: Renee Joseph, Johnson Controls and Jenny Graves, Tridium!
Once Again, — See You Next Year in Chicago! 2017 ControlTrends Awards will be in Chicago, January 21, 2018. Once again, a very special thanks to our 2016 ControlTrends sponsors; Co-Master of Ceremonies, Marc Petock, Kim Brown; and the incredible Production, Audio, Video, and Logistic support from Rob Allen, Michael Bonner, and Stacie McCammon. We could have not done it without all of your help. See you in Chicago!
Congratulations to the 2016 Petock Award Winner — Sarah Monteleone, Vice President of Sales Connect-Air International. Congratulations to Sarah Monteleone, Vice President of Sales Connect-Air International, winner of the 2016 Petock Award. In the words of the award’s namesake, Marc Petock, “This award is given to the person who exemplifies the willingness to help our industry succeed, shares knowledge, and gives something special back to the industry. It recognizes the person who is unselfish and makes someone else’s journey a little easier, and through practice and example, makes the industry a better place. The recipient is a fierce competitor and has the desire to expand and enhance our industry without expectation.”
Haystack Connect 2017 Early Bird Registration Discount — Extended to February 28, 2017. Haystack Connect 2017, MAY 8TH – 10TH, 2017, Saddlebrook Resort Tampa & Conference Center. Early Bird Registration Discount: $795! The Early Bird Registration Discount expires at midnight on February 28th. The standard Registration fee is $895. The Haystack Connect 2017 Conference will once again, bring together systems integrators, technology providers, A&E firms, OEMs and end users who are leading the way to advance smart-device applications and the power of data that is helping to create more efficient, sustainable built environment and streamline the interoperation of the systems and devices that permeate our modern world.
Ken’s Calendar: New 30 Minutes with Lynxspring. This just in from Lynxspring: The next “30 Minutes with Lynxspring”, our monthly webinar series featuring Lynxspring subject-matter experts and special guests, continues Wednesday, February 15th at 12:00 PM CST. There is a lot going on within our industry and at Lynxspring. In this monthly edition, I will look at What’s Ahead – what’s ahead in the industry and what’s ahead at Lynxspring. When: Wednesday, February 15, 2017. Time: 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM CST. Register: Click here to register online for this “30 Minutes with Lynxspring” Webinar on February 15, 2017, 12:00 PM CST. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar session. Please contact Lynxspring if you have any questions. Call Toll Free: 877-649-5969 or send an email to: marketing@lynxspring.com.
ControlTrends is the source for HVAC and Smart Building News
In The News: Sound Masking Technology improves employee productivity by creating personal audio spaces and stopping noise pollution. Looks like our friends at Sierra Monitor and Lencore are finding another innovative way to help reduce the spend on the $300 side of the 3-30-300 dollar rule. Having two small children, I am hoping the home version of this comes out soon. This just in: Sierra Monitor Corporation (http://www.sierramonitor.com ) and Lencore (http://www.lencore.com) are creating unique “private audio clouds” for open office environments and medical facilities. Lencore’s sound masking solutions for modern workplaces, along with emergency notification solutions, make workplace environments safer and more productive. In addition, Lencore’s sound masking solutions are used in medical offices and other facilities where privacy and confidentiality is important.
Congratulations to the 2016 ControlTrends Awards Young Gun Recipients. ControlTrends is extremely proud of the Young Gun Awards and what we believe to be another important industry initiative to draw young talent to our industry. There is no better way to enhance the image of the HVAC Industry than recognizing young professionals — who, early in their careers, have already made an important contribution or significant impact within their organization — that serves well as career role model. We need to collectively seek parity and positive recognition for our HVAC industry and attract more of the young minds and talent needed to sustain our industry in the years to come. We look forward to the continuing support of the ControlTrends Community to help us identify next year’s Young Guns.
ControlTrends Keeps an Eye on 2017 Events with Ken’s Calendar. While it has been an amazingly busy and productive year so far, many more events are on the horizon. ControlTrends will continue to post the event information as we receive notice or become aware of the event. Please note that the information is gathered from various sources, and the times, dates, and locations may have changed. Be sure to visit the appropriate website or contact the event coordinator to ensure the most up-to-date information.
Episode 213: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Jan 22, 2017, sets the final stage for the 2016 ControlTrends Awards to be held in Las Vegas next Sunday evening, with a special show preview with Marc Petock, Master of Ceremonies. We thank our sponsors and the ControlTrends global community at large, for making this year’s show the biggest and best ever. Also this week, updates from Schneider Electric, KMC Controls, Optigo, Contemporary Controls, Optergy, EasyIO, and the Niagara Forum London.
ControlTalk NOW Interview with Lynxspring’s Chief Communications Officer and VP Marketing, Marc Petock. Marc gives us venerated industry insight into trends impacting and disrupting our markets and the growth of the ControlTrends Awards. As the Master of Ceremonies, Marc shares his excitement as the fifth ControlTrends Awards draws near. Marc also previews Lynxspring‘s new edge-to-enterprise and IoT solutions and service offerings for building automation, energy management and device-to-enterprise integration to be displayed in Booth # C1680 in the Building Automation and Control Showcase the AHR Expo 2017.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: KMC Controls. We’re the Experts! For nearly 50 years, KMC Controls has provided state-of-the-art building automation and control solutions to a global network of system integrators and distributors. Our products are controlling buildings of all sizes and types all around the world, including the most sustainable office building in North America. Increasing control, monitoring, and efficiency demands drive the need for flexible building automation systems. Intelligent building control systems reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs, and improve occupant health, comfort, and productivity.
BACnet MS/TP Trouble-Shooting Simplified with Innovative Product Integration from Contemporary Controls and Optigo Networks. BACnet MS/TP Trouble-Shooting Simplified with Innovative Product Integration from Contemporary Controls and Optigo Networks. Vancouver, BC, January 17, 2017 – BACnet MS/TP trouble-shooting can now be done remotely on demand or via scheduled analysis thanks to a one-of-a kind product integration from Chicago-based Contemporary Controls and Vancouver-based Optigo Networks. Using Contemporary Controls’ popular BASrouterLX to capture MS/TP traffic and Optigo Networks’ Visual BACnet for analysis, technicians will no longer need to be on-site to diagnose MS/TP issues.
OPTERGY Introduces New Product — Proton for Small Buildings! Small Buildings often have BIG Problems. Proton by Optergy aims to transform the market and bring building and energy management to all. If you are coming to the AHR EXPO 2017, in Las Vegas, please feel free to come by our booth for a conversation about what Optergy and its featured product is all about. You can find Optergy at booth C1075 in the Building Automation area.
EASYIO’s New Produal Peripherals. We are Proud to Announce that Produal is our New Partner for Building Automation Measurement! EasyIO is proud to announce that Produal is our new partner for building automation measurement. We are working jointly with these experts in measurement to offer you efficient, excellent peripheral products with a five year warranty. With this competent peripheral product program, we now aim to be a wide one-stop-shop for our EasyIO Partners.
Registration now open for Niagara Forum London! Sunday, 26 March 2017 – Tuesday, 28 March 2017 Park Plaza Westminster. Be sure to register for Niagara Forum London while space lasts! You won’t want to miss the premier conference about Internet of Things (IoT) technology and the chance to learn more about Buildings IoT, Industrial IoT and other important technology trends. This bi-annual event provides developers, building owners, engineers and executives the opportunity to engage with one another on a variety of issues related to device-to-enterprise applications and automation infrastructure.
Episode 212: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 15, 2017 introduces Tridium’s new President and General Manager, Jim Bland. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards are less than two weeks away and there is still time to vote! And, we want to remind all of our sponsors and attendees to be at the Hard Rock Cafe, on the Red Carpet, before 6:30! Be sure to visit our featured Platinum Sponsors for this week: Lynxspring, Honeywell, Blue Ridge Technologies, and Distech, and by all means, VOTE today!
2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts. If you have not voted yet, you have until January 17 to cast your votes.
ControlTrends Introduces Tridium’s New president
Meet Tridium’s New President. ohn Sublett, Tridium CTO, introduces new Tridium President and General Manager, Jim Bland to the Niagara and ControlTrends community. Jim joins Tridium from Snapdata.io, a start-up company that designs and develops sensors, data communications hardware and analytics software. He also has managed several national and global businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises.
Lynxspring to Demonstrate New Edge-to-Enterprise and IoT Solutions in the Building Automation and Control Showcase at AHR Expo 2017. LEE’S SUMMIT, MISSOURI (PRWEB) JANUARY 10, 2017. Lynxspring, Inc. (http://www.lynxspring.com), a premier developer and provider of open, IP-control solutions for building automation, energy management, cyber protection, and device-to-enterprise integration today announced they will be demonstrating their new edge-to-enterprise and IoT solutions and service offerings for building automation.
Best way to do lighting controls to make buildings smarter
Catch Up with Bill Dunkleberger and See Cool New Products from Blue Ridge Technologies. On this episode of ControlTalk Rewind we revisit Bill Dunkleberger from Blue Ridge Technologies. Bill shows us some cool new products, introduces us to ControlTrends Awards Best Technical support person nominee Christy O’Neil, and shares his thoughts on the most effective ways to do lighting in Smart Buildings. Bill is nominated for the ControlTends Executive of the Year.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: Honeywell WEBs. Honeywell is Building Automation Systems: With both Honeywell WEBs-N4 and WEBs-AX, Honeywell has the Niagara Framework-based building management solution (BMS) that takes all aspects of your building and occupant needs into consideration to maximize energy efficiency and make management of your facility simpler and more user-friendly. Add the power of Spyder® or Stryker controllers, and you’ll have the versatility to choose from a collection of best-in-class control products.
2016 ControlTrends Awards Finalist for Building Automation Control System of the Year: Distech Controls. Distech Controls‘ EC-Net building management system (BMS) is a comprehensive Web-based platform powered by the Niagara Framework®. The open structure of EC-Net building management system (BMS) creates a common development and management environment for the integration of BACnet®, LONWORKS®, Modbus, and other standards. More than a building management system, EC-Net system provides all the tools you need to gain intelligence into your buildings’ performance and arm you with the ability to rapidly react to any situation that may adversely affect energy costs, business performance, and ultimately, your bottom line.
Episode 211: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 8, 2017 features our interview with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, who in his January, 2017 edition, continues his prescient insight into the future of our industry and talks about AB’s new Mission Statement to create a change in thinking and attitudes — and bringing satisfaction and comfort to the forefront as the new Measured Variables. Additionally, we review five more nominees for the 2016 Most Impactful Video category. Make sure to Vote for the 2016 ControlTrends Awards, which will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe, January 29, 2017!
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Introducing FIN 4.0. A lot has been going on here at J2 Innovations! We recently announced our game-changing technology FIN 4.0 along with exciting new FIN Certified Hosts platforms. Check out the video below to experience first hand how FIN 4.0 uses tagging, data modeling, and HTML 5 to fundamentally change our industry.
Energy Department Launches New Manufacturing USA Institute Focused on Recycling and Reusing Materials. As part of the Manufacturing USA initiative, today the Energy Department announced its new Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, which will be headquartered in Rochester, New York and led by the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance. REMADE will leverage up to $70 million in federal funding, subject to appropriations, and will be matched by $70 million in private cost-share commitments from over 100 partners.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings January, 2017 Theme: “Our Assets are People, not Technology.” Don’t miss this prescient interview with Ken Sinclair. We might suppose that it was the relentless rays of disruptive IoT light recently shone on our industry, that inspired Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, to rewrite his Automated Buildings’ mission statement, entitled: “Be the Catalysis/Harbinger of the IoT Future of Building Automation.” Yet, the real focus of the AB’s January, 2017 edition is the concept that people are still our greatest asset, not technology. As Ken reminds us, “We need to focus instead on our only assets, our people who have all been through several technology shifts in their life. They have seen hardware evaporate into software and become data in the IoT cloud or processes acted on at the edge.”
2016 ControlTrends Awards Details for Attendees. The 2016 ControlTrends Awards will be held on January 29, 2017 from 6:30 – 9:30 at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. Please note that the Hard Rock Café is not part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The address of the venue is: 3771 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Please plan to arrive on time as we have a packed show this year that will kick off with a special treat, and you will want to be in your seat when it starts. If you have not voted yet, VOTE NOW! You have until January 19th, to cast your vote.
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Contemporary Controls’ Understanding BACnet Part 1. Thanks to George Thomas and the team at Contemporary Controls for putting together this eight-part video series “Understanding BACnet.” Contemporary Controls is a leading global manufacturer of system building blocks for networking, integrating and controlling automation processes where performance and reliability are important.
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Johnson Controls Smart Connected Chillers. Monitor Johnson Controls Smart Connected Chillers performance from anywhere. With buildings consuming 47 percent of global energy and about half of that coming from chillers, keeping on top of chiller performance is critical, not just for efficiency, but for occupant comfort and productivity. New technologies that form the Internet of Things (IoT) are making it easier than ever to stay on top of chiller maintenance – with data available anywhere, remote monitoring and diagnostics allow service technicians to proactively tackle potential issues, making preventative care and maintenance scheduling easier than ever.
MG350 SmartX Actuator offers great havoc control
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Schneider Electric’s SmartX Actuator MG350. The Schneider Electric SmartX MG 350 is the first NEW SmartX Actuator released globally. It is designed to control two and three-way globe valves in a wide range of applications. The MG350 SmartX Actuator is the platform for the future, acting as the foundation of both a SmartStruxure solution and SmartStruxure Lite solution. The critical information delivered by the actuator helps the BMS operate at optimal efficiency.
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Johnson Controls, A New Evolution. In 1885, long before anyone talks about carbon footprints or climate change, Warren Johnson launches a company to explore new ways to harness and conserve precious energy resources. In doing so, he also launches a tradition of customer-focused innovation — a tradition that has inspired thousands of employees for more than 130 years and that continues to drive the success of Johnson Controls.
ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Jan 1, 2017 recaps the year’s major event coverage, highlights many of the 2016 Most Impactful Videos, and gives a preview of the upcoming 2016 ControlTrends Awards in Las Vegas. As always, we thank you, the global ControlTrends Community, for your continued patronage and support. 2016 was an amazing year for our industry — full of disruption, acquisitions, and growth, and from the early news and activity, and the events on the near horizon, 2017 portends to be even better. Please help us recognize the best products, solutions, and people in our industry. Cast your VOTE for 2016 ControlTrends Awards today!
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: Welcome to Alerton — An introduction to Alerton and an Alerton Building. Alerton is totally committed to helping you get the best performance from your buildings. We are a pioneer and an industry leader in providing building management solutions for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment for all types and sizes of buildings. We also help simplify building management by integrating fire, life safety, lighting, access management and other building systems.
2016 Energy Savings Solution Product of the Year Finalist: JCI VSD Active Energy. The patented active energy control Generation 2 Variable Speed Drives from Johnson Controls provides energy savings, quick easier connections, and a fast payback. These globally compliant, innovative and intuitive VSD’s allow seamless integration and can be used with Facility Explorer and other Building Automation Systems.
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: DG LOGIK’s Project Assist 2.0 for Facilities. DGLogik introduces Project Assist 2.0 for facilities, a step by step wizard that allows users to create an HTML5 interface to manage and monitor facility data. It delivers a faster, simpler and more intuitive user experience, offering full flexibility and customization without diving into the full design and development environment of DGLux5.
2016 Best Technical Support Company — Small Manufacturer Finalist: Contemporary Controls. Talk about customer support, take a look at this exciting offer from Contemporary Controls: December 2016 release – We keep reading about “easy” Modbus to BACnet gateways, but our competitors still require the user to make their own device profiles on a point-by-point basis, which can take hours of development time when you are trying to integrate a Modbus device into a BACnet inter-network. We have a much better solution for our customers – have Joe do the work!
2016 ControlTrends Highlight: On the Red Carpet at the 2015 ControlTrends Awards. 2015 ControlTrends Awards Red Carpet Interviews (Caution: Superstars and Super Heroes Entering Stage Right). Great ControlTrends Awards interviews with Ken Sinclair, Automated Buildings and Brad White, SES Engineering, discuss the Young Guns Awards (Climate Superheroes), the AHR EXPO Industry Service Award, the global growth of ControlTrends Community and Hans Kranz’s Hall of Fame induction; along with interviews with Johan Schakenraad, CEO, EasyIO Europe; Allison and Scott Cochrane, Cochrane Supply; Alerton’s Amy Doran and Kevin Callahan; and BASSG’s Alper Uzmezler.
How to protect your building automation controls systems from hackers
ControlTalk Now Rewind: Fearless Phil Zito. Check out what our friend and Smart Buildings Controls Expert, “Fearless Phil Zito”, had to say about his new book and the current state of Building Automation Controls and how hackers are getting into your building automation controls system and what you can do to stop them. Check out Phil’s list of his 10 top 2016 articles and podcasts on his Building Automation Monthly website. Phil’s mission is to provide the best online Building Automation training to prepare 20,000 people to enter the building automation space by 2025.
Building Automation and Smart Buildings best of
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: A Final Look at the 2016 ControlTrends Awards. The 2015 ControlTrends Awards were held yesterday evening at Orlando’s Hard Rock Live, located at the door step to the amazing Universal Studios. Hard Rock Live was a most befitting venue to celebrate the heroes and superstars of our HVAC and the Building Automation industries. Marc Petock and Kimberly Brown co-hosted the awards ceremony that recognized the 2015 ControlTrends heroes and superstars of the HVAC and Building Automation industry. The 2015 seven Top Gun Awards recipients were recognized (separate post to follow) as was Ed Merwin, who received the coveted Petock Award.
Smart Buildings and Building Automation Controls
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Opening Day The Niagara Summit. ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and Podcast for week ending May 15, 2016 is all about DAY 1 @ 2016 Niagara Summit in New Orleans — and another apex moment in the Building Renaissance movement, where over 1300 of the world’s top developers, programmers, building owners, engineers and executives have joined Nino DiCosmo and the Tridium staff to participate in forums, presentations and breakout sessions that will set the precedence and pace in the realm of smart, intelligent, and connected buildings. Over 300 developer partners participated in the future of Niagara 4 at the Boot Camp session. The evening Welcome Reception was kicked off in true Mardi Gras fashion with a police-escort led parade ending at the fabulous Champions Square.
ControlTrends Talks to Honeywell’s Larry Weber about smart building control
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Larry Weber at CGNA. Honeywell’s Larry Weber on Light Commercial Smart Controls — Sustain and Maintain Small to Medium Size Buildings. At the 2016 CGNA Synergy Conference, ControlTrends caught up with Honeywell’s Larry Weber, General Manager Building Control Systems (BCS) Honeywell Environmental Control and Combustion. It is quite apparent that Larry and Honeywell have their hands directly on the pulse of the Smart Buildings controls renaissance.
2016 ControlTrends HighLights: The Roger Rebennack Experience. The Roger Rebennack Experience — was held over the Memorial Holiday weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — where over 80 Honeywell customers from all parts of North America joined Roger, Honeywell, and 350,000 racing fans for the spectacular 100th Anniversary Run of the Indy 500. This 3-day extravaganza is unrivaled, mixing the thrill of the greatest race of the year with two concerts, the Indy 500 museum, celebrities, and life-long memories. Contact your Honeywell distributor or representative today and get your engines started for next year’s Roger Rebennack Experience.
2016 ControlTrends Most Impactful Video of the Year: EasyIO Europe – The Rules Have Changed. The goal of EasyIO Europe is to deliver Energy Management Systems that improve the well-being of people, by optimizing the interaction between humans, buildings, and work. We are committed to provide strategy to energy savings driven by strategic partnerships with technology leader EasyIO and complementary solutions. Our unique Energy Analyzing Dashboard Solution and FG Controllers make us an ideal value-added partner for System Integrators, OEM’s. and National Accounts.
ControlTrends covers Smart Buildings and Building Automation Controls Solutions
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Day One Recap Realcomm|IBcon. Ken Sinclair, Automated Buildings and Therese Sullivan, Building Context joined Rob Allen and ControlTrends at the end of DAY 1 outside the San Jose Convention Center, where the Jim Young, Howard Berger, and Lisa Woods and the Realcomm team successfully launched the start of IBcon 2016. Pre-conference events that brought together some of the top visionary experts from around the globe to discuss the latest trends and technologies — and present the world’s most advanced, next-gen smart building case studies. IBcon break-out sessions included the Information Systems & Smart Buildings CYBERSECURITY Forum; Intelligent Buildings Boot Camp; and Smart Building Integrator Summit.
ControlTrends covers the 2016 Real Comm Ibcon Smart Buildings conference
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: IBcon Recap. This ControlTrends Highlight takes a deeper dive into Realcomm/IBcon 2016 with Marc Petock joining us as co-host. Our first special guest was Intelligent Buildings’ Co-founder, Intelligent Buildings, Tom Shircliff, who shares his insight into some of the new technologies displayed at the show — soon to impact the industry, and the increased emphasis on water. Cyber security must be elevated to an organization’s highest priority, and physical measures, often overlooked, are of extreme importance to an effective cyber security program.
ControlTalk Now is the Weekly news source for smart building and building automation controls
2016 ControlTrends HighLights: Episode 200 of ControlTalk Now at JBC 2016. ControlTrends was delighted to bring you our 200th episode of ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending October 9th, 2016, while covering DAY 2 of the Johnson Controls’ CBC16! Providence would have us at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland, which was an ideal venue — full of special people to help us celebrate our momentous occasion. Special thanks to Roger Rebennack, Jenny Stentz, Chris Eichmann, Rick Van Buren, Russ Carfagna, John Donahue, Dave Gottfried, Jeff Hurwitz, Joe Chandler, Jim Hayman, Pete Walsh, Paul Burke, and the too numerous to name well-wishers and supporters of ControlTrends, that helped make this milestone happen!
Control Trends cover smart buildings controls company KMC
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: KMC Genius Conference. From Nashville to Chicago, and from JCI to KMC, this has been the week of Smart Buildings Controls meetings. KMC’s Genius Conference theme was “Command Your future”. KMC rolled out all the stops with a great location, great speakers, innovative ideas, and training on KMC’s new light commercial system,the Commander. KMC Commander is the most advanced Internet of Things (IoT) platform for enterprise-level building automation and control. Commander offers cutting-edge integration, analytics, and visualization technology in real-time delivered on your mobile device.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings January, 2017 Theme: “Our Assets are People, not Technology.” We might suppose that it was the relentless rays of disruptive IoT light recently shone on our industry, that inspired Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of Automated Buildings, to rewrite his Automated Buildings’ mission statement, entitled: “Be the Catalysis/Harbinger of the IoT Future of Building Automation.” Yet, the real focus of the AB’s January, 2017 edition is the concept that people are still our greatest asset, not technology. As Ken reminds us, “We need to focus instead on our only assets, our people who have all been through several technology shifts in their life. They have seen hardware evaporate into software and become data in the IoT cloud or processes acted on at the edge.”
2016 ControlTrends Highlights: Coverage of theSiemens CPS October Business National Sales Meeting in Chicago. ControlTrends coverage of the Siemens CPS Business National Sales Meeting in Chicago features interviews with John Katzmarszyk, VP Americas, Commercial Products and Solutions, who explains Siemens’ effort to be more open, honest, and engaging to their partners, make more products and solutions available, and be more effective business partners. ControlTrends’ next interview is with Siemens Territory Manager and ControlTrends Woman of the Year nominee, Ruth Hershey.
Episode 241: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast and PodCast for Week Ending October 1, 2017
Cloud-Based Light Commercial Control improves service to your customers and grow your business. Remote HVAC system monitoring and diagnostics help you better serve your customers while spending less time in your truck. 
ControlTalk NOW first guest interview is with Cochrane Supply and Engineering’s Product Manager, Nicole Conklin. Nicole shares her early experiences in the HVACR and Building Automation industries, and her rise through the ranks within one of the most progressive and successful distributors in North America. Nicole is excited about Cochrane’s new notification APP, Raven, scheduled foe launch early in 2018.
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with he Channel Company consultant, Rauline Ochs, a high-performance sales and marketing executive with deep expertise in channel and alliances industry research, client consulting and training curricula across IT, carrier service provider and operational technology vendors doing cloud and IoT business in the indirect channel, as well as facilitating The Channel Company’s IoT Advisory Board. With vast channel experience, Rauline helps to write the road map and the playbook when aof channel hits an inflection point and how to drive ROI, capture budgets, and sell to the new set decision-makers. 
ControlTalk NOW special guest, Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of 
ControlTalk NOW welcomes our first guest is IoTium’s CEO and Founder, Ron Victor. 
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest is Jason Houck, CIO of Hepta Systems and 
ControlTalk NOW first guest interview with Therese Sullivan, Principal, BuildingContext.me. Therese does a fabulous job updating the ControlTrends Community on CORE TECH 2017 and what’s new from Silicon Valley. Iot and OT on big campuses have bright futures ahead, drone cleaning crews keep your skyscrapers clean 24/7, UBER says buku city garage space available for re-purposing, Building Therapeutic Center to be the Largest Net Zero project to date, and much more. Visit Therese at 
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with SkyFoundry’s Co-Founder and Partner, John Petze. John spells it out — move forward with basic evaluations that are scalable, whether it’s at the edge on a cluster of field buses serving locally, or in the cloud on a huge Amazon server, make your decisions and base your workloads — using proven tools and accurate information. 
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest interview is Steven Guzelimian, President, 
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest interview is with Belimo’s David Alliband, Manager of Sensor Solution. David gives our ControlTrends Community an in depth insight to Belimo’s corporate philosophy and their most recent initiative to reinvent sensor technology and how with their phase one release, 
ControlTalk NOW interview with Ed Merwin, Director, Vykon Automation Energy Security. Ed brings the ControlTrends Community up-to-date with several Tridium products and programs including the release of the JACE 8000 IO R, The JACE Trad-in, Trade-up Program, Kevin Smith’s new white paper and webinar on 
ControlTalk NOW interviews with Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of 
ControlTalk NOW first interview is with Honeywell’s National Accounts Sales Leader, David Witherspoon, who shares with the ControlTrends Community his personal initiation and experience in a family business to his present position in the HVAC and Building Automation industry. David believes that Honeywell has taken the race to the small space to next level with their their new 
ControlTalk NOW second interview is with Hepta Systems’ CIO, Jason Houck, and J2 Innovations’ CEO, Jason Briggs. Jason Houck is an Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator with 
Ken Smyers and ControlTrends with Siemens Manager Control Products & Systems Ray Siu. Siemens has been a world leader in the thermostat market, particularly, in Europe and Asian markets. Siemens offers an extensive line of room and zone controllers is excited about their RDG160 series for fan coil units (3-speed or ECM fan) and heat pump applications. Stay tuned for more exciting thermostat news from Siemens.
ControlTalk NOW interview with Newcomb & Boyd’s Donny Walker, PE, RCDD (Registered Communication Distributed Designer) is one of the most informative interviews of 2017. Donny shares his extensive knowledge and experience of our industry, and some of the headwinds we are facing. Many of the disruptive forces making the most significant impacts to our industry are, in many cases, challenges offering the greatest opportunities. With engineers in Atlanta and Charleston, 
Ken’s Calendar: Belimo’s Correcting Low Delta T Webinar, Wednesday, August 23 at 1:00 PM EDT. Chilled water provided from a utility plant is commonly used in a building’s HVAC system in lieu of installing chillers. This results in lower return water temperatures which decreases the efficiency of the entire chilled water system resulting in the condition known as “Low ∆T Syndrome.” In this webinar we will review the design of a district chilled water system and discuss a study of a building where “Low ∆T Syndrome” was corrected at the point of water to air heat transfer.
ControlTalk NOW’s first interview is with industry veteran Marc Petock, 
ControlTalk NOW’s second interview is with 
ControlTalk NOW guest Mark Jewel, renowned expert trainer and coach, business consultant, and solutions designer. Selling Power magazine recently ranked Mark’s company, 
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest interview is with Steve Guzelimian, President, 
Our first guest on ControlTalk NOW is Siliocn Valley’s Josh Bradshaw, Director of Strategic Alliances at Radius Innovation & Development. Radius Discovers, Designs, Develops and Delivers bleeding edge technology innovations. Radius is the innovation and development consulting capability of Jabil ($18bn – Fortune 100 – advanced manufacturing leader). Radius’ extensive capabilities accelerate innovation projects to market in a fraction of the time, from months to weeks. Josh personally invites the ControlTrends Community to visit Radius and see and experience how technology can be put to work for you. Josh’s email address is Josh.Bradshaw @RadiusInnovation.com. Make sure to use “WFIM” to your best advantage.
ControlTalk NOW’s second guest is another chief technologist from Silicon Valley, Therese Sullivan, owner and editor of BuildingContext.me. Therese brings amazing clarity and insight to what’s really going on in this period of market disruptions and some of the important pivot points companies like Google are taking as they react to pushback to their unwanted gmail-perusaling. Also, don’t miss our second Silicon acronym of the day, “FOMO.”
Mark Jewell update! Don’t miss Mark’s Four-day Energy-focused Sales Boot Camp — Available ONLINE — Discount Code Available to ControlTrends Community. Special offer from Wall Street Journal best-selling author and award-winning sales trainer, Mark Jewell. More than a thousand professionals have taken Mark’s four-day energy-focused Sales Boot Camp over the last five years. More than 10,000 people have taken one- or two-day versions of this training. This month, for the first time time in five years, Mark is making his award-winning four-day sales training available ONLINE, both a virtual remote version of the actual 7/24-7/27/17 San Diego event, and afterwards online/on-demand for anyone who can’t make those four days in July. As a special accommodation for us, he’s making this training available to the ControlTrends Community for a reduced rate of $920.00. 
ControlTalk NOW’s featured guest is Matthew Schwartz, P.E., CEM, CBCP, 
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest is Ken Sinclair, owner and editor of 
Wanted: Power Partners for the SCTE•ISBE Energy 2020®/CABA Smart Zone at Cable-Tec Expo®. The electric atmosphere of SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo® is a galvanizing force for advancing the industry toward the cost-saving goals of Energy 2020®. And, the landmark energy program will get an added energy boost at Expo 2017 courtesy of 
The Smart Building Controls Renaissance. 
ControlTalk NOW first interview is muRata’s Tom Takesian. 
ControlTalk NOW second interview is with Memoori’s Jim McHale, the Managing Director, Owner & Founder. Memoori is a consultancy company based in Stockholm providing independent market research, business intelligence and advice on Smart Building technologies. 
ControlTalk NOW’s third interview is Rob Murchinson of Intelligent Buildings, LLC. 
ControlTrends takes a deep-dive into CyberSecurity with our interview with two top industry experts, Leroy Walden, President and Chief Consultant, Highrose Consultants and Fred Gordy, Director of Cyber Security, 
ControlTrends CGNA Vendor interviews with Earl Doyle, Director, Product Management & Smart Systems Efficiency, VERASYS, Johnson Controls’ Plug-and Play Controls System for Light Commercial Buildings; Josh Felphrin, Senior Sales Manager, Siemens’ TRA and BT300 Solutions; Gina Elliott, Marketing Manager, Small to Mid-Markets, Schneider Electric’s New Building Insights, Small Building & Energy Management System; Aaron Gorka, Innovation Manager, ANT Technologies’Paperless, cloud-based, operational technology for HVAC & Control Contractors; Barry Gordon, Senior Sales Engineer, ACI’s New DLP Differential Low Pressure Transmitter; Maggie Talbert, North East Regional Sales Manager, Functional Devices’ new products and continued partnerships; Bill Dunkleberger, President, Blue Ridge Technologies’ BACnet Unified Lighting Solutions; and Mike Sackett, Executive Director, CGNA Elite — Industry’s Elite Working Together.
ControlTalk NOW’s first guest interview is with Ruairi M. Blackwell a principal with DLR Group’s Chicago location. Ruairi leads the Building Optimization enterprise within the firm. In this role, Ruaiari is responsible for growing Building Optimization as a distinct 
ControlTalk NOW second guest interview is with Computrols’ CEO, Andrew Mire, who took the helm of VP of operations in 2014, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2017, where he manages corporate operations, Computrols’ dealer program, and remote job operations. In 1983 Computrols began providing first-rate professional technical service for large building automation systems. A complete dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction has provided valuable lessons that have carried the company for years. Simplicity, flexibility, and power are the 
Our interview this week is with Leroy Walden, LEED AP, President and Chief Consultant Highrose Consultants, who has worked in the Building Controls and Automation industry since 1978, beginning with Robertshaw Controls as an Applications Engineer. Leroy recently retired from a leading systems integration firm to pursue his passion for tracking the growing uses of technology in sustainable building operations. Listen in, as Leroy brings specific insights to smart devices and equipment and how open-source integration platforms will transform building maintenance in the coming decades. Contact Leroy ASAP (lcwalden256@gmail.com) — to take advantage of Leroy’s $100.00 discount for the 2017 Realcomm|IBcon Conference June 13th-15th in San Diego, CA.
Ken Sinclair’s Automated Buildings April, 2017 Theme: In Search of the “Make Me Happy Button” – Claiming our Piece of the Productivity Puzzle. Most of us see that the forces driving much of our industry are changing faces, morphing from the owners’ countenance to the occupier’s smile or frown. The seriousness of these new metrics, criteria, and occupant feedback cannot be underestimated. In this April edition of 
Sporting a 10-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, Josh Felperin, Siemens’ Senior Sales Manager, tells us what’s in store for the 350-plus Summit partners attending the 3-day Siemens Partner Summit. Featuring DXR training; golfing at the on-site JW Marriott TPC course; various breakout business sessions and technical sessions, mixed with major league fun and evening entertainment, this is the Siemens event of the year.
ControlTrends watches on at the busy Siemens’ Talon Partner Vendor Show as Bob Byron demos the latest features of 
Siemens’ Senior Sales Director, Building Automation, Scott Hamilton shares with us that this is the 20th Siemens Partner Summit, celebrating the accomplishments of the best integrators and control contractors in the country and how grateful Siemens is for their partnerships and success. Later, at the Awards Banquet, these high-performers would be recognized for their continued growth and success. Scott must be getting it right — he’s already got a boulevard named after him!
ControlTalk NOW Interview with one of the most knowledgeable experts in the HVAC Industry, Scott Cochrane, CEO of 
ControlTalk NOW Interview with Jason Houck, CTO at Hepta Sysytems. Jason discusses 
ControlTalk NOW’s first interview is a ControlTrends Awards wrap-up with EasyIO’s Mike Marston, on his way to Australia, after finishing a 2-day training session in Pittsburgh, PA. EasyIO is people, products, and applied technology on the move. Congratulations to EasyIO for winning four ControlTrends Awards. The EasyIO FW-14 wireless controller is only getting better! Register now for the EasyIO World Conference, Manchester United UK – 22 May 2017.
