Smart Building

EQUANS connects people, places, and things

Author: Mark Davenport, Director Smart Buildings, EQUANS UK & Ireland
Issue 02-2022: read all articles online read as pdf

As the world of the Internet of Things evolves, it will increasingly be a matter of how a building is prepared for this level of integration and connectivity. At 12 King St. in Leeds, UK, the building owners decided to enable a smart building, effectively disrupting the way a building is put together. EQUANS’s part was to enable the core infrastructure with sensors and switches. This process was managed in sections. The diagram below lays out the stages of enabling and implementing a smart building:

Equans

Once EQUANS had enabled the building, it was possible to integrate all the systems so that they could communicate regardless of protocol.

A truly future-proofed building

The building is now equipped with a network of Smart Multisense devices that provide the infrastructure as well as cross-functional management of the different systems. The Multisense is a ceiling-mounted PIR sensor made by EQUANS with additional integrated sensors. It can also be integrated in EnOcean networks and allows other remotely mounted EnOcean devices to talk to the Multisense and forward the data to the overall network. The network primarily controls building lighting using the standard lighting functionality. All the connected data is then forwarded to the other systems on the integration platform.

The network at King St. is the largest of its kind in the world today. The platform is built using all open-source products – both hardware and software – thus ensuring that there is no vendor reliance or tie-in and creating unlimited backward compatibility.

Multisense device

The Smart Multisense is a unique sensor that houses several different technologies, such as PIR, LUX, EnOcean, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Dali, and Modbus, within a single product. The network is managed via a Smart Manager, which provides the system with further connectivity options in order to allow enhanced connectivity to other system protocols like WiFi, BACnet, RS485, USB, and IP.

Equans

Cybersecure-ready

The system is permissions-based, meaning that cybersecurity management of the system is prioritized to ensure that only the right people with the right permissions are allowed to access the managed data lake.

User journey

Once the infrastructure is enabled, user journey opportunities are endless and each journey can be customized to the individual. These journeys can be adapted to any building user, whether occupants, visitors, facility managers, or owners.

Intuitive configuration tools

System setup and configuration have been totally deskilled, thanks to the powerful setup tool Z3roConfig. This tool is an intuitive application that guides you through the setup and configuration of the network and connected devices. Just download the app, power up the devices, and you’re good to go.

Digital automated intelligence

The system has features that provide powerful operational tools for the building via the integrated network. It can run automated service routines that use the granular sensing data to provide analytical reports on each connected asset. The system is able to access the centralized drawings application and identify a fault, provide detailed asset information, and guide the engineer to the exact coordinates within the building. It can also check stock levels for the failed component.

With this infrastructure, EQUANS is able to seamlessly connect people, places, and things as well as enable highly effective interaction between systems.

www.equans.com

About Perpetuum

Perpetuum is EnOcean's customer magazine focusing on solutions and products for energy harvesting technology. The technology delivers the data for the Internet of Things in a resource-saving, self-powered and maintenance-free way. In doing so, it enables the smart use of buildings, cities and industrial plants. In the categories Internet of Things, Smart Building, Smart Lighting and Smart Home the EnOcean's partners in particular have their say highlighting their expertise.

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