Certifying products is fast and easy with the LONMARK ...

Simple Solutions 

Guaranteed 

Tackle complex problems with open systems 

News 

More Inter operability 

with Version 3.4 

® 

Application 

LONWORKS Protects 

Museum Exhibits 

magazine 

INTERNATIONAL EDITION 

Features 

Looking Beyond 

the RF Hype 

4 | Oct 2005

LONMARK Magazine: the 

official magazine of 

LONMARK ® International 

www.lmimagazine.com 

Editorial/Publishing Office 

Nages Sieslack 

TEMA Technologie Marketing AG 

Design / Layout 

Marcel Weber / Martina Sturm 


Editorial Advisory Board 

Barry Haaser 

Dr. Juergen Hertel 

Tracy Markie 

Steve Nguyen 

Nages Sieslack 


Theaterstr. 74, 52062 Aachen 

Germany 

Editorial/Advertising 

Tel. +49 241 88970-41, Fax -42 

LONMARK International 

550 Meridian Avenue 

San Jose, CA 95126 

USA 

Tel. +1 408 938 5266 

Fax +1 408 790 3838 

info@LONMARK.org 

www.LONMARK.org 

Further editorial use of the articles 

in the magazine is actively 

encouraged. 

For subscriptions, circulation and 

change of address enquiries, e-mail 

subscriptions@lmimagazine.com 

For editorial and advertising 

opportunities contact 

info@lmimagazine.com 

The views expressed in this magazine are not 

necessarily those held by LONMARK International 

or the publisher. The publisher shall not be under 

any liability whatsoever with respect to the contents 

of contributed articles. The Editorial Board 

reserves the right to edit, abridge or alter articles 

for publication. 

Contents 

4 Executive Director’s Foreword 

News 

4 New LONMARK Members 

5 New Echelon Platform First 

to Embed Control Networks 

Inside Everyday Devices 

Low-cost miniature Pyxos 

works inside everything. 

6 e-GA Home Network System 

Brings Home Automation to the 

Korean Mass Market 

8 Economy Trade Fair Develops 

the Booming West China 

9 LSG Sky Chefs Select Envidatec 

for Energy Auditing 

Regional Updates 

9 LONMARK Signs Affi liation 

Agreement with LonUser 

Group Denmark 

9 LonUsers UK Join LONMARK 

International as Affi liate 

10 New Head for LNO 

Refrigeration Work Group 

10 LONMARK Japan Hosts 

Technical Seminar 

10 Upcoming Events 

Application 

12 Clean Room Equipped 

with LonWorks at Leading 

Healthcare Supplier 

Modern building automation 

system controls and monitors 

4000 m2 clean room space at 

B. Braun. 

14 Zagreb Airport Opts for a 

Networked Door Management 

System 

|News|Features|Application 

17 LONWORKS Control Technology 

Protects Museum Exhibits, 

Keeps Visitors Comfortable 

18 Multi-vendor HVAC System 

Saves Time and Money 

Cover Picture: Kunsthaus Graz in Austria. 

See page 17. 

Features 

22 The RF Frenzy: 

Looking Beyond 

the Hype 

Much has been said about the 

benefi ts and capabilities of 

new RF-based control technologies. 

Abhay Gupta and 

Michael R. Tennefoss share 

their research fi ndings. 

25 Web Services Drive New 

Business Opportunities 

26 Why Low-Cost Busses are 

Important for LONMARK Open 

Systems 

Technical Corner 

28 Adding More Interoperability 

with Version 3.4 Guidelines 

The new guidelines allow simple 

networks to self-install and 

correct installation confl icts. 

29 Integrators Perspective: 

Where is the Integrator? 

31 New LONMARK Certified 

Products 

32 New Products 

magazine|4.2005 

3

4 

|News|Application|Features 

Autumn is in the Air. 

It’s Time for LONWORLD 

and Year-End Reflection! 

It’s that time of year again for the 

annual LONMARK Meeting and 

LONWORLD ® 2005 Trade Show 

and Conference. If you haven’t made 

your plans yet, time is running out. 

The annual gath 

ering of all 

things connecting 

to LON ® will 

take place in 

France in a Paris 

suburb called 

EuroDisney. 

Don’t get too 

excited. The 

meetings are not 

taking place in 

Barry Haaser the Magic Kingdom, 

but nearby 

in the impressive Congress Centre 

EuroDisney. 

This will be a busy week for 

LONMARK members. The annual 

LONMARK member meeting will take 

place on Tuesday, October 18 at 

18:00. On Wednesday members of 

various LONMARK Task Groups (TGs) 

will meet to discuss profile development. 

The two day LONWORLD event 

on Thursday and Friday is packed full 

with great presentations and product 

offerings from companies worldwide. 

Year in Review 

It’s hard to believe that another year has 

passed, as we complete our second year 

as a non-profi t corporation. This was a 

very busy year as we: 

� Sponsored seminars in over 50 cities in 

the US, Europe and Asia. Over 3,000 

architects, specifi ers, consultants, 

contractors, integrators and facility 

professionals worldwide attended 

the “Building Open Systems” (BOS) 

seminar tour; 

� Launched the quarterly LONMARK 

Magazine to share information on 


open systems to over 10,000 members 

and non-members worldwide; 

� Hosted the LONWORLD Expo in 

Shanghai that attracted over 40 

exhibitors and 2,500 visitors; 

� Hosted a LONWORLD trade mission 

which allowed members to meet 

potential partners in Asia; 

� Completed development and launch 

of a web-based certifi cation and verifi 

cation tool to reduce the time and 

expense associated with certifying 

products; 

� Certifi ed over 100 products from 

various members across the globe; 

� Supported the successful formation 

of local LONMARK affi liated organizations 

in the Americas, Denmark, 

Japan, Switzerland and the UK; and 

are supporting the efforts of members 

forming new LONMARK affi liates 

in Australia, China, Korea, Russia, 

Slovenia and other countries; 

� Published the LONMARK Open 

Systems Defi nition as a guideline 

for future LONMARK technical development; 

and 

� Supported numerous standards initiatives 

in the US, Europe and Asia. 

As we move into our next fi scal year we 

will embark on a number of important 

programs, including: 

� Creating a systems integrator testing 

and certifi cation program to improve 

the quality and availability of 

integrators; 

� Continuing the formation of local 

LONMARK Affiliates throughout 

the globe to expand membership 

and increase demand for member 

products and services; 

� Publishing version 3.4 of the 

LONMARK Interoperability Guidelines; 

� Streamlining and accelerating the 

profi le development process; 

� Implementing the LONMARK Open 

System defi nition to strengthen the 

standard and expand the range 

of certifi ed products to include 

connectivity devices and network 

tools; 

� Continuing our efforts to incorporate 

the LONMARK Interoperability Guidelines 

into European, Asian and ISO 

standards; and 

� Creating new marketing tools and 

programs to help members sell their 

products and services. 

We appreciate your continued support 

of LONMARK International and our ongoing 

initiatives to increase awareness 

and demand for LONMARK open systems 

worldwide. 

Yours sincerely, 

Barry Haaser, Executive Director 


New LONMARK 

Members 

New Partners: 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 

Control Techniques/ 

Emerson 

As a part of Emerson, Control Techniques, 

based in Powys, United Kingdom, 

is a global company specializing 

in the design and manufacture 

of variable speed drives (VSDs) and 

servos. With worldwide reach they 

deliver support and solutions to companies 

wherever they may be. Control 

Techniques products are relied upon 

in many industries from waste water 

to building management systems to 

provide the optimum control, maximum 

energy effi ciency and product 

reliability.

Phoenix Controls 

Corporation 

Phoenix Controls, Massachusetts, 

USA, is a recognized leader in the 

design & manufacture of precision 

airfl ow control systems, most notably 

VAV controls for laboratory ventilation. 

Their systems ensure the environmental 

integrity of critical spaces, 

including research laboratories, vivariums, 

pharmaceutical process areas 

and biocontainment facilities by controlling 

pressurization, temperature 

and humidity. 

New Associates: 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 

BSD Solutions Ltd. 

BSD Solutions, Manitoba, Canada, 

is a systems integration company 

comprised of employees with several 

years of building automation installation 

experience. As individuals and in 

teams, their collective past experiences 

include simple electric/pneumatic 

installations through to some of the 

most complex building automation 

system installations. 

Columbus Temperature 

Control Co. 

Columbus Temperature Control Co., 

Ohio, USA, is a stocking distributor 

of building HVAC control products. 

They are the exclusive local distributor 

of LONWORKS ® DDC products 

from Circon, Distech Controls and 

Honeywell. They also carry a complete 

inventory of valves, actuators, 

sensors and accessories to complete 

any HVAC control project. 

Energy Services of 

Colorado 

Energy Services of Colorado (ESCO) 

is a new fi rm of industry veterans 

embracing the truly open systems 

marketplace. Utilizing a number of 

products, ESCO primarily focuses 

on the retrofi t marketplace, providing 

migration paths from traditional proprietary 

systems to the open world. 

Integrated Control 

Solutions, LLC. 

Integrated Control Solutions, LLC, 

New Jersey, USA, is a full-service 

building automation and energy 

control systems contractor. With 

twenty-six years of diverse experience, 

they have unique expertise in 

the application of controls for chiller 

and boiler plants, air handling units 

& VAV systems, building pressurization, 

variable frequency drives, air 

and water energy recovery, lighting 

controls, demand control and total 

energy analysis. 

T & P Mechanical 

Services Ltd. 

T & P Mechanical Services Ltd./ESP 

Energy Systems, Alberta, Canada, is a 

building solutions provider. They correct 

building performance and operational 

issues by bringing a set of skills, 

experiences, and resources of exceptional 

capability. T & P´s considerable 

DDC experience in all aspects of controls 

include networking (LonTalk ® , 

IP, RS-485), engineering, servicing, 

project management, and especially 

technical documentation to deliver all 

facets of a controls package. 


News 

New Echelon Platform 

First to Embed Control 

Networks Inside Everyday 

Devices 

Low-cost, ultra-miniature Pyxos platform 

extends the reach of control networks 

inside everything from machines 

and building materials, to clothing and 

furniture 

Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: 

ELON), announced in September, the 

new Pyxos platform that for the fi rst 

time enables control networks to be 

embedded economically inside offi ce 

equipment, building automation devices, 

vending machines, small appliances, 

and industrial machines. Pyxos 

components are so small, low-cost, 

and easily used that they can even be 

embedded into materials and devices 

that were never previously considered 

candidates for networking – carpets, 

building materials, and offi ce furniture. 

The ubiquitous deployment of 

embedded control networks can add 

functionality and lower the costs of a 

wide range of automation and energy 

management applications, expanding 

existing market segments and creating 

new ones. The new Pyxos platform 

was announced on September 19 at 

the DEMOfall Conference in Huntington 

Beach, CA. 

According to Harbor Research, 

Inc., the 2005 market for “device” 

networks includes 375 million “static 

devices,” 500 million “controllers,” 

750 million “smart” sensors, 

and 35 billion microprocessors and 

microcontrollers. Static devices include 

HVAC equipment, industrial 


5

6 


machinery, pipelines, home appliances, 

and others; controllers include 

industrial controllers and appliance 

controllers; and smart sensors include 

accelerometers, pressure gauges, fl ow, 

position, speed, temperature, and biosensors, 

among others. 

“Control networks have come a 

long way since Echelon pioneered the 

category,” said Chris Shipley, Executive 

Producer of the DEMOfall Conference. 

“Control networking has become 

integral to the effi cient operation 

of industrial plants, buildings, mines, 

trains and smart buildings, delivering 

e-GA ® Home Network 

System Brings Home 

Automation to the 

Korean Mass Market 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 

Echelon Corporation and KyungDong 

Network, a Korean home automation 

company, recently announced the 

availability of the e-GA home networking 

solution. Consisting of boiler, 

lighting, security, access, and gas valve 

control, each product will contain 

a power line smart transceiver from 

Echelon that enables data to be transferred 

using existing electrical lines 

found in the home. The e-GA solution 

meets the core needs for the home automation 

market in Korea, estimated by 

KyungDong at over $139 million USD 

per year. KyungDong introduced the 


tangible cost, functionality, 

and environmental benefi ts. 

The advent of embedded 

control networks, in which 

control is extended into 

every device or machine, 

will drive new innovations 

in control networking. 

Even more exciting, this 

technology will enable 

whole new industries and 

technologies, such as smart 

fabrics, that take advantage 

of the capabilities offered 

by these networks. Echelon 

is driving this new market 

segment and the future and 

opportunities it creates are extremely 

exciting.” 

The Pyxos platform is the fi rst 

“self-organizing” embedded control 

network in which devices automatically 

confi gure themselves into functioning 

networks. This makes the 

technology particularly well suited for 

applications that are geared toward 

the non-technical user. For example, 

the platform is ideal for consumerinstalled 

products; for confi gurable 

products like appliances, air handlers, 

and automobiles in which there are 

many different assembly options; 

product line at the 2005 Smart Home 

and Home Network Show in Seoul in 

June, 2005. 

“KyungDong has an extensive 

history of successful power line 

based control networking in our 

commercial building business using 

Echelon’s technology,” said Tae Sik 

Min, KyungDong Network’s CEO 

and president. “When we began evaluating 

the home automation market 

our primary concerns were reliability, 

performance and ease of installation. 

After completing a market survey, 

we determined that Echelon’s power 

line technology satisfies all of the 

requirements for this very strategic 

market.” 

The e-GA home networking solution 

is ideal for both new and retrofit 

homes and is aimed at the mass market 

and for products like smart military 

fatigues that are laden with sensors 

that change during each mission. 

Moreover, the Pyxos platform is fully 

compatible with LONWORKS networks, 

allowing Pyxos based machines or 

networks to be integrated into still 

larger control networks. 

Other key features of Echelon’s 

Pyxos platform include: low cost, 

ultra-miniature size, media independence 

(wired or wireless), extensible 

architecture, and universal applicability 

across different industries. For 

example, consider what can be done 

when a control network and sensors 

are embedded within carpeting. Smart 

carpeting would allow traffi c patterns 

to be tracked, directing cleaning 

crews only to those areas that were 

traffi cked. Occupied areas could be 

identifi ed to emergency response 

teams, right down to individual offi 

ce cubicles, in the event of a fi re. An 

alarm could be raised automatically 

if a guard on tour is overcome by an 

intruder. 

A Question & Answer document with 

additional information regarding Pyxos 

may be found http://www.echelon.com/ 

company/press/pyxosqa.htm . 

– for the first time putting advanced 

home automation within reach of the 

average consumer in Korea. Until now, 

the Korean home automation market 

had been limited to only premium 

housing. KyungDong Network has 

broken through the price barrier with 

an affordable system that will be sold 

through the nationwide sales channel 

that has over 300 members, thereby 

establishing itself as the Korean market 

leader for home automation. 

Echelon’s Power Line Smart Transceivers 

offer a robust, proven means of 

transferring data over existing power 

lines in the home. This low-cost and 

reliable technology is designed to 

drastically reduce installation time 

and cost, making it ideal for mass 

market home automation solutions.

8 


The new system focuses on two 

key market needs in Korea – convenience 

and safety. Home owners can 

activate and deactivate security systems 

and control digital door locks 

from their living room. Additionally, 

each member of a family can set his or 

her own room profile, providing a “one 

touch” scenario for various “mode” 

controls in the main room (typical of 

Korean apartments). Lighting switches 

in the e-GA system can control 

a maximum of four lights, and the 

Economy Trade 

Fair Develops the 

Booming West 

China 

West China is in a gold rush 

mood, especially the largest 

province called Sichuan 

which is becoming the new 

centre of growth. Sichuan’s 

capital Chengdu experiences 

an annual growth of 11.8% 

thus outperforming all other 

industrial regions in the 

world. To further promote 

the province, the Western 

China International Economy 

Tradefair is organized yearly. 

The next fair will take place 

on May 25-28, 2006. 

The fair mainly focuses on 

IT, mechanical engineering, logistics, 

construction engineering and building 

automation which are spread out over 

nine halls with a total of 200,000 m² 

modern exhibition space. Over 10,000 

exhibitors and 200,000 visitors are 

expected to attend the event. 

Chengdu is home to 11 million 

people and 29 universities. The main 

industries are IT, electronics, bio and 

medical engineering as well as mechanical 

and automotive engineering. 

And, of course, the food industry and 

a prospering construction industry are 

also part of such a boom. Over 600 

international companies are manufacturing 

here, e.g. Siemens, Microsoft, 

Intel, Motorola, Bayer and Hoechst, 

DaimlerChrysler and Toyota. 


system includes auxiliary room controllers 

that can control up to two 

light switches per individual room. 

Gas valve control is a critical 

safety feature of the e-GA system. 

Nearly every apartment in Korea has 

a gas supply line that has traditionally 

been a source of concern for home 

owners. The e-GA system includes remote 

control of the gas valve, and gas 

leak detection with alert functionality 

via phone or SMS (Short Message 

Service). 

TEMA Technologie Marketing, a 

prominent international event organizer 

has been awarded a 5 year contract 

to promote Western technology 

for different market segments, starting 

from 2006. Its plans include introducing 

the widely accepted LONWORKS 

technology to the region. 

“We are very pleased about winning 

this bid. The Western China 

International Economy Tradefair is 

supported by all of China’s high-ranking 

officials, since the government is 

very eager to channel the economic 

growth from the over-burdened 

Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong 

to the rest of the country. The Chinese 

Department of Commerce, the 

Foreign Ministry, Trade Associations 

Home owners access the system 

via a remote control unit and a television. 

The system also provides 

remote notification to alert home 

owners in cases of emergencies or 

failures. Any failure of a device will 

be automatically reported to Kyung- 

Dong’s service center, resulting in a 

service call being initiated before the 

customer even realizes that there is a 

problem. 

Contact: www.echelon.com 

The Western China International Economy Tradefair awaits to greet 200.000 visitors 

in 2006. 

and many embassies support the fair. 

I was personally impressed to witness 

such a booming economy in Sichuan,” 

said Dr. Guenter Bleimann, President 

of TEMA. “We are resolute on introducing 

an extensive palette consisting 

of products and services based on 

Open Systems into China. We have 

been actively involved in promoting 

the LONWORKS platform in Europe for 

the past 10 years and firmly believe 

that the region of Sichuan can also 

benefit from this technology.” 

TEMA will be organizing a joint- 

LONWORKS stand at the Western China 

International Economy Tradefair. 

Companies interested in the opportunity 

should contact TEMA at +49 

241 889 70 0 or bleimann@tema.de.

LSG Sky Chefs Select 

Envidatec for Energy 

Auditing 

LSG Sky Chefs, a subsidiary of 

Lufthansa, caters for the tastes of 

travelers all around the world. With 

thousands of meals being cooked, 

baked, cooled, packed and sent into 

the air daily at Hamburg airport in 

Germany alone, this is an energy hungry 

undertaking. 

The LSG Sky Chefs management 

realized that ovens, fridges and dish 

washers as well as the heating and 

ventilation systems were using too 

much electricity and water. After 

inspecting LSG Sky Chefs’ operation 

and ascertaining the current situation, 

Envidatec, the energy management 

experts, noted several areas of potential 

energy savings, opportunities 

Regional 

Updates 


Signs Affiliation 

Agreement with 

LonUser Group Denmark 

LONMARK International announces 

the signing of an Affiliation Agreement 

with LonUser Group Denmark, 

making it the first Scandinavian 

LonUsers community to sign an affiliation 

agreement with LONMARK 

International. Under the terms of this 

agreement, LonUser Group Denmark 

will change its name to LONMARK 

Denmark. 

LonUser Group Denmark, formed 

in 1996, is part of an association of 

the European LonUsers community 

for reducing costs and the need for 

investment in modern systems. Potential 

savings were calculated in detail 

in order to develop concrete measures 

for optimizing energy consumption. 

“We concluded that LSG Sky Chefs 

in Hamburg could reduce its energy 

consumption by up to 50%,” declares 

Thomas Frank, general manager of 

Envidatec GmbH. An amortization 

calculation confirmed that the potential 

savings and necessary measures 

were worth while for the client. 

Envidatec offers all the steps necessary 

for a successful energy optimization 

project from a single source: from 

collecting data on energy consumption 

and operations using LONWORKS 

data capture modules, to analyzing 

the data and implementing the measures 

for reducing energy consumption. 

These can require either investment in 

supporting local marketing, arranging 

information meetings and participating 

in relevant courses for members 

using LONWORKS technology.Acknowledging 

the advantages with 

the global LONMARK 

organization and the 

increasing extension 

and use of LONMARK 

open systems, more 

LonUsers Groups are expected to 

follow the lead of Denmark by joining 

the LONMARK Affiliation Program. 

More information on LONMARK Denmark 

and membership can be obtained at 

http://www.lonmark.dk. 

LonUsers UK Join 


as Affiliate 

The LonUsers UK, further strengthen 

the commitment to open, interoperable 

systems throughout the United 

Kingdom by signing an affliation 

agreement with LONMARK International. 

LonUsers UK has been an 

active proponent of the LONMARK 


new equipment, e.g. replacing an old 

refrigerator that is using too much 

energy or organizational changes such 

as re-setting a ventilation system that 

is operating at an unnecessarily high 

level. 

LSG Sky Chefs was convinced 

by this local pilot project and immediately 

asked for energy efficiency 

checks to be carried out at 7 further 

locations including, amongst others, 

the operations in Frankfurt, Munich 

and Brussels airports. These checks 

demonstrated once again that modern 

energy management can lead to large 

savings with no loss in performance. 

Contact: 

ENVIDATEC GmbH 

Tel. +49 40 30 08 570 

info@envidatec.com 

www.envidatec.com 

Affiliation Program since it was announced 

in 2004. As a member of the 

program LonUsers UK will change its 

name to LONMARK UK Ltd. 

The UK user group, which grew 

to 50 members in 3 years, provides a 

knowledge base and support network 

for all its members. This independent 

association, limited by guarantee, includes 

end-users, consultants, contractors, 

integrators, and manufacturers/ 

suppliers of HVAC, lighting, fire security 

and other building related open 

system products. 

LONMARK UK joins LONMARK 

Denmark and LONMARK Switzerland 

as former LonUsers organizations 

that joined the LONMARK Affiliation 

Program. Other members of the program 

are operating successfully in the 

Americas and Japan. 

Many other organizations 

are forming 

around the globe with 

the purpose of joining 

the LONMARK Affiliation 

Program. 

More information on LONMARK UK Ltd. 

and membership can be obtained at 

http://www.lonmark.co.uk. 


9

10 


New Head for 

LNO Refrigeration 

Work Group 

Marc Woerner of Kriwan Industrie- 

Elektronik was recently appointed 

to head the LNO Germany Refrigeration 

and Air-Conditioning Work 

Group. Christoph Leja, also of Kriwan 

Industrie- 

Elektronik, 

is the deputy 

leader. Their 

joint aim is 

to “heat up 

interest in 

LONWORKS in 

the refrigeration 

and airconditioning 

industries.” 

The work 

group has al- 

Marc Woerner 

ready carried 

out the preliminary 

work with the development 

of functional profiles for refrigeration 

technology. 

Marc Woerner has been in charge 

of the newly formed safety and control 

engineering division at Kriwan Industrie-Elektronik 

since January 1, 

2005. The former divisions, industry/ 

electronic and refrigeration, were 

thereby merged for the benefit of customers. 

Compressor protection for 

chillers is one of Kriwan’s most important 

business areas. Marc Woerner 

belongs to Kriwan’s top management. 

One of his responsibilities is the continuous 

development of existing products 

and solutions. 

Christoph Leja has worked in electronic 

development at Kriwan since 

completing his engineering studies. 

He has been responsible for the refrigeration 

and air-conditioning division 

for many years. He is one of the 

founders of the LNO’s refrigeration 

and air-conditioning work group and 

headed the group from its founding in 

1998 until 2003. 

Contact: 

marc.woerner@kriwan.de 

www.lno.de 


LONMARK Japan Hosts 

Technical Seminar 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 

LONMARK Japan (LMJ) held its first 

Technical Seminar at Matsushita 

Electric Works, Ltd. on July 20, 2005. 

This was the first event organized and 

sponsored by LMJ since it was established 

in September of last year. The 

seminar was attended by 56 people 

representing 28 different companies 

made up of engineers engaged in the 

development of LONWORKS networks 

and related technologies. 

The seminar consisted of three sessions 

focused on industry case studies: 

� “How to Solve LONWORKS 

Integration Problems” by 

Mr. Hiroaki Kaneko (Shinryo 

Corporation) 

� “LONMARK Certifi cation Tool” 

by Mr. Hisafumi Kamezono 

(Yokogawa Electric Corporation) 

Upcoming 

Events 

� “Recent Trends of Lighting 

Control Systems with LONWORKS 

Components” by Mr. Kazunari 

Morita (Matsushita Electric Works 

Ltd.) 

The conference organizers were very 

pleased with the outcome of the seminar 

and are confident that it will help 

increase the demand and standardization 

of LONWORKS open networks in 

the near future. 

In the second half of the seminar, 

attendees visited the Matsushita 

Electric Works Technical Laboratory 

Show Room where they were able to 

see the latest technologies for home 

networking and electronic control 

systems. 

The members of LONMARK Japan 

would like to thank Matsushita 

Electric Works, Ltd. for supporting 

the seminar and offering the seminar 

attendees such a great opportunity for 

the site tour. 

LONWORLD ® Conference and Exhibition 

Paris, France October 20–21, 2005 

IKK 2005 

Hanover, Germany November 2–4, 2005 

BuilConn Europe 

Amsterdam, Netherlands November 8–10, 2005 

Net-atHome TM 2005 

Nice, France November 29–30, 2005 

ELEC 

Paris, France January 17–20, 2006 

AHR Expo 

Chicago, USA January 23–25, 2006

12 


Clean Room Equipped with 

LONWORKS Control Networks 

at Leading Healthcare Supplier 

For more than 30 years, B. Braun 

Medical AG, a subsidiary of 

the B. Braun group, one of the 

leading global players in health care, 

has been a producer of high-quality 

technical equipment for the medical 

sector. The new plant in Escholzmatt, 

Switzerland has thus become a “Center 

of Excellence” for infusion therapy 

within the international group. With 

a modern building automation system 

based on the LONWORKS control 

network platform the company complies 

with all production standards 

in accordance with FDA and is well 

prepared for the future. 

With a clean room space of 

4,000 m² the additional production 

unit (worth 30 Mio CHF) meets the 

highest quality standards and offers 

controlled and clean environmental 

conditions so that goods produced in 

the facility are protected from contamination 

of particles or microorganisms 

from production to packaging. 

The Challenge 

Building automation plays a key role 

in this sophisticated facility. Climate 

parameters such as room temperature, 

air pressure, air humidity and air 

cleanliness are decisive factors for the 

quality of products created in pharmaceutical 

production. Moreover, strict 

FDA-compatibility is a prerequisite 

for commercialization abroad. Utmost 

flexibility and the highest levels 

of efficiency as well as exact control 

of clean rooms are also important 

requirements. It was the task of the 

B. Braun Medical AG in Escholzmatt is the group’s first plant for infusion therapy 

in Switzerland. 


system integrators, Haelg Building 

Services Group, to meet the stringent 

demands at B. Braun Medical AG. 

The Solution 

To satisfy the manifold and high 

demands B. Braun Medical AG decided 

to install an open and integrated 

building automation system based on 

the LONWORKS platform. Thanks to 

the decentralized approach and consistent 

communication between all 

technical devices, the costs could be 

significantly reduced. 

The highly integrated information 

network for heating, air conditioning, 

cooling, lighting, sun blinds and 

electrical devices consists of a variety 

of components from different manufacturers: 

TAC 

� Monitoring system 

� Building management system 

� Freely programmable controllers 

� I/O-Modules 

Svea 

� Switches, presence sensors, 

lighting/sun blind actuators, 

monitoring of electrical devices 

Thermokon 

� Distribution boxes for inserted 

ceilings, brightness sensors 

PentaLon 

� Weather station 

Loytec 

� Infrastructure products 

With the integration of all products 

into a flexible, user-friendly and 

failure-safe system, the Competence 

Center of the Haelg Group’s building

automation unit has developed a tailor-made 

building automation concept 

for the complete building. More than 

2,500 data points allow the operator 

to have access to and receive information 

from all integrated systems. 

Clean Room 

The new clean room concept offers 

maximum flexibility so that it is possible 

to react promptly and effectively 

to new products, production technolo- 

Infusion therapy goods are manufactured under 

stringent FDA regulations in new clean rooms 

gies and working methods. The entire 

space was conceived as one coherent 

area to allow for maximum autonomy 

in the way the production process is designed. 

This facilitates the subsequent 

integration of clean rooms with higher 

cleanliness levels. Moreover, the modular 

ceiling system and the specific 

energy/media supply for production 

machines as well as the combination 

of central and decentralized ventilation 

and air conditioning components 

guarantee the highest possible levels of 

flexibility. 

Monitoring 

To meet the FDA standards, the Haelg 

Group decided in favor of the TAC 

Vista monitoring system, a solution 

already successfully installed in various 

facilities of the pharmaceutical 

industry. Furthermore, a second totally 

independent license is used as 

the building management system. 

In addition to the completely integrated 

qualifi cation and validation 

of the monitoring system, parts of the 

building management system were 

also qualified and validated to set additional 

quality standards. 

All relevant data are gathered 

and filed by the TAC Vista system 

so that specific room conditions are 

constantly monitored. It is possible 

to record and produce the exact 

compliance with/deviation from the 

specific room conditions (e.g. pressure, 

temperature and humidity) over 

a period of six years per 

measuring point collected 

(according to 21 CFR Part 

11). Deviations from predefined 

limit values are precisely 

reported to the operator 

depending on the pre-set 

measuring intervals. 

All process and parameter 

data such as measured 

values, status values, operator 

steps, system reports, 

facility parameters or component 

conditions (includ- 

ing date, time, name of information 

point, user name 

or changes) are filed by the 

monitoring software in a 

standard database which guarantees a 

maximum level of information. 

All data are protected against 

unauthorized access and manipulation. 

They are periodically filed in the 

archives where they are available for 

several years. In addition, the data can 

later be retraced whenever necessary. 

Optimal availability, consistent 

openness as well as easy operation 

of the complete facility result in the 

greatest possible benefit, ultimate 

comfort, optimal supply of information 

and profitability. After the successful 

FDA certification the new 

production facility could already be 

inaugurated on August 11, 2005. The 

refurbishment/extension of the old 

production plant is in full swing and 

will be completed in 2006. 

Contact: Andrea Kraemer 

TAC GmbH Control Systems 

Tel. +49 208 82486 0 

press.germany@tac.com 

www.tac.com

14 


Zagreb Airport Opts 

for a Networked Door 

Management System 

Zagreb International Airport is 

the gateway to Croatia, whose 

tourism sector is playing an 

ever increasing role in the country’s 

economy. In the last years, Croatia 

has become a popular holiday destination 

that offers a variety of activities, 

for example climbing, nautics, diving, 

skiing, wellness, etc. 

Due to the long lasting unrest in 

the Balkan region, the number of passengers 

flying into Croatia decreased. 

Now that peace has been restored to 

this country, holiday makers are starting 

to return. This naturally exposes 

the airport authorities to the challenge 

of effectively managing the facility 

and handling passengers. 

Step-by-Step 

Modernization of 

the Airport 

The Zagreb airport has been basically 

modernized for some time, in particular 

with regard to the growth in tourism. 

The first Honeywell control sys- 

Integral Building Management System, modular and freely expandable 


tem was, for example, commissioned 

in 1993 to control and monitor HVAC 

and lighting systems. Between 1995 

and 1996, the system was expanded 

with the latest DDC controllers as 

well as a modern fire monitoring 

system. After 2002, LONWORKS-based 

products for HVAC, access control 

and surveying water levels in the 

cisterns, assigned to the fire department, 

were installed. 

Powerful LON-based 

Door Management 

System 

As part of the renovation of the building’s 

facade, the main entrance was 

equipped with modern sliding doors 

with a break-out safety device from 

LONMARK partner member, agtarecord 

AG. The LONMARK certified 

record LON-16 interface allows for 

16 automatic record doors to be easily 

and cost efficiently integrated into an 

existing management system. In this 

project, the same interface is also used 

to survey 5 manually operated doors. 

All operation and safety-relevant 

elements and functions are monitored 

on record automatic doors. Up to 60 

diagnostic messages can be made 

available to the network. Should an 

error occur or if a door is improperly 

operated, a report with clear and

significant information is immediately triggered. Thanks 

to a simple setting of priorities to each individual 

message, alarms can selectively be forwarded to the appropriate 

services. 

Petar Matanovic, Project Manager at Merkantile, Zagreb, 

the responsible integrator and consultant, in summarizing 

his experience with the integration, said “The 

Entry/Exit 50.51 functional profile from LONMARK is 

clearly structured and exceptionally powerful.” 

All information about the status of a door is available 

and can be handled at the alarm level. The integration is 

very easy due to the standard plug-ins. In contrast to a 

conventional integration via I/O nodes, this integration is 

significantly less expensive and the amount of information 

exceeds by far the normally available status indicators. Due 

to the prioritization possibilities, individual reports can be 

forwarded for further handling to the service concerned. 

Damir Haramincic, responsible for automation and 

maintenance at the Zagreb Airport disclosed that they 

work under a lot of pressure, in particular to keep personnel 

costs down. “For this reason, I only have three employees 

to ensure maintenance on the special vehicles, fire 

alarm and air conditioning systems, ground power units, 

and the automatic 

doors. We are constantly 

overloaded,” 

said Haramincic. 

“The comprehensive 

and very 

informative building 

management system 

makes it a lot easier 

for us to get our 

daily work done. 

The comprehensive 

graphical user interface 

allows us to rec- 

The entrance door at Zagreb International ognize immediately 

Airport is equipped with LonMark Certified the exact status of 

break-out safety device. 

all technical equipment. 

The performance 

of our department is considerably higher than before 

thanks to this clear information,” continued Haramincic. 

The door monitoring is of particular importance to 

the airport security department. Irregularities or incorrect 

operations are immediately recognized and specific and 

appropriate interventions can be initiated without further 

delay. 

“As the next expansion step, I would welcome the implementation 

of an automatic remote alarming system,” 

said Haramincic. 

Contact: agta-record AG 

Werner Meyer 

werner.meyer@record.ch 

www.record.ch

LONWORKS Control Technology 

Protects Museum Exhibits, Keeps 

Visitors Comfortable 

In September 2003, 

after three years of 

construction, Kunsthaus 

Graz (Exhibit Hall 

Graz), located in the 

Austrian city of Graz, 

was opened to the public. 

The building has since 

been featured in almost 

all international architecture 

magazines for 

its aesthetic design and 

sophisticated building 

automation system. 

Named “The Friendly 

Alien” by project architects 

Peter Cook and 

Colin Fournier due to 

its biomorphic shape, 

the building is famous 

for its striking appearance. Like a 

bubble of air, the bluish, shimmering 

skin of the Kunsthaus floats above its 

glass-walled ground floor. From the 

surface of the acrylic glass outer skin, 

strikingly shaped “nozzles” project 

outwards to admit daylight. Visitors 

enter the museum on the ground floor 

where a long moving ramp leads to 

the upper exhibition rooms. Isolated, 

transparent window areas in the skin 

allow visitors to look out, while a projecting, 

glass-enclosed structure offers 

a spectacular view of the Old Town of 

Graz. 

But the building owners didn’t 

merely want an eye-catching design. 

Behind the facade, the building automation 

system needed to meet the 

demanding requirements for museums 

on the international loan circuit. Important 

art lenders must be certain 

that the environmental conditions inside 

the museum will properly care for 

their artwork. In addition, the museum 

must offer a comfortable environment 

for visitors across its entire 11,100 m² 

(120,000 ft²) of exhibition space. 

Kunsthaus Graz is admired for its aesthetic design and 

intelligent technical installations. 

Beauty and Brains 

Reveal Work of Art 

To meet these demands, a building 

automation system based on Echelon’s 

LONWORKS technology was installed in 

the building. HGA, an Austrian home 

and building system integrator, led the 

system deployment. 

The LONWORKS building automation 

network consists of heating, 

ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, 

sun protection, and sanitary systems. 

Frequency con-verter pumps, fire 

dampers, CO plants, and power supply 

systems were also integrated into 

the network. Installing a LONWORKS 

network requires less cabling and also 

significantly reduces the cost of the 

switching cabinets and hardware. 

Two TAC Vista IV building management 

systems were installed as 

open interfaces to the LONWORKS 

network. These servers act as communication 

centers and collect technical 

information about the entire building. 

An LNS database is fully integrated 

into the system, allowing direct access 

to data in the LONWORKS network. 

The system can be accessed over 

the Internet/intranet from any 

standard PC. The TAC Vista 

Web station provides simple 

operation through an Internet 

browser. 

A total of 26 LONWORKS 

based TAC Xenta ® 400 and TAC 

Xenta ® 300 DDC automation 

stations were installed in the museum. 

The controllers and I/O 

modules communicate over the 

LONWORKS network. Faults are 

transmitted automatically and 

reliably to the building management 

system where they’re displayed. 

Selected alarms can be 

forwarded for remote messaging 

by SMS, e-mail, or fax. 

Products 

and suppliers 

Echelon 

� i.Lon ® 1000 Internet Server 

� LNS ® Network Operating 

System 

� VNI – Virtual Network Interface 

TAC 

� 2 TAC Vista IV building 

management systems 

� TAC Vista Web station 

� 26 LONWORKS based Xenta ® 400 

and TAC Xenta ® 300 DDC automation 

stations 

Highlights 

� Higher operational reliability 

and lower operational costs 

� Maximum user comfort 

and convenience 

� Minimal servicing and 

maintenance 

� Over 30 percent saving on 

cabling costs 

Contact: 

www.echelon.com 



17

18 


Multi-vendor HVAC System Saves 

Time and Money 

The Duke Realty Corporation 

wanted to provide better environmental 

conditions for its tenants 

in one of its buildings 

constructed in the late 80’s. 

The existing system was 

controlled with pneumatics 

and the rooftop units had 

reached the end of their life 

expectancy. The terminal 

units were typical variable 

volume (VAV) for core cooling 

and parallel induction 

(PIU) for perimeter cooling/ 

heating, a prevalent design 

for the 80’s in the southeastern 

United States. 

The Challenge 

The challenge of this project was 

to keep the occupied building airconditioned 

while the controls on 

the terminal units were retrofi tted 

and new roof top units installed, 

replacing the existing ones. The cost 

of the new terminal unit controls had 

to be economically advantageous over 

repairing the existing pneumatics. 

The Solution 

The Duke Realty Corporation contracted 

Automated Facility Systems, 

Inc. (AFS), located in Marietta, GA 

to install Circon Systems’ LONMARK 

VAV controllers, UHC300 and frontend 

software tools Visual Integrator 

and Network Editor. The LON network 

wiring and space sensor wiring 

was installed first of all. This enabled 

the switch over to be carried out as 

fast as possible, thus minimizing the 

time the building had to operate on 

both pneumatics and DDC. Once the 

building terminal units were converted, 

Protech Heating and Air Conditioning 

was contracted to replace the 

roof top units (RTU’s) with new Trane 

units including LON capable boards 

integrated into the units’ controls. 

AFS integrated the RTU units into the 


freshly installed LON network and 

utilized the Circon UHC300 to provide 

many-to-one bindings to gather 

The new installation has created a saving of over 

$27,000 USD in utility costs in just 6 months. 

information out of the more than 56 

PIU’s and 26 VAV’s providing space 

temperature, discharge temperature 

and CFM airflow counts to constantly 

tune the RTU’s for peak operational 

efficiencies. The UHC300 Network 

Variable Outputs (NVO’s) were then 

bound to the Trane units through the 

standard profile SNVT’s to provide 

the customer with a completely integrated 

multi-vendor system. 

The resulting system saved 

$27,000.00 USD in utility costs over 

a 6-month period with 56m² (56.540 

ft²) of more comfortable work environment 

and an increase of 35% tenant 

occupancy. The return air temperature 

is constantly monitored and as it 

drops below 21°C (70°F), the supply 

temperature is reset upward to prevent 

the ventilation portion of minimum 

airflows from taxing the electric duct 

heaters. This strategy allows the space 

temperatures to be raised more quickly 

and the duct heaters cycled back off 

to add to the energy savings. 

The rooftop discharge air temperature 

and static pressure setpoints 

are integrated onto the graphical 

representations of the units inside the 

Visual Integrator software package to 

allow the user easy access to override 

the automated points for maintenance 

or manual operation. Scheduling of 

the building is provided 

per floor through the onsite 

front-end computer. 

The Circon UHC300 sends 

NVO Occupied override information 

to the LONMARK 

Compliant rooftop units to 

allow them to be smoothly 

integrated onto the same 

schedule page. Unoccupied 

temperatures for cooling 

are monitored during the 

cooling months and once 

enough terminal units 

need cooling to provide a 

minimum load, the rooftop 

units are activated and operated for a 

minimum run time to prevent excessive 

starts during unoccupied times. 

During the winter months the unoccupied 

heating setpoints are maintained 

by the PIU terminal units. The 

entrance area and top floor ceiling 

plenum heaters are controlled by side 

loop techniques embedded in the Circon 

controllers and through the use of 

the outside air information integrated 

onto the network from the rooftop 

units. This results in additional savings 

by preventing the heaters from 

operating when the space is slightly 

below setpoint, unless the weather 

warrants it. Otherwise, the PIU’s are 

given more time to handle the need 

and the additional heating is prevented 

from operating. 

This building is typical of older 

buildings with pneumatic controls 

that could be retrofitted and results 

in savings for the owner and more 

comfort for the tenants. There were 

also other areas where the system 

could be expanded to save even 

more energy. For example, the electrical 

meter could be monitored 

with a LON device and peak demands 

avoided by resetting the RTU

discharge temperature setpoint upward temporarily, 

resulting in lower peak readings and lower electricity 

bills. Standby setpoints could be utilized with occupancy 

sensors such that low occupancy hours are operated 

more efficiently. Currently, the building is operated until 

9:00 PM but many of the tenants leave at some point after 

5:00 PM. Occupancy sensors would allow the setpoints 

in unoccupied offices to be adjusted by 2 or more degrees 

which would unload the rooftop units. In addition, after 

hours billing is available where the units would be completely 

turned off unless a tenant utilized a web server 

based or telephone based override system and those hours 

logged and billed to the tenant. IP networking will allow 

the front-end computer to be reviewed from anywhere via a 

browser, and AFS actively utilizes this technique to support 

its customers from remote locations. 

Product Selection Details 

82 – Circon Systems Corporation UHC302 Variable 

Volume Controllers 

1 – Circon Systems Corporation UHC300 Programmable 

Controller 

1 – Circon Systems Corporation Visual Integrator 3.0 

1 – Echelon Corporation PCLTA-20 LON Network 

Adapter 

3 – Trane AH540 Roof Top Unit Controllers 

Summary 

The LONWORKS technology provides today’s building 

owners with an economical way of upgrading pneumatic 

controls into a system that can save energy, provide better 

information for the maintenance staff, be expanded into 

further savings, and make use of Internet monitoring for 

remote technical support. Local integrators like Automated 

Facility Systems, Inc. are the key to bringing it all together, 

LONWORKS + Experience = Savings. 

Contact: John Durham 

Automated Facility Systems 

www.automatedfacility.com

• International Exhibition and Conference dedicated to LONWORKS ® Device Networks 

• Forum for Developers, System Integrators, Distributors, Planners and End-users 

• Developments, Solutions and References 

Solutions for a 

Connected World 

www.lonworldexpo.com

DESIGN WITHOUT 

LIMITS 

What you design is your business. Adding distributed control throughout 

your application is ours. Our LONWORKS ® platform is a worldwide standard 

for networking anything you want to control—pumps, motors, valves, 

fans—even a remote-controlled window washer. Add networking features 

to your products and watch them deliver more than you thought possible. 

Start today with our NodeBuilder ® development tool, or ease into your 

LONWORKS development with our new Mini EVK. Both get you from design 

to delivery in no time. Call +1 408-938-5200 or visit us online at 

www.echelon.com/embedded. 

©2005 Echelon. Echelon, LONWORKS, and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United 

States and other countries.

22 


The RF Frenzy: 

Looking Beyond the Hype 

A 

control network consists of 

sensors, actuators, displays 

and other electrical devices, 

interconnected over commonly shared 

communication media that are able to 

exchange information with one another. 

In order for information to be exchanged 

reliably, the communication 

media used to interconnect the devices 

must be highly robust and capable of 

compensating sources of interference 

commonly found in the intended operating 

environment. 

Commonly used communication 

media include twisted pairs of copper 

wires (referred to as “twisted pair” 

medium), power lines, fiber optic cable, 

coaxial cable, wireless infrared, 

and radio frequency (referred to as 

“RF”). Each medium has different 

strengths and weaknesses, and users 

typically select a medium based on the 

intended operating environment. 

In many cases users employ two or 

more different media in control systems 

due to the operating environment 

for cost and/or reliability reasons. 

For example, it may be prohibitively 

expensive to install new twisted pair 

wiring to reach certain existing devices, 

so a hybrid twisted pair and power 

line solution may be best for such an 

application. Likewise, the presence of 

metal construction material or wireless 

data networks could make an all 

RF-based system unusable or unreliable, 

whereas a hybrid RF and twisted 

pair system would overcome these 

limitations. The availability of a suite 

of different media from which a hybrid 

solution can be drawn can make the 


A year long investigation of new RF-based control 

technologies revealed findings very different than 

originally expected 

difference between a robust, reliable 

control network and one that has stability 

and operational problems. 

RF Everywhere 

and Nowhere 

Much has been said in the popular and 

technical press about the benefits and 

capabilities of new RF-based control 

technologies. Through the use of mesh 

(repeater-based) networking and new 

protocols, these new RF technologies 

are purported to offer the performance 

of twisted pair solutions but 

with lower device and installation 

costs. Among the better known new 

RF-based technologies are ZigBee © , 

Z-Wave © , Millennial Net © and Dust © . 

Echelon recently completed a year 

long investigation of these new RFbased 

control technologies, and our 

findings were very different than originally 

expected. Where we originally 

expected to test high performance, 

highly reliable twisted pair replacements, 

we found just the opposite. The 

new RF technologies offered very poor 

robustness against sources of interference, 

very limited distance operation, 

mediocre battery performance and, in 

one case, response times slower than 

sneaker net. 

The underlying RF modems used 

within these control networks are 

made by, or technology is sourced 

from, a common pool of semiconductor 

manufacturers. While each RF 

technology supplier tries to differentiate 

its solution as being unique, there 

are underlying elements – and limitations 

– that many have in common. 

For example, all of these systems use 

mesh networking, in which RF-based 

devices can also operate as repeaters, 

to compensate for the poor distance 

of their radio. Yet even with repeaters 

enabled, some systems could not operate 

reliably in a commercial building 

or typical home. 

Signal Propagation 

Losses 

The strength of an RF signal drops 

6dB for every incremental doubling 

of open field distance with no impairments 

or obstacles. The presence of 

typical building construction materials 

such as gypsum panels, metal foil 

wall paper, aluminum wall braces, and 

office or factory equipment further 

reduces RF signal strength. An RF 

signal drops inside a typical building 

with obstacles/impairments by about 

25dB for every incremental doubling 

of distance. RF mesh network suppliers 

quote radio signaling distance 

assuming an open field transmission 

with no impairments or obstacles 

between the transmitter and receiver. 

This scenario is impractical, akin to 

measuring gas mileage in a car that is 

driving downhill. 

In real world environments, such as 

a standard commercial building or a 

home of roughly 251m² (2700 ft²), the 

situation proved quite different. None 

of the RF mesh networks could operate 

in the presence of metal or stucco 

walls, metal-foil wall insulation, and 

metal floors. None of the radios could 

operate reliably at 30 meters. At distances 

of as little as 10 meters, the ra-

dios had insufficient operating margin 

to work reliably over time. Turning on 

noise sources dropped the operating 

distance so low that repeaters would 

be required every 5 to 8 meters. 

Network Traffic in 

Shared Frequencies 

Since RF signaling is regulated by 

national governments, all of the RF 

technology suppliers have to share 

their assigned RF frequency spectrum 

in common with other authorized RFbased 

devices and systems. Among the 

devices that share the 868MHz (EU), 

915MHz (US), and ISM 2.4GHz 

bands on which unlicensed, mesh net- 

Image 1. WiFi Router Interference with 

ZigBee 802.15.4 Radio 

work-based control networks operate 

are 802.11 (WiFi) routers and network 

interfaces, cordless phones, Bluetooth 

devices, audio and video extenders, 

closed circuit television transmitters, 

and other control networking devices. 

The interference between different 

wireless devices reduces reliable communication 

between any two devices. 

Various RF technologies use different 

techniques to mitigate interference 

caused by other devices in their space. 

For example, WiFi and Zigbee use direct 

sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) 

to distribute the information over a 

wider bandwidth, while Bluetooth 

uses frequency hopping spread spectrum 

(FHSS) to randomly move from 

channel to channel. Cordless phones 

based both on DSSS and FHSS are 

available on the market. Interference 

among multiple DSSS devices operating 

in adjacent bands poses a problem 

due to overlapping caused by spectral 

re-growth of the frequency bands. The 

net result, compounded by shared use 

of a limited frequency range, reduces 

system performance and reliability. 

The growing number of RF devices 

operating within the shared 

frequency bands is creating virtual 

RF traffic jams, and a corresponding 

degradation in reliability. None of 

the existing mesh networking radios 

operated reliably in heavily trafficked 

RF bands: the radios experienced low 

effective bandwidth in most cases, and 

a complete loss of communication in 

extreme cases. Image 1 demonstrates 

how a single 802.11 (WiFi) router 

spreads energy across the frequency 

bands used by ZigBee 

to the point where reliable signal 

reception is not possible. 

The proliferation of WiFi 

devices, cordless phones, Bluetooth-enabled 

devices, and 

similar products in homes, 

buildings, and factories makes 

ZigBee based devices extremely 

susceptible to interference. As 

with other impairments, WiFi 

devices might not be present 

when an RF mesh network is 

originally installed but could 

be added later. Even if a service 

person is dispatched and can locate 

the source of interference, remediation 

may not be possible depending on the 

location, purpose, and ownership of 

the interfering device. 

RF Multipath 

and Distortion 

Some manufacturers tout the use of 

DSSS and FHSS military spread spectrum 

radios as highly effective in preventing 

jamming, multipath (ghost signals 

caused by reflections from certain 

metal surfaces and materials), and signal 

distortion. In point of fact, none of 

the mesh networking RF technologies 

has the sophistication and processing 

power of military radios. The result is 

erratic RF system operation despite the 

use of spread spectrum technology. 

For example, ZigBee spread spectrum 

radios have demonstrated susceptibility 

to multipath interference from 


metal and metal-foil line surfaces. The 

multipath signal cancels the original 

RF signal, resulting in erratic system 

operation. Other forms of signal distortion 

cause these spread spectrum 

radios to lose sensitivity, reducing the 

operating range drastically. 

Since the sources of signal multipath 

interference and distortion may 

vary with time and location, they may 

not be observed when the RF mesh 

network is originally installed. Additionally, 

changes in the location of 

metal equipment on a factory floor or 

behind a gypsum wall may create multipath 

interference that did not exist at 

the time of the original system installation. 

Mesh repeaters may not solve 

this issue when the location of multipath 

interference source is unknown, 

and have value primarily in extending 

signal range and overcoming obstructions 

such as metal objects. 

Multipath interference at 2.4GHz 

can often be overcome by moving a 

device a short distance (typically 3cm 

to 6cm) to avoid the reflected wave. 

This is simple to do for people experiencing 

multipath on the mobile phones 

or cordless headsets, but machines and 

control devices are not so easily repositioned. 

Once installed in the field, the 

machines and other control devices 

face time-varying multipath effects 

caused by reflections from objects and 

people moving in and out of their operating 

range. 

Multipath and signal distortions 

are difficult to troubleshoot since a 

technician must be present when the 

problem occurs in order to determine 

its source and a viable remedy. The 

net result for product manufacturers? 

Higher warranty costs compared with 

a twisted pair or power line solution. 

Battery Life 

The use of battery-powered wireless 

technology adds another variable to the 

operation and maintenance equation. 

RF mesh technology suppliers have 

to balance battery life against system 

latency (delays from the time a signal 

is triggered until it can be acted upon). 

Dust networks allow repeaters to be 

battery powered by powering down 


23

24 


the device network and waking it up 

from time to time to conserve battery 

life. This technique works with respect 

to battery life but it comes at a very 

heavy price – signal latency can exceed 

15 seconds from the time a device is 

triggered until a reaction occurs. Such 

a long latency rules out the technology 

use for any real-time applications such 

as security monitoring, lighting, fault 

alarms, remote controls, or any activity 

requiring feedback to a user. 

Another RF mesh technology, 

such as that made by MillennialNet, 

requires repeaters remain powered at 

all times. This means that while some 

devices are battery powered, others 

must be mains powered. Given the 

poor range of the radios used by Millennial 

Net, mains powered repeaters 

must be located in close proximity to 

battery powered devices. This architecture 

calls into question the purpose 

of having a battery powered network 

in the first place. 

Even if batteries are not used 

within the RF control devices themselves 

– say, because they are located 

in luminaires that already have access 

to mains power – battery powered 

mesh repeaters may still be required. 

The reason is because the optimal location 

of a mesh repeater will be determined 

not by the availability of mains 

power but by multipath interference, 

distortion effects, and proximity to 

the devices whose signals need to be 

repeated. 

The approximate battery life of a 

control device can be easily calculated. 

Assume that a simple device consumes 

20mA at 3V when awake (a simple 

processor and sensor). Add to this, the 

current requirement of a transmitting 

or receiving radio, typically on the 

order of 20mA. Also, assume that the 

device wakes up for only 5ms at regular 

intervals of 2 seconds. Neglecting 

the energy consumed by the device 

during sleep, this requires an average 

current of 40mA * 5ms / 2s = 100µA. 

With this current consumption, a 

1.15AHr alkaline battery would last 

1.15AHr / 100uA = 11500 hours, or 

approximately 16 months. For large 

commercial buildings or homes with 


potentially hundreds of RF devices, 

the recurring cost of batteries and their 

replacement would be exorbitant. 

Consider the System, 

Not Just the Radio 

Control networks are comprised of 

many elements that are just as important 

as the communication medium. 

Taken together these elements determine 

how easy a system will be to 

install, update, maintain, and support. 

RF mesh technology suppliers make 

many claims about the suitability of 

their products for a wide range of control 

applications. A short list of these 

claims includes the following items: 

� Field proven technology: None of the 

RF mesh technology suppliers have 

fielded the hundreds of thousands of 

units needed to statistically validate 

claims about reliable operation in a 

wide range of applications. The poor 

performance results observed in our 

testing may in part be attributable 

to the lack of understanding of realworld 

operating environments. 

� Open standards: Not a single one of 

the protocols used by the RF mesh 

technologies has been adopted as 

an open standard. ZigBee claims 

to be based on an IEEE standard: 

the protocol is proprietary and only 

the physical layer radio is an IEEE 

802.15.4 standard. Why is this 

relevant? Because ZigBee has not 

memorialized as an open standard 

the messaging by which ZigBee 

devices from different manufacturers 

share and comprehend messages 

sent over the network. The door 

is wide open to non-interoperable, 

incompatible derivations of the 

ZigBee protocol. 

� Fault tolerance: Mesh networking 

is claimed to offer fault tolerance as 

RF signals can be repeated by multiple 

devices throughout the mesh. 

However, ZWave, MillennialNet, 

and many other RF mesh networks 

depend on a controller within the 

network to coordinate the mesh 

repeaters. This controller must be 

functional for the mesh to operate 

correctly; if the controller fails, the 

mesh degrades or fails completely. 

A field test of ZWave RF technology, 

validates these claims with respect 

to the poor field performance of this 

technology. 

What Can a Designer Do? 

The current limitations of RF mesh technology 

should raise tremendous concern 

among designers considering the use of 

this immature technology. The risk to 

companies with respect to reputation, 

life cycle costs, and warranty exposure 

is critically high given the current state 

of RF mesh technology. 

So what can a designer intending 

to use wireless technology for their 

control systems do? The first step is 

to carefully evaluate real world communication 

range, battery life and life 

cycle costs in a statistically meaningful 

number of typical installations. 

Demonstrating a working RF mesh in 

a development laboratory yields very 

different results than a trial at hundreds 

of test sites. The likely outcome, 

based on Echelon’s field tests, will be a 

determination that RF mesh is simply 

not ready for wide scale deployment. 

Fortunately there is a reliable, 

cost-competitive alternative to RF 

mesh technology. Power line signaling 

offers a viable alternative to mesh 

RF for most residential and many 

building/industrial applications. Most 

of the control devices in these applications 

require a connection to electric 

power, be it AC or DC voltage, and 

power line signaling is ideal for these 

applications. 

For new commercial building applications 

free topology twisted pair 

wiring offers proven reliability, no 

battery replacement issues, and very 

low maintenance costs. For commercial 

building retrofit applications, such 

as overhead and emergency lighting 

devices, power line is a better and 

more reliable alternative to RF mesh 

networking. 

Conclusion 

We have no doubt that RF technology 

will improve over time, however, 

we don’t believe that manufacturers 

should be test vehicles for unproven 

technology. RF technology suppliers

should return to their laboratories and not emerge until 

they have a robust, field-proven solution on which product 

manufacturers can rest the good names of their companies. 

The value of RF technology, if it can be made to work well 

at low cost, appears clear for a range of battery-powered 

sensor monitoring applications. The value of mesh networking, 

on the other hand, has yet to be proven in control 

applications where its sole purpose today is to compensate 

for poor quality radios. 

Contact 

Abhay Gupta, Product Marketing Manager, 

Echelon Corporation, agupta@echelon.com 

Michael R. Tennefoss, VP Product Marketing, 

Echelon Corporation, mtennefoss@echolon.com 

Web Services Drive 

New Business 

Opportunities 

After 16 years of continuous development, the 

LONWORKS standard is now entering a mass deployment 

around the world, supported by all major 

system and component vendors in the building technology 

industry. So what’s next? 

Meanwhile, this same 16-year span has seen the Internet 

and associated technologies gain widespread acceptance 

and use around the world in almost every industry, every 

country and all walks of life. The Internet revolution has 

and will continue to shape world commerce as well as social 

behavior in the 21st century. 

Buildings and facilities have always been a significant 

component of global commerce and personal life. In the 

“If I had asked them what they wanted, they would have 

said faster horses” – Henry Ford 


past, buildings have been seen as a necessary evil, an expense 

that should be reduced at all costs or simply as something 

necessary to house industry workers or act as a living 

and entertainment venue. The nature of buildings in the 

past means that they are managed mostly with a historical 

perspective. 

The Internet is changing this; the future of the building 

automation industry is not in buildings. 

Today, buildings spread worldwide can, at a reasonable 

cost, be connected in real-time with each other and to the 

nerve centre of the organization. This connectivity is also 

something that organizations now take for granted in almost 

all other walks of their corporate and personal lives. 

Building owner organizations now realize their facilities 

can, if used correctly, be a significant contributor to achieving 

corporate objectives. 

This realization is turning the building from a cost centre 

to an asset. Most businesses realize that cost expenses 

are something they want to reduce, while assets are areas 

where investments should be considered in order to increase 

their value, or in the case of buildings, to make the facilities 

more effective toward their business goals. 

For the last decade, businesses have been developing a 

finely tuned machine to squeeze efficiencies out of their operations. 

From the billions spent to “fix” the Y2K problem 

in the late 90s and the implementation of ERP (Enterprise 

Resource Planning) systems to the development of ITcentric 

supply chain management, the tool that corporate 

organizations have used to implement immense increases in 

efficiencies has unquestionably been Information Technology. 

CEOs, presidents and other boardlevel executives today 

have an un pre cedented view of their orga nization through 

portals and dashboards that allow them to monitor and 

control all systems of their enterprise in real-time – all systems, 

which until now excluded buildings. 

The combination of open standards such as LONWORKS 

and Internet technologies promises to open a Pandora’s Box 

of opportunities. The big question is the nature of those 

opportunities and who is likely to benefit from them. One 

thing is certain: Wherever the future of buildings lies, it is 

unlikely to be seen through the old perspective of buildings. 

The information revolution is as significant as the printing 

revolution brought about by the Guttenberg press in the 

15th century and the industrial revolution that started in 

the 18th century. 

In another minor revolution in the early 20th century, 

Henry Ford changed mass transportation from horse and 

carriage to automobiles. His vision of change and anticipation 

of new values was encapsulated in his quote, “If I had 

asked them what they wanted, they would have said faster 

horses”. 

While standards such as LONWORKS have and will continue 

to do a great deal in normalizing ways of connecting 

devices and sharing information, the enormity of the value 

of building systems can only be liberated by looking at them 


25

26 


from a completely different perspective 

– the perspective of the businesses that 

own and/or operate these facilities. 

Web Services enable LONWORKS 

systems to play a role in the IT-centric 

world of today’s enterprise organizations. 

But that statement is only the 

start. Connecting the building automation 

and control system to the ITcentric 

world of Web Services brings 

considerably more opportunities than 

the adoption of an IT standard and 

more than the use of IT infrastructure 

to carry building automation and control 

network traffic. 

In the same way that no one ten 

years ago could have foreseen the 

demise of DEC (Digital Equipment 

Corporation) or the success of eBay or 

Google, the world of buildings and IT 

convergence in the next ten years will 

be radically different from how it is 

today. There is only so much performance 

you need or can squeeze from a 

building automation “programmable 

controller”, or so many flavors of I/O 

required from a device before they 

all become commodities that, by the 

way, in the future will be a) cheap and 

b) made in China. 

No, the future of the building automation 

industry is not in buildings. 

The future is how building automation 

experts can leverage the building 

as an integrated facet of tomorrow’s 

business enterprise. The challenge 

is not only how to make a control 

sequence function, but how the programming 

of the control system can 

benefit the bottom line of the facility 

owner. 

Comfortable and safe buildings 

may well have been the mantra of 

many building automation companies 

at the end of the 20th century. In the 

21st century, these will remain necessary 

but will be assumed as a base 

line – the mantra now is how facility 

owners can leverage their buildings to 

better their business. 

Contact: Anto Budiardjo 

President, Clasma Events Inc. 

Organizer of BuilConn Europe 

antob@clasma.com 

www.builconn.com 


Why Low-Cost Busses 

are Important for LONMARK 

Open Systems 

The Complementary World of DALI and 

LONMARK Open systems Solutions 

In the late nineties, the lighting 

industry developed the DALI 

standard (Digital Addressable 

Light Interface) for low cost, dimmable 

ballasts. The interface is designed 

to replace the 1-10V interface 

for dimmable lamp ballasts. DALI is 

eshrined in the IEC 60929 standard 

and guarantees interchangeability and 

interoperability of lamp devices from 

different producers. 

This new standard is having a big 

impact in the business of lighting solutions 

and is fundamentally changing 

the way that system-level solutions can 

be provided. Now that all the major 

lighting manufacturers are providing 

a digital bus system, HVAC specialists 

can integrate their own lighting solutions, 

benefiting from the advantage 

of the integrated user interface. 

System-level solutions implemented 

using conventional technology are 

really expensive (see image 1), while a 

LONMARK/DALI solution is available 

at reasonable cost. The number of 

control elements used can be reduced 

by a factor of 30. Even for a small, 

40-lamp installation, the resulting 

Image 1 

savings can be as much as 6500 euro. 

We’ll examine the economics later in 

this article, but first let’s consider the 

technical issues. 

Technical Features 

In practice, a typical DALI control 

module controls up to 40-50 lamps 

which are arranged into 16 groups. 

The infrastructure interface must be 

able to handle several actions in parallel. 

Depending on the controller, a 

DALI network can handle around 30 

to 40 control instructions per second. 

This means the controller needs to 

manage two dimming instructions 

per second for each lighting group, assuming 

that data is sent only from the 

controller to the lighting modules. 

DALI controllers are commonly 

connected to a higher-level device network, 

such as a LONWORKS network, 

which supports many more devices 

and significantly more network traffic. 

DALI does not have the bandwidth 

nor the collision detection to also 

process commands from the DALI 

pushbutton or even sensors. That’s 

the reason why the IEC 60929 standard 

does not include provision for a 

multi pushbutton. In this case it is

common to use a LONWORKS network 

for control of more complex devices 

and larger networks requiring more 

data traffic. 

Open systems are used in order to 

promote free configurable and stable 

systems. The designs typically use 

LONWORKS FTT or Ethernet systems 

as subsystems. 

Financial View 

The Saturn Tower in Vienna is a good 

example of just how big the cost reduction 

can be with this approach. 

The comparison in image 

1 is made using typical 

list prices. Only the costs 

for wiring, installation, 

ballasts and controllers 

are included. Because the 

lamps and control devices 

are cost-neutral they are 

not included. 

The first example 

(image 2), includes a 

LONMARK/DALI solution 

with 44 lamps per 

controller and dimmable 

lamps. With this solution 

the lamps are free for programming 

(group building 

and individual control). 

The second example 

(image 3), concentrates 

switched-circuit (on-off) 

control in fixed wired 

group-blocks. This version 

reduces the costs 

compared to a DALI solution 

by about 12,360 euro 

down to 607,120 euro, 

but with substantially 

less functionality and 

little flexibility of configuration. 

This example 

represents the minimum 

solution. Example three 

(image 4) is similar to example 

one, with the difference 

that it is built around 

conventional technology. 

Each controller controls 

7-8 dimmable lamps. This 

version is about 334,120 

euro more expensive than 

the first example. 

Consequence 

From a financial point of view, 

LONMARK combined with DALI is 

the best solution for the building 

owner. As long small numbers of 

lamps have to be grouped, a set of 

LONMARK devices with integrated 

dimming function can be used. For 

larger groups, the LONMARK Controller, 

Switch and DALI lamp actuator 

combination serves best and provides 

maximum control flexibility. In addition, 

LONMARK can also cover all 

the other areas of the total building 

Image 2. LonMark/DALI solution with 44 lamps per controller 

Image 3. On-off control in fixed wired group-blocks 

Image 4. Lighting solution based on conventional 

technology 


automation requirement (for example 

HVAC) with competent partners. The 

building owner gets one solution from 

a single source, which supports all 

manufacturers of the lighting industry 

working with open standards. 

Initially, the DALI Standard was 

regarded as a competing product 

to LONMARK. In reality, the ability 

to combine DALI lighting solutions 

within an overall LONMARK building 

network has been demonstrated to 

create new business opportunities and 

help to fuel the growth of LONMARK 

open systems. 

An integrated 

LONMARK system 

costs significantly 

less and shows 

demonstrably better 

efficiency and 

stability. 

Infranet Partners 

realised the 

opportunity that 

this new approach 

presented, and 

have engineered 

their product range to reflect this. 

The successful InfraDali100 and 

1000 LONMARK certified lamp actuators 

are now being supplemented 

with new versions that add 4, 8 or 

16 automatic constant light controllers. 

The product family is based on 

LONMARK profiles and is the only 

device that supports full LONMARK 

objects for all 64 lamp actuators. In 

each example, DALI serves only as 

a replacement for the 0-10V dimmable 

lamp actuator interface as it 

is defined by its inventor, DALI-AG. 

Combined with the quality, scalability, 

stability and interoperability of 

LONMARK Open System Solutions, 

the two standards build a thrilling 

and unbeatable total system 

solution, delivering a cost efficient 

solution with support from leading 

manufacturers world wide. 

Contact: 

Infranet Partners 

Christoph Broennimann 

Tel. +41 33 223 00 80 

www.infranet-partners.com 


27

28 


Technical 

Corner 

Adding More 

Interoperability with 

Version 3.4 Guidelines 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 

The new LONMARK Interoperability 

Guidelines are here; and with them, 

a few enhancements to push us that 

much closer to ubiquitous interoperability. 

One of the most exciting 

advancements comes in the way of 

self-installation: Echelon Corporation 

has introduced the Interoperable 

Self-Installation (ISI) pro to col. Already 

a part of the European CECED 

CHAIN specifications (for automation 

of home appliances), it allows 

small (less than 200 devices), simple 

networks to self-install and correct 

installation conflicts as new devices 

are added to the network 

over time. Echelon’s web site 

describes the ISI protocol as 

“an application-layer protocol 

that allows installation 

of devices and connection 

management without the 

use of a network management 

tool […].” Is this the 

only way to do self-installation, 

you may ask? No, 

however, it is the LONMARK 

interoperable way. If you do 

self-installation today, you 

can continue in that fashion. 

The goal behind ISI is to 

have a platform that will fit 

the majority of needs and allow 

manufacturers to add to 

that platform such that their 

devices will interoperate 

with other devices certified 

according to the LONMARK 


Guidelines and incorporating the ISI 

protocol. The ISI is most suitable for 

devices without function-specific CPs, 

or devices that are fully functional 

in simple networks with their factory-set 

CP defaults. 

The ISI documents 

can be found on 

Echelon’s Web site: 

www.echelon.com/isi. 

The first thing 

you’ll most likely 

notice is the change 

in layout: The Guidelines 

have been 

changed to better 

match the layout of the document 

submitted through ISO channels for 

standardization. This new layout will 

assist us in keeping the versions more 

in sync with each other as subsequent 

submissions are made in the future. 

The Format file information is now 

also part of the Guidelines in an attempt 

to keep the documents similar. 

As most developers are aware, 

LONMARK International’s Certification 

Tool (LCT) (cert.lonmark.org) 

includes a downloadable component 

to test the network interface of a device, 

including status queries of the 

Node Object functional block. The 

version 3.4 Guidelines add a few ad- 

ditional compliance requirements for 

timing so that each certified device’s 

performance will be in-line with 

expectations of network-management 

tools adding to the interoperability of 

installation and monitoring. 

Along those 

same lines, each device 

that augments a 

standard profile in its 

implementation will 

need Device Resource 

Files to accompany 

it. The requirement 

for resource files is 

no longer restricted 

to devices that have UNVTs and 

UCPTs but is for devices that also 

add SNVTs/SCPTs to a functional 

block. This will allow installers to 

more easily pre-install a network with 

their network-installation tools before 

physically assembling the network. 

A few of the minor changes you’ll find 

in the Guidelines include: 

� the ability to now specify CPs as 

Device-Specific without also requiring 

them to be Constant, 

� allowing a SCPTnwrkCnfg CP to 

apply to the entire device whenever 

a Node Object functional block is 

not implemented to reduce code size 

for low-memory devices, 

� adding “unsigned quad” and “double-float” 

as standard base types, 

providing greater range for utilitymetering 

and high-precision applications. 

There are also clarifications on the 

acceptable content of self-documentation 

strings and a device’s interface 

to the network. I encourage you to 

download the new Guidelines from 

the LONMARK International Web 

site (www.lonmark.org/products/ 

guides.htm) to become familiar with 

the enhancements and clarifications. 

And, as always, please contact 

LONMARK Staff with any questions. 

We are always happy to help. 

Jeremy Roberts 

Technical Director of 

LONMARK International

Integrators 

Perspective 

Where is the Integrator? 

While some topics can be universal, 

others are territory specifi c. This one 

falls into the latter. Some of the views 

presented below may not be applicable 

for markets beyond Hong Kong. Take 

it for information only if that happens 

to be your case. 

Role-wise there are 2 classes of integrators 

for any system technical and 

commercial. They can be single or multiple 

parties. The boundary between the 

two is highly dynamic, especially with 

the commercial integrator whose range 

of services can be very broad. Usually 

the owner and/or end-user of the system 

is neither of the two nor competent 

to be so. Thus, external service providers 

are sourced. The decision to engage 

a single party or otherwise is very often 

dictated by some established trade 

‘rules’ developed over decades, which 

remain surprisingly rigid despite the 

continuous change of the market environment. 

When multiple parties are 

engaged, the division of duties among 

them becomes one of the assignments 

for the ‘upstream’ technical integrator, 

commonly known as the professional 

engineer. The fi rst decision, as you 

can imagine, is how much he himself 

will do, and the answer is interestingly 

simple – it all depends on how much he 

CAN do. The balance and all the risk 

associated will go to the other parties. 

Let me illustrate with a few examples. 

1) When a disco owner wants a stateof-the-art 

lighting system installed 

in his new dance hall, he goes to 

‘design-and-build’ specialist lighting 

system integrators. The chosen 

company will then take it up singlehandedly, 

with trade suppliers and 

sub-contractors under his management 

of course. In most if not all 

cases, the fi nal product comprises 

components and sub-systems from 

multiple vendors, with the integrator 

adding his value to it both technically 

and commercially. 

2) When a lift system is needed, a technical 

integrator, the professional 

engineer, is usually engaged. He 

comes up with a performance specifi 

cation leaving the technical aspect 

of the product to the commercial 

integrator – the contractor. The end 

result is a branded system of the successful 

contractor who is very often 

the manufacturer of the key components. 

3) When a HVAC system is to be installed, 

the technical integrator will 

be responsible for most of the design 

work, down to the level of components 

both on exact quantities and 

specifi cation, not just performance. 

The commercial integrator (contractor) 

elaborates and executes 

accordingly. However, inserting a 

particular element called ‘building 

automation’ into this package makes 

it behave quite differently. The technical 

integrator (engineer) simply 

leaves the whole subject to another 

group of integrators who are a class 

of their own. As many readers of 

this magazine are stakeholders in the 

trade concerned, I don’t think I have 

to explain further how it operates. 

The product delivered is very often 

proprietary to various extents. 

I have been puzzled for years – how 

could it be so different from trade to 

trade and how could it remain so for 

decades? At one stage, I thought it was 

another ‘supply and demand’ driven 

phenomenon but it’s obviously not. 

The two classes of integrators must 

fi nally get the system delivered jointly. 

Competence must exist on either side 

of the boundary. The question is why 

it’s always on one side for certain 

trades and the opposite for others. 

There is no observable barrier to stop 

the fl ow across, at least in our economic 

system. 

The call for true openness in the 

building automation business, as it 

has happened with HVAC, electrical 

distribution, fi re services, plumbing, 

drainage and many others, triggers 

me to look deeper into the subject and 

this is the opinion I have come up with 

recently. 


It is a simple commercial compromise 

after all - the less the owner is willing 

to pay the technical integrator, the 

less he will be able to deliver and thus 

the greater the chance that the fi nal 

product will remain ‘closed’. 

In the case of disco lighting, the 

value of the technical integration (system 

design) can be over 20% of the 

total project cost. Unwilling to pay 

such a fee, owners choose to have 

one party handling both. Eventually 

they pay but they don’t feel it. In the 

case of lifts, owners engage technical 

integrators at a nominal fee for traditional 

building services - far from being 

suffi cient for the engineers to design a 

lift system for commercial integrators 

(contractors) to build. Thus, only a 

performance specifi cation is provided. 

In the case of HVAC, the fee becomes 

viable due to the much larger contract 

value, enabling the engineers to come 

up with full-blown designs for contractors 

to implement. But it doesn’t apply 

to building automation. While there is 

no technical diffi culty for the engineers 

to equip their teams with competent 

building automation system designers, 

the fee currently being paid by owners 

is simply too lean. 

I have been reading optimistic articles 

about owners demanding open 

systems for their facilities, thus leading 

to business opportunities for new comers 

with non-proprietary products. I 

will continue to have reservations until 

owners begin to understand the origin 

of the problem, if it is a problem. The 

fee cannot be more or less universal 

across all trades. It can vary by 1 to 

10 percent of the project value. Only 

when the upstream technical integrator 

is paid adequately to perform his 

duty, can the other parties deliver 

accordingly. In order to promote open 

systems in building automation, this 

is the door that needs to be opened and 

kept opened. The integrator, whether 

technical or commercial, is not someone 

yet to be found but right here already, 

to be engaged under fair terms. 

Author: Paul Chong 

Southa Group Hong Kong 

paulchong@southa.com 


29

New 

LONMARK 

Certified 

Products 

Aquametro AG 

CALEC ® ST 

The CALEC ® ST is a heat meter calculator for building 

automation and energy management. The calculator has 

energy and volume counters, some instantaneous values 

and two programmable auxiliary inputs including the corresponding 

counters or optional two relay outputs. Data 

logging is done by 28 data 

loggers, two billing dates 

and a remote controlled 

freeze memory. This 

freeze function enables a 

simultaneous meter reading 

in a network. 

CALEC ® ST FLOW 

The CALEC ® ST FLOW 

is a calculator for building 

automation and fl ow management. The calculator has 

energy, volume and mass counters, corresponding instantaneous 

values and two programmable auxiliary inputs 

including the corresponding counters or optional two relay 

outputs. 

CALEC ® ST MASS 

The CALEC ® ST MASS is a heat meter calculator for 

building automation and energy management. The calculator 

has energy and mass counters, some instantaneous values 

and two programmable auxiliary inputs including the 

corresponding counters or optional two relay outputs. 

Gulf Security Technology Co. Ltd. 

HW-BA5201 

HW-BA5201 is designed to control HVAC applications. 

The HW-BA5201’s 11 universal inputs, 4 digital outputs, 

2 universal outputs, 2 analog outputs and all control 

blocks are easily confi gured using simple Windows-based 

software. Flexible state machine, SCC and run time control 

blocks can be used to quickly create effective control and 

monitoring solutions. 

HW-BA5208 

The HW-BA5208 is a 5 digital 

input and 5 digital output 

module, which is used in 

LONWORKS control networks. 

It can monitor 5 dry contacts 

or 0-5VDC, 0-12VDC, 

0-24VDC inputs and provide 

5 relay outputs. Separate status 

LEDs are provided for each input/output. The module 

is based on the Neuron ® 3150 ® Chip and the FTT-10A free 

topology transceiver. The HW-BA5208 module can be 

confi gured with a plug-in software tool. The connector of 

the HW-BA5208 is knock-down for easy installation. 

Honeywell International 

Excel Smart I/O Compact 

Excel Smart I/O Compact modules feature three confi gurable 

digital inputs, analog inputs, and relay outputs 

suitable for a wide 

range of intelligent, 

distributed applications. 

Furthermore, it 

provides a very fl exibly 

confi gurable switching 

logic function which 

empowers the device 

to perform some fast 

control functions. 

Johnson Controls, Inc. 

FX16 Master 

Controller 

The FX16 Master Controller is 

a multi-media programmable 

controller of the FX Platform. 

The FX16 Master Controller is 

specifi cally designed for commercial 

HVAC and refrigeration 

applications such as chillers and rooftops, indoor packaged 

air conditioning units, air handling units and close control 

units. 

Purechoice, Inc. 

Nose ® 4 Monitor 

PureChoice has developed 

another groundbreaking 

product for indoor air 

quality monitoring. The 

Nose Monitor, four sensor 



31

32 


version, combines multiple sensors into a compact, singleprinted 

circuit board mounted in a thermoplastic housing. 

The LONMARK certifi ed Nose 4 measures four key IAQ 

parameters – temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide 

and carbon monoxide. 

Siemens Building Technologies 

(Staefa Controls USA) 

Predator ® VAV Dual 

Duct Controller 

The Predator Dual Duct VAV/CV controller is a LONMARK 

certifi ed space comfort controller that provides direct 

digital control of pressure independent, dual duct, dual 

sensor variable air volume (VAV) 

or constant volume (CV) zone 

level routines. 

Predator VAV Single 

Duct Controller 

The Predator Variable Air 

Volume/Constant Volume (VAV/ 

CV) controller is a LONMARK 

certifi ed space comfort controller 

that provides direct digital control 

of pressure independent, single duct Variable Air Volume 

(VAV) or single duct Constant Volume (CV) zone level 

routines. 

Tour Andover Controls 

TAC VSD LON ® for 

TAC ATV Speed Drives 

The TAC VSD LON is an optional 

device for TAC speed 

drives which enables the connection 

of the drive to a LONWORKS 

network. 

Trane 

Tracer LCI-C for CH530 RTX 

The LCI-C, available 

factory installed or 

fi eld retrofi tted, is 

an integrated communication 

board 

that enables the 

chiller controller to 

communicate over 

a LonTalk network. 

While monitoring alarms and status, the LCI-C is capable 

of controlling chiller set-points and operating modes. 


New 

Products 

Newron System and PHILIPS Lighting 

Offer Lighting Solution for Commercial 

Building Market 

NEWRON SYSTEM, a leading, worldwide software 

provider of LONWORKS control network solutions and 

Philips Lighting BV have signed an OEM licence agreement 

for their fl agship product: NLFacilities. The Agreement 

will allow Philips to increase its lighting solution 

market penetration by associating its new lighting device 

range (LightMaster Modular) with the leading software 

for automatic confi guration, zoning and management of 

LONWORKS networks. Philips will use this user-friendly set 

of software tools built on Echelon’s LNS ® network operating 

system for LONWORKS networks, exclusively. Newron 

System has added extended system integration capabilities 

based on its zone concept that facilitates the creation of 

open, interoperable LONWORKS-based open automation 

systems. 

NLFacilities is an LNS manager tool where partitions 

can be moved on-screen and the building layout automatically 

reconfi gured for use. This product is highly 

innovative and is aimed at simplifying integration and 

facility management. A perfect match for Philips’ slogan: 

“sense and simplicity” and a perfect tool for Lighting 

solutions. 

NLFacilities structure is built on a zone template which 

includes the basic zone functions. Philips Lighting and 

Newron System share not only this “zone” concept but 

also the, “zone in zone” concept. This identical vision 

of the market has encouraged both companies to come 

together and strengthen their cooperation. 

Philips Lighting sees NLFacilities as the best tool available 

to complete the LightMaster Modular system, in order 

to present a scalable, future proof and easy to use lighting 

management system. 

Contact: 

Serge LE MEN 

Newron System 

Tel. +33 561 151 845 

serge.lemen@newron-system.com 

www.newron-system.com

Certify your products 

in minutes! 

Certifying products is fast and easy with the LONMARK ® Certification Tool. 

Developing open, interoperable products is time consuming. Certifying products shouldn’t be. 

Thanks to the new web-based tool, LonMark members can certify products in 

minutes. The friendly web interface guides you through the certification 

process using an intuitive checklist. Simply enter your 

information, upload your files, and test your device. 

The computer does the work and you get instant results. 

Take a few minutes and certify your products. 

Visit http://cert.lonmark.org for more information. 

www.lonmark.org 

LONMARK and the LONMARK Logo are registered trademarks in the US and other jurisdictions. LONMARK has the right to administer these trademarks under a license agreement from Echelon Corporation.

34 


Intelligent Integration of 

HVAC Actuators 

The leading supplier of motorisation 

solutions for HVAC air control 

dampers and valves, Belimo, offers 

LONMARK ® certifi ed bus actuators, as 

well as the MP-Bus ® actuators, making 

the integration of different air and 

water actuators more straightforward 

than ever. 

In today’s HVAC systems, a wide 

range of actuators, e.g. air control 

and fi re dampers, VAV controllers as 

well as control valves are used all at 

once. Via networking and centralizing 

control and monitoring functions, the 

costs for startup, servicing and upkeep 

can be minimized. This also creates a 

transparent basis for facility management. 

Bus-capable actuators and VAV 

controllers from Belimo have intelli- 


gent controllers with open interfaces. 

Air control dampers, VAV controllers 

and valves are individually connected 

to LONWORKS systems with LONMARK 

certifi ed actuators and gateways using 

the #8110 function profi le. The 

BKN230-24LON communication device 

is available as a gateway for fi re 

dampers. 

Less cabling with the 

Belimo MP-Bus ® 

It is also possible to choose a solution 

with Belimo’s proprietary MP- 

Bus ® and group together up to 8 

different actuators per line. A DDC 

controller with MP-Bus interface or 

the UK24LON gateway serves as the 

interface to the 

LONWORKS system. 

Using the 

same cable, it is 

possible to add 

a conventional 

sensor. The MP 

solution makes 

it possible to signifi 

cantly reduce 

the number of 

data points in the 

DDC controller. 

Using MP actuators 

with Multi- 

Function Technology 

(MFT) is 

a precondition 

for connecting 

via MP-Bus. 

These already 

have the factoryset 

basic parameters 

for normal 

applications. 

Furthermore, 

MFT technology 

makes it possible 

to adjust the 

actuators to the 

precise requirements 

of the system 

in terms of 

application and servicing using the 

parameter setting tool. 

Contact: info@belimo.ch 

www.belimo.com 

TALON Predator Low 

Flow Improves Building 

Efficiency 

The Staefa Control System brand from 

Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. 

now includes a new HVAC variable 

air volume controller, the TALON 

Predator Single Duct/Dual Duct Low 

Flow. 

Designed for applications where 

tight fl ow accuracies must be maintained 

(e.g., pressurized rooms), the 

controller provides quiet operation to 

eliminate occupant white noise and 

reduces energy usage for long term 

cost savings. It is particularly suited 

for critical environments in hospitals, 

laboratories, industrial buildings, and 

medical offi ces where highly accurate 

building control is required. The 

Predator Low Flow is best suited for 

fl ow ranges between 150-1200 fpm, 

with tightest accuracy particularly 

noticeable below 400 fpm. Detailed 

product information is available at 

http://www.sbt.siemens.com/HVP/ 

Staefa/products/documentation/ 

specifi cations.asp 

Staefa Control System, a brand 

from Siemens Building Technologies, 

Inc., leads the industry with the 

TALON open protocol building control 

system. 

Contact: 

Mark L. W. Rehwald 

Tel. +1 847 941 6556 

mark.rehwald@siemens.com 

www.staefa.com

36 


Easylon ® Analyzer 

Detects Problems within 

Control Networks 

Are there any problems with your 

control network? Do hardly reproducible 

errors occur at irregular intervals? 

The Easylon Analyzer from Gesytec is 

standard software that uses the Easylon 

VNI Interface capabilities of EIA 

709.1 to investigate the network. 

The Easylon Analyzer thoroughly 

investigates network communication 

and node properties. In combination 

with Easylon VNI Interfaces, it provides 

insights into network behavior. 

In addition to the analysis functions, 

commands can also be sent to the 

network, to set NVs, for example. 

Technicians familiar with the technology 

appreciate Easylon Analyzer for 

its in-depth operations. 

The Easylon Analyzer even operates 

on an unknown network by reading 

all node information from the network. 

During operation, it intercepts 

all telegrams within the network and 

makes them available to the analysis 

program by displaying plain text, node 

names and NV’s. To identify sporadic 

and hardly reproducible errors, the 

Redundant L-IP Router 

from LOYTEC 

The unique redundant LIP-33ECRB 

ANSI 709.1/IP-852 router from 

LOYTEC provides everything needed 

to build reliable and powerful redundant 

ANSI 709.1 and IP-852 networks 

for applications that require high 

availability. 

Ring and Node Monitoring 

On the ANSI 709.1 side, two FT-10 

ports are provided to build up the 

TP/FT-10 ring. All nodes connected 

to this ring, and the ring itself, are 

automatically monitored by the “LIP 

redundant”. If a node connected to 

this ring is not responding (e.g. node is 

faulty, offl ine, etc.) the LIP-33ECRB 

generates an alarm according to the 

LONMARK guidelines. Whenever a 


trigger functions record the telegram 

traffi c prior to and after a defi nable 

event depending on telegram type, 

content or communication relation. 

The Easylon Analyzer lists all 

nodes and their status information 

and NV’s, and allows the setting of 

specifi c values. A consistency report 

displays the status of the individual 

nodes and checks the uniqueness of 

the network and node entries as well 

as the consistency of the NV bindings. 

broken ring is detected the ring heals 

itself automatically and an alarm 

message is generated and transmitted. 

Router Redundancy 

Two “LIP redundant” routers can be 

used in Twin Mode and can be connected 

to a redundant Ethernet/IP 

Using the Easylon VNI Interface 

capabilities also means operating in 

a real multi-client situation, i.e. the 

analysis does not impede network 

access by other programs. 

For a trial version, please visit 

www.gesytec.com. 

Contact: 

Gesytec GmbH 

info@gesytec.de 

www.gesytec.com 

network. Since there is only one router 

active at a time, duplication of network 

traffi c is avoided. Both routers 

monitor each other via the IP and the 

TP/FT-10 network. If one router fails 

the other one takes over automatically 

and sends out an alarm message. 

The complete confi guration can be 

done through an LNS plug-in or 

through the built in Web server. 

Comprehensive built in diagnostics 

information including powerful diagnostics 

during installation are also 

provided through the LNS plug-in and 

the built in Web server. 

Contact: 

LOYTEC electronics GmbH 

Tel. +43 1 40 20 80 50 

info@loytec.com 

www.loytec.com

Monitoring Made Easy 

with EC-Monitor Plug-ins 

Distech Controls recently launched 

the EC-Monitor plug-ins that generate 

high quality, animated graphics, for 

real-time monitoring of the LONMARK 

certifi ed easyCONTROLS terminal 

unit controllers. A user-friendly visual 

interface, the EC-Monitor plug-ins 

are easy to use and simplify device 

management and troubleshooting for 

integrators and end-users alike. 

Key EC-Monitor Features: 

� View the actual performance (temperature, 

pressure, humidity,etc.) 

and state of your device in realtime. 

� Save design time with automatic 

graphic generation, i.e. no need to 

build monitoring graphics and no 

need to create new graphics for each 

device. 

� Graphics are automatically generated 

and dynamically adapt to the 

confi gurations of the device as well 

as the values being monitored. 

� Graphics are automatically generated 

during confi guration of the 

device, using data entered in the 

EC-Confi gure plug-in. 

� Compatible with any LNS based 

software containing a director that 

can launch LNS based plug-ins. 

� As with the other Distech Controls 

plug-ins, the EC-Monitor plug-ins 

are provided free of charge and are 

available for download from the 

Distech Controls website. 

To download the available EC-Monitor 

plug-ins for the EC-RTU-L, the 

EC-VAV-L and the EC-FCU-L,go to: 

http://www.distech-controls.com/ 

DISTECH_2004/ENG/SUPPORT_ 

TRAINING_1/support_training_ 

01.htm 

To view the EC-Monitor video 

tutorials, go to: http://www.distechcontrols.com/DISTECH_2004/ENG/ 

TUTORIALS/tutorials2.htm 

Contact: 

Distech Controls 

sales@distech-controls.com 

Tel. +1 450 444 9898 

In Memoriam 

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Thomas J. Sullivan. 

He passed away in his sleep in the early morning of 28 June 2005 after a 

year-long battle with cancer. A well respected man in the rail-transportation 

industry for the past 30 years, Tom 

served as LONMARK’s Transportation 

Task Group co-Leader since the 

group’s inception. Tom was instrumental 

in dispelling the industry 

trepidation surrounding communications-based 

train controls (CBTC), 

and pushed LonTalk into becoming 

a leading railcar-communications 

protocol. In addition to his numer- Tom Sullivan and Veronica Alencar 

ous contributions to the LONWORKS 

community and LONMARK International, Tom was a co-founder and Secretary 

of the IEEE’s Rail Transit Vehicle Interface Standard Committee, and was a 

Member of the Board of the Transit Standards Consortium. 

Before founding Transportation Systems Design, Inc. (http://www.tsd.org/), 

Tom worked for some of the biggest rail companies in the USA, such as Bay 

Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco; Muni Railway in San Francisco; and 

New York City Transit, in New York City. 

Tom has educated the railway industry in many ways including as a 

Contributing Editor to Railway Age magazine, and as an instructor teaching 

the rail industry’s first courses in CBTC at the Center for Professional Development 

at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. 

Tom earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer 

Science from the University of California - Berkeley Campus in 1970, where 

he also taught as an instructor. 

Personally, Tom was a great friend to those in LONMARK and we will miss his 

upbeat, energetic spirit. Tom always brought with him a smile to all 

occasions, and shared with those around him the joys he saw in life. 

If you are inclined to remember Tom with a gift, 

there are two ways most fitting: 

� Tom’s wishes were for donations to be made 

to organizations fighting AIDS. 

� In addition, friends of Tom have formed a memorial in his name at his 

alma mater: 

“Tom Sullivan Memorial Fund – University of California” 

c/o Mr. Danny Estropia 

University Relations Department 

University of California – Berkeley Campus 

2080 Addison Street 

Berkeley, CA 94720-4200 

USA 

Though Tom will be missed dearly, his friendship and contributions to our 

industries will be remembered always. 

Staff, LONMARK International 



37

38 


Reader Registration Card 

If you have not subscribed online, then please complete 

questions 1-4 below and FAX back to +49 241 88970 42 to 

receive a regular FREE copy. 

Name Job Title 

Company/Organization 

Address 

Postal Code 

E-Mail 

Tel. Fax 

If Change of address please e-mail: 

subscriptions@lmimagazine.com 

1. Type of Business: 

� Consulting Engineer/ 

Specifier 

� Contractor/Dealer 

� Design/Build Firm 

� Education 

� End-User 

� Facility/Bldg Mgmt 

2. Primary Industry: 

� Buildings 

� Education 

� Homes 

� Industrial 

3. Industry Focus: 

� Aerospace 

� Agriculture 

� Air Transportation 

� Automotive 

� Banking 

� Biotechnology 

� Broadcasting 

� Chemical 

� Communications 

� Construction 

� Consulting 

� Education 

� Educational Services 

� Engineering 

� Entertainment 

� Developer 

� Food Services 

� Forestry 

� Government 

� Health Services 

4. Employee Size: 

� 1-50 employees 




� Government 

� Integrator 

� Military 

� OEM – Hardware 

� OEM – Software 

� OEM – Systems 

� Wholesaler/Distributor 

� Other 

� Semiconductor 

� Transportation 

� Utilities 


� Hotel 

� Information Services 

� ISP 

� Military 

� Mining 

� Networking 

� Paper Goods 

� Pharmaceuticals 

� Printing 

� Publishing 

� Real Estate 

� Retail 

� Shipping 

� Health/Fitness 

� Telecommunications 

� Trucking 

� Waste Management 

� Water Transportation 

� Wholesaler 




� More than 1000 employees 

Information Request 

Sender 

Name 

Company/Organization 

Address 

Postal Code 

E-Mail 

Tel. Fax 

Please send me: 

� Info about LONMARK International 

� General info about the LONWORKS technology 

� Info about the LONMARK membership 

Please send me further information about the article(s)/ 

product(s): 

� New Echelon Platform First to Embed Control Networks 

Inside Everyday Devices 

� e-GA Home Network System Brings Home Automation 

to the Korean Mass Market 

� Economy Trade Fair Develops the Booming West China 

� LSG Sky Chefs Select Envidatec for Energy Auditing 

� LONMARK Signs Affiliation Agreement with LonUser 

Group Denmark 

� LonUsers UK Join LONMARK International as Affi liate 

� Clean Room Equipped with LONWORKS at Leading 

Healthcare Supplier 

� Zagreb Airport Opts for a Networked Door 

Management System 

� LONWORKS Control Technology Protects Museum 

Exhibits, Keeps Visitors Comfortable 

� Multi-vendor HVAC System Saves Time and Money 

� The RF Frenzy: Looking Beyond the Hype 

� Web Services Drive New Business Opportunities 

� Why Low-Cost Busses are Important for LONMARK 

Open Systems 

� Adding More Interoperability with 

Version 3.4 Guidelines 

� New LONMARK Certifi ed Products. 

Please specify the product(s): 

� New Products. Please specify the product(s): 

Please FAX the completed form to: +49 241 88970 42 

We will forward your address to the corresponding 

manufacturer who will then send you information material.

Certifying products is fast and easy with the LONMARK ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?