With two presentations and a range of products displayed on our stand, Synapsys Solutions will have a prominent presence at this year’s Smart Buildings Show. Taking place at London’s Barbican Centre on 7-8 November, the Smart Buildings Show aims to connect visitors to the latest information and technology in the Smart buildings industry.

One of the main objectives of Smart technology is to make buildings more energy efficient, and this requires good energy management. There is a common assumption that a Building Management System (BMS) is the route to achieving energy efficiency but, in practice, not all BMSs operate efficiently all of the time. The real key to energy management is continuous improvement – and in order to achieve this real information is required. An Energy Management System (EMS) takes the information collected by a BMS and presents it in a format that enables the building manager to easily interpret it and prioritise areas that require future improvement. By identifying how and when a building uses the most energy, the manager can develop an effective control strategy that can be tested and implemented to maximise savings. If you would like to find out more about how an EMS can help building managers achieve ongoing savings and reduce energy usage in the long term, Matt Gardner, Business Development Manager for Synapsys Solutions, will deliver a CPD-accredited presentation titled ‘Guide to the role of Energy Management Systems’ at the Smart Buildings Show. Matt’s talk takes place at 11.30 on Wednesday 7 November in the Training Hub.

Another common assumption that we’ve discussed in previous blogs is that only new buildings can be Smart. In fact, Smart technology on the market now can easily be retrofitted, so you could benefit from Smart technology a lot sooner than you might have previously thought. Tim Barnes, Energy Business Development Manager for Synapsys Solutions, will be exploring this subject in more detail in his presentation; ‘Smart Buildings in the Future – Yes; making existing buildings smarter – Yes please!’. Tim’s talk takes place at 13.45 on Thursday 8 November in the Connected Management Theatre.

As well as the two talks Synapsys Solutions will be showcasing some of their latest innovations, including the SIP Insight Energy Building Information Software (EBIS), a brand new software solution designed to enable building managers to deliver energy savings over a long period of time. Also on show will be the SIP+ multi-protocol platform, now available with Synapsys Solutions’ BACnet Integration Controller (BIC) capability.

Perhaps it’s time you learned more about the wide range of Smart solutions available from Synapsys Solutions by visiting them at this year’s Smart Buildings Show. Please e-mail us to find out more…

Over the last few decades there has been a well-publicised push for us to all play our part in making the world ‘greener’. From recycling schemes to more environmentally-friendly transport systems, we are continually looking to reduce our carbon footprint. Buildings are estimated to account for more than 40% of the world’s energy consumption, so making our buildings more energy efficient clearly presents one of our biggest challenges – and with such a vast range of new technologies on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start.

The adoption of Building Management Systems (BMS) in commercial buildings has proved popular because they help to ensure that all of the building services are integrated to operate in the most efficient manner possible. Where BMS has fallen short, however, is that despite collecting a lot of historical data from the building’s plant, they are incapable of reporting this data and using it to its full potential. If you think of a BMS as a car’s steering wheel, allowing you to go in the direction you want to go, then the EBIS is the dashboard providing all the vital information required to let you know all your controls are working efficiently. The EBIS provides a detailed analysis of the information acquired by a BMS and presents it in a format that allows the building manager to understand and process the information in order to prioritise areas for future improvement and develop a detailed energy reduction plan.

SIPinsight will be centre stage at this year’s Smart Buildings Show, where Synapsys Solutions will be showcasing their brand new Energy Building Information Software (EBIS). By gaining a comprehensive view of the energy used in a building through monitoring, the EBIS can analyse trends in consumption and identify patterns, enabling the building manager to determine an effective energy management strategy, achieve ongoing savings and reduce energy usage in the long term.

Perhaps it’s time you discovered how an EBIS can help you take better control over your building’s energy efficiency. Visit Synapsys Solutions on Stand G1 at the Smart Buildings Show, on 7-8 November at the Barbican, London. Please e-mail us to find out more…

The future for commercial buildings is a fully integrated, Smart building, but with most of the UK’s current building stock remaining as developed with existing infrastructure and technology, our challenge is to make this existing stock Smart.

We have discussed in our previous blogs that a building does not necessarily have to be brand new to be Smart. The technology available to us today is the real key behind Smart buildings. There is also a tendency for us to overthink how we’re going to manage a Smart building, and a lack of familiarity with new technology can breed doubt and suspicion. In order to turn the idea of Smart buildings from theory into reality, we must develop and utilise Smart technology that takes the thinking away from us and transfers it to the building itself.

There are many benefits to making your building Smart, such as meeting current and future energy efficiency targets, cost savings and the wellbeing of the building’s occupants. One of the main tools that help us achieve Smart buildings is data. According to IDC, the global market intelligence firm, the world’s data is set to increase by 10 times the amount today by 2025. It will therefore play a huge role in how the world operates in generations to come. Buildings are estimated to account for over 40% of the world’s energy consumption, but by capturing and accessing the data stored in a building we can use it to make meaningful decisions and make more efficient use of the building’s assets in the future. Not only will this help improve your building’s energy efficiency, it will also improve the productivity of your assets and enhance their life.

As well as the energy saving benefits, the quality of a building’s indoor environment is important to consider too. Most of us spend roughly 90% of our time indoors and so our wellbeing is partly dependent on how healthy our buildings are. Our comfort levels when we’re inside a building, whether it’s an office, shop, factory or restaurant, are influenced by a number of factors, including temperature, light, ventilation and air quality. A Smart building can help us achieve the optimum levels for all of these elements, ensuring the building’s occupants can maintain physical and mental health by having better control of their surroundings.

You can discover more on the topic of Smart buildings at this year’s Smart Buildings Show, where Tim Barnes, Energy Business Development Manager for Synapsys Solutions, will discuss what can be done now to make our buildings smarter. Tim’s presentation, entitled “Smart Buildings in the Future – Yes; making existing buildings smarter – Yes please!” takes place in the Connected Management Theatre on Thursday 8 November.

Perhaps it’s time you discovered how Synapsys Solutions can make your building smarter by visiting them on stand G1 at the Smart Buildings Show, on 7-8 November 2018 at the Barbican, London. e-mail us to find out more.

As we discussed in our previous blog, a building does not necessarily have to be brand new to become Smart, and by simply adding Smart technology you can maximise the efficiency of your building. Simplicity and flexibility are the key traits of the BACnet Integrated Controller, a driver and software enhancement which is available for all SIP+ hardware.

Take a look at any one of the recent architectural landmarks in London and one would assume every effort has been made in the design stage, right through to its current function, to ensure they have the very latest in green building technology. Compare a structure like the Shard to, say, the Palace of Westminster, and you could be forgiven for believing the older building is at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to energy savings because of the building’s age and the materials used. Newer buildings can be designed with increased energy savings in mind, whereas rigid infrastructures and the risk of significant disruption may cause property managers of older buildings to be cautious about making their building Smart. However, it is not the building’s history that will determine its ability to be energy efficient. In fact, four walls, a roof and the right technology used in an effective way will give you a Smart building. BACnet technology is one of the innovations that helps make this possible.

BACnet stands for Building Automation Control network. It allows buildings to standardize communications between its automation devices from different manufacturers, so that data can be shared and enables equipment to work together easily. One of BACnet’s distinct advantages is its flexibility. As an open-ended system that can also be retro-fitted, BACnet makes it possible for the building manager to choose from a large range of devices and make their system as simple or as complex as they need it to be, depending on the size and type of building. BACnet is not limited to any particular manufacturer, which means operators can remove and replace any devices in their building automation system without any concerns about compatibility. This adaptability means it is ideally suited to work alongside SIP+, a multi-functional, multi-protocol platform for building managers who wish to make their building smarter.

Our SIP+ Platform offers a world of potential and we believe the introduction of the BACnet Integration Controller (BIC) demonstrates this perfectly. The BACnet driver can be added in the same way as your existing drivers and contains all the attributes you would expect for network integration.

The SIP+ has capability to collect data from multiple different sources found in today’s building environment and simultaneously serves it to different platforms.  This makes it the most flexible solutions on the market today, with cost savings over other implementations, and the web page based configuration does not tie buildings down to using only one provider, giving building owners future proof solution, all with NO ongoing licence fees

Perhaps it’s time you increased the energy saving potential of your building by deploying a BACnet driver with your SIP+ hardware. e-mail us to find out more.

Buildings are no longer merely a roof over our heads. In addition to fulfilling their primary purpose, providing shelter from the elements, they must also provide a safe and healthy environment in which its occupants can live, work and operate. Not only that, stringent environmental targets mean that we have to maximise our buildings’ energy saving potential, but achieving this is not always simple.

If you walk into any indoor area, an office, theatre, warehouse, hospital or shop, and ask the regular occupants about their working or living environment, some will be comfortable, some might say they’re a bit too warm, others will moan about the air conditioning. In smaller surroundings occupants will be able to determine their own environment. If it’s too dark they will flick on a light switch, too cold and they will turn the heating up. However, ask the same group of occupants about the building’s efficiency credentials, or its energy bills, and you’re unlikely to garner a huge amount of interest. The task of balancing the comfort of the building’s occupants and minimising energy waste and subsequent costs falls to the building owner or manager. The end target is achieving this balance with minimal complication using a simple, easy to operate system.

In our previous blogs we have discussed SIP+, a single, simple platform that can transform your building into a smart building and make a noticeable difference to your energy consumption. There is a common misconception that only brand new buildings possess the ability to be Smart. Any building, new or old, can be Smart with the right products. There is also a tendency for us to overthink how we’re going to manage a Smart building. This is understandable, as a lack of familiarity with new technology often breeds doubt and suspicion. However, as mentioned earlier, the latest technology takes the thinking away from us and transfers it to the building. SIP+ is a prime example of this technology.

Flexibility is crucial for Smart buildings to reach their full potential in terms of energy savings, building integration and connecting to the Internet of Things. The real strength of the SIP+ is its simplicity and ability to connect multiple third-party drivers to each other within the same multi-protocol platform. The latest enhancement to SIP+ is the addition of its BACnet Integrated Controller (BIC) technology.

The BACnet driver can simply be added in the same way as your existing drivers and contains all the attributes you would expect for the network integration.

Perhaps it’s time you discovered how the simple addition of a BACnet driver can enhance your smart building system and deliver more energy savings. e-mail us today to find out more.