• Facilities Management Tools will start to use Augmented Reality & 3D
  Operating a high performance building will require high performance tools. Think 3D, augmented reality and BIM. Building Information Modeling is primarily used for design, construction and pre-fabrication of assemblies. Its benefits during this stage of building are improved design, design coordination and collusion detection. Its benefit for building operation has primarily been the extraction of data from the design and construction phases into a facility management system. In 2010 expect facility management systems to incorporate 3D BIM-like aspects to allow facility managers to visualize and understand the complex interactions within their buildings. In addition, we’ll start to see the use of augmented reality. If you watched a Premiership game with Andy Gray where the run of a player is highlighted on the pitch, or where the direction of the ball is outlined from a free kick, then you’ve seen the reality (the football pitch) augmented with the virtual, done in real-time and 3D. Imagine 3D models of mechanical and electrical systems augmented with real time data and you start to have tools to really manage high performance buildings.
• Micro Energy Management Systems
  We tend to think of energy management systems as large enterprise-wide systems. We can expect energy management systems to evolve for individuals or specific spaces or functions. Individuals will have an energy management system on their laptops and calculate their carbon footprint at their desk. By 2011 we can expect PC software manufacturers to start offering middleware applications to allow users to monitor and manage their localized energy systems, such as plugloads, lighting and thermal comfort.
• The Smart Grid will redefine Home Automation & Media Centers
  It is one thing to have a home automation system turn your lights off and on or a home media system which allows access to 200 high definition channels but the smart grid changes all that. The home automation system now has to communicate with the utility grid. The telecom service provider to the home is no longer the only utility supplying content and communication to the home. In fact, the media center is one of the larger energy users in the home and could possibly be managed by the smart grid. The smart grid forces the home automation market to re-think and re-invent residential systems, adding layers of new intelligence, communications and protocols not previously seen.
• Facial Recognition will replace Swipe Cards & Credit Cards
  Video surveillance cameras have advanced the use of facial recognition. Admittedly, it’s difficult to pick out one face in a large crowd, such as people walking into a stadium (although it has been used to tackle hooliganism in Europe). However, on an individual basis, facial recognition is pretty good. With your face as your ID, gone will be the need for credit cards and access control cards/keys. The upside is better security. Credit cards can be stolen and access control cards can be passed from person to person, not so with your boat race.
• Energy conservation measures will be given a value
  In order to retrofit and upgrade existing buildings to high performance buildings, owners will need to borrow money to fund the upfront capital costs. For banks and financial institutions to provide such credit they need to clearly identify their risks. Specifically, they need to know with some certainty the energy savings and payback period for each energy conservation step that the building owner undertakes; such as lighting control retrofits, mechanical systems replacements, control system upgrades etc.
• Developers need to generate new revenue streams specifically related to energy
  Developers are always looking for ways to increase their net income and energy will become the newest opportunity. Expect developers to buy energy at wholesale rates and retail the energy to their tenants and building owners, embrace alternative energy sources and sell energy back to the grid, offer services to tenants such as energy information and management reports, generate revenues from recharging electric vehicles and provide similar services for the monitoring and management of gas and water.
• The rise of the Green Eco Lawyer
  There was a period when around 20% of new buildings that received certification did not meet their energy performance targets. In the future I think we can expect to find that when someone buys or leases a building or building space with an energy certification based on energy performance and the building or space does not perform, tenants and owners will then sue. Damages may be the projected increases in energy costs over the life of the building, lack of thermal comfort, inadequate lighting staining the eyes etc. Architects, MEP firms, developers, facility managers, facility technicians, building owners, contractors and property managers may all be potential targets. I give you the rise of the ‘Green Eco Lawyer”.

Available in a Polar white, Silver or Anthracite Gray finish, its 3,8″ display in square format makes your management and enjoyment easier, getting a uniform communication environment in the intelligent home.

3 Way Design

• Simply predictable. You know the way the Z38 is acting, as you can watch it
• Touch Sensitive. Flat surface to receive the orders.
• Listen to it. A “beep” confirms the selection.

Feel it

• Packaged in a highly distinctive and minimalist panel, makes integration with working and living environments easier, and also prepares them for the future.
• Polar White, Anthracite Gray and Silver are the available finish/colour options for this stylish room controller.
• Perfect Size: 3, 8” display in a 4×4 format makes the Z38 an easy choice for every room, giving a uniform communication environment in the intelligent home.

InZennio Z38 All in One

• Everything under control, lights, shutters, sunblinds…. and any kind of drives.
• An Intelligent Room Thermostat will make a significant difference in Energy Saving while your comfort is not affected.
• Up to four different and independent climate control systems are supported (Heat, Cool, Additional Heat, and Additional Cool).
• “Recall” and “Save” different scenarios create the “lifestyle” you imagine (Cinema, Relax, Romantic…).
• From far to near. Communication is possible thanks to the built-in IR receiver.
• Our Home Control at a press of a single button.
• Air Conditioning Control integrated. A Remote Control for all!
• Schedule timer to plan the room climate, as well as any other home system.
• Binary inputs available for standard push buttons. Easy for use by disabled people.
• Technical Security Functions (flood, smoke, gas, fire…) as well as anti-burglar system, with the security keyboard option enabled.

The Z38 touch screen has been updated to the last version 4.2 and the Z38 manual is now on their Web page.

Please note the above cover shows the latest version of the manual. Zennio will carry on with the updating process and if the manual features a new image, then you know its been updated again.

If you need an application program that is not on their website (Fan Coil for example), please contact Zennio direct. Any further quesitons, please contact Jesús Arias García at Zennio – Tel: +34 925232002, Email: jesus@zennio.com and Web: www.zennio.com.

• Gira Homeserver helps Jewish family abide by the sabbath rules
• Smart Home’ solution for five bedroom house to allow the client to observe religous restrictions on operating lighting and heating

Project Description

The integrator was asked by a Client to provide a ‘Smart Home’ solution for their five bedroom, three bathroom house in a prestigious area of Leeds . The main criteria was that the lights in the house should be controlled for a period of 25 hours without the family having to break the Jewish Sabbath rules relating to creating or extinguishing fire (Observant Jews consider the switching of any electrical item to be a form of fire creation).

The Jewish Sabbath runs from 18 minutes before sunset on a Friday night until it is completely dark on the following Saturday night. During that time, Observant Jews cannot switch lights (or any other electrical item) on or off. So at specific times, dependant on the sunset/sunrise times of the year, lights need to be ‘timed’ to go on and off automatically without the intervention of any of the family.

In times gone by Jews would employ a gentile to come in and light the fire and lights on a Saturday afternoon. With the advent of electricity, the lights could be left on all night and day, or basic timers could be used.

I was never too concerned about switching lights on and off on the Sabbath. However, when I became more observant in my 40s, I wanted a more modern solution to lighting my home without having to break the Sabbath rules. I had heard about “smart” electronics and I thought that this might offer a solution. Having met a local contractor in Leeds and discussed what I was trying to do I found that they really did not understand the issues in play. They were perfectly able to allow me to time my lights, but only at fixed times and these could not easily be changed without asking them to arrange this. Clearly this was not a workable solution and would cause more problems than it solved.

The Gira Homeserver has an inbuilt astral clock, so it knows what time the sun rises and sets. This proved to be key to the solution he created for us. By using the HomeServer, a series of six separate Sabbath scenes commence automatically each Friday evening at exactly the right time and conclude with a number of lights switched on by Saturday night. These are then switched off manually when they are no longer required to be on. The scenes run as follows:

1. Friday evening starting 30 minutes before sunset for dining and entertaining, includes outdoor lighting
2. Friday overnight with dimmed corridor lighting and bathroom lighting
3. Saturday morning with lights on in dressing rooms and kitchen
4. Saturday late morning with no lights on
5. Saturday lunch with lights for dining or entertaining
6. Saturday afternoon starting 3 hours before sunset with general lighting for reading, etc

The system works perfectly with a seamless transition from one scene to the next. Outdoor lights
are included and because many circuits can be dimmed, the entire process is energy efficient too. Because sunset is used as the trigger for the first and last scenes, any seasonal changes are completely automated.

Adding or removing lights from a scene is very simple as the scene can be called up using a web link, is manually modified (for example adding lighting in another room if needed) and then saved.

As well as lights, the HomeServer controls a number of mains sockets which can be used for appliances such as hot plates in order to keep food warm. These can be set to repeat the same event each week, removing the need for unsightly timers plugged into sockets, or can be easily set for one off requirements.
As well as the Sabbath there are certain other festivals where the same rules apply regarding lighting. These dates vary from year to year as they are dictated by a lunar calendar. Such dates are easily manually programmed into the HomeServer, again using the web link. Each successive festival is easy to create, simply by editing the previous events used.

We therefore have a system which allows total flexibility allowing every light in the home to be timed. The timing memory also knows how bright or dim the lights should be which makes it very flexible and by using scenes we do not lose all the lighting when the system switches off, just the lights we no longer need. The added benefits of timed outdoor lighting in the week and simulated occupancy when away are welcome bi-products of HomeServer.

Customer Comment

I am not aware that KNX had been used for this application before. It works perfectly in a foolproof way, starting up automatically every Friday evening. There is nothing that can be forgotten, it just does its job. We are delighted with what we have ended up with and it is a credit to the integrator that they have understood our needs and provided such a fitting solution.