Redefining Building Automation with Alpha-Ring
Real-Time Energy Monitoring
Controlling energy use has become crucial in reducing CO2 emissions as climate change has become a critical concern. To effectively manage a building's energy consumption and CO2 emissions, computerized systems operate in real-time to monitor and adjust energy consumption. These devices not only improve occupant comfort and safety, but they also save energy costs for owners and cut pollution.
Smart Energy Management
Energy management systems employ a combination of hardware and software applications to balance the consumption of air, water, and electricity, aligning with occupants' consumptions. This includes real-time adjustments to heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and lighting on a room-by-room basis. The system activates energy usage as needed and anticipates consumption patterns using sensors and predetermined schedules.
Strategizing Energy Control
The objective is to achieve optimal building energy efficiency through a comprehensive system and network. Numerous monitoring and control devices are integrated into the system, dispersed throughout the building yet necessitating connection to a central control hub. A carefully designed network infrastructure blueprint is essential to establish connectivity between each device and the central control point, as uninterrupted communication between monitoring and control devices is extremely important. It means that the implementation of a redundant network structure is significant to ensure seamless data transmission.
Unified Energy Control with Network Redundancy
One of the primary goals of this project is to establish an uninterrupted network connection. The information generated by end devices, including temperature sensors and air conditioner controllers, must travel through this network to reach the control center. Both network and power redundancy systems are integral components of the building management plan.
EtherWAN presents an exceptional Ethernet redundancy solution known as Alpha-Ring. Each floor is served by multiple EX63000 (industrial managed switches) employing the Alpha-Ring topology. These switches facilitate the connection of numerous LonWorks I/O devices and direct digital controllers (DDC). Additionally, every four floors form a secondary Alpha-Ring. By incorporating EX70900 (hardened Gigabit managed switches) in a dual Alpha-Ring configuration, network redundancy is heightened. EtherWAN's hardened managed switches are also configured to utilize the link aggregation control protocol (LACP) with backbone routers. Communication between routers takes place via fiber optic interfaces using EM1000 (Fiber Media Converter). The redundant Ethernet network effectively enables real-time monitoring and control for building energy management.
Minimized Downtime and Maximized Data Integrity
EtherWAN delivers a seamless data communication infrastructure for real-time control status. Leveraging EtherWAN's advanced core technology and robust software design, this network ensures enhanced data path redundancy. The distinctive Alpha-Ring technology offers optimal data path redundancy performance, with a remarkable 15ms maximum recovery time – an industry-leading achievement. By using the ring redundant topology, three rings, which are Dual Alpha-Ring and LACP, this network should not experience any unexpected data interruption.
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