The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology

Latest Episodes:

BAM 123: Pros and Cons of IP BAS Controls Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Are you struggling to make sense of IP controls? Do all the different options just seem to blend together?

In this week's episode of the Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we will be discussing the pros and cons of IP controls and the most common way of implementing IP controls. This episode will cover:

The pros and cons of the three kinds of IP controls
How IP controls are different than regular BAS controls and what you need to be aware of
Special design considerations that should be factored into IP controls designs

Pros and Cons of IP Controls

The history behind IP controls and why it matters (3:05)
What the future of IP controls will be (4:02)
The three BAS controller design patterns (6:05)
Pattern 1: The Star Pattern (7:55)
Pattern 2: The Daisy Chain | Bus Pattern (13:07)
The hidden danger of power dependencies (16:40)
Why you want to limit the number of your IP controllers on a subnet (18:42)
Pattern 3: The Ring Pattern (20:15)

BAM 122: IT Networking for BAS Pros – Part 4 Jul 09, 2018

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Why is your building automation server not communicating with your supervisory devices?

It could be that your network is down or it could be something much simpler like the firewall being set up incorrectly...

In this week's episode of the Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we will be discussing how logical links affect your building automation system's ability to communicate. This episode will cover:

How logical ports work and why you use them
Understanding how to talk to an IT person to succeed with a BAS project
Why you need to learn how BAS networking works even if you are in a non-technical role.
Examples of how the transport layer works with BAS networks

Ports and logical communication

Why the changes in the industry require us to increase our IT maturity (0:35)
The level of IT knowledge you really need to have (2:55)
How you are in a better spot for learning IT then you know (4:22)
How logical links work to keep your BAS communicating (6:55)
Why reliable communication is not necessarily better than unreliable communication (11:02)
How the transport layer works with BACnet communications (15:00)
How your BAS server utilizes TCP communications (17:25)

BAM 121: IT Networking for BAS Pros - Part 3 Jul 02, 2018

Show notes

Have you ever had to explain yourself to IT?

It seemed like the IT folks, were blocking you at every turn.

Why do you need IP addresses? Why do you need to put your devices on our network? Why do your addresses need to be static?

Every day these questions plague BAS professionals. One false move and the IT group will withdraw and block you from achieving your goals.

In this week's episode of the Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we will be discussing how to deal with these exact issues. This episode will cover:

What IP addressing is and why it matters to BAS professionals
The common challenges you will get from IT professionals and how to overcome them
What the three most common IP controls architectures are and when you should use each one
Why the deep study of IT networking is actually hurting your BAS career and what to do instead

IP Addresses and IP BAS Controls

A real-world IT issue faced by one of our students and how they resolved it (1:35)
The importance of having IP knowledge (5:35)
What exactly is the IP address and why does it matter? (6:52)
How subnet ranges and IP addresses work together (9:55)
The very important reason for understanding how to calculate IP addresses (12:02)
Two types of IP addresses and when to use each one (14:30)
How to deal with IT folks who don't want to give you static IP addresses (16:00)
How broadcasts and default gateways make BAS networks work (19:00)
What are routers and how do they affect your BAS network traffic (21:04)
The three major BAS IP controls architectures (26:05)

BAM 120: IT Networking for BAS Pros - Part 2 Jun 25, 2018

Show notes

What are switches used for?

Why do subnets matter?

How do your BAS devices communicate with one another?

If you've found yourself wondering these questions then you are in the right place.

In this week's episode of the Building Automation Monthly Podcast we will be discussing:

How subnets work
What you need to understand when adding BAS devices to a local subnet
How to interpret Wireshark captures to detect issues with your local subnets

Switches and Frames

What is a data link and why does it matter? (1:55)
What do a zip code and a local subnet have in common? (4:45)
How does local communication happen? (5:20)
Why do you use switches? (5:50)
The importance of the MAC address (7:25)
How do BAS devices communicate on the local subnet? (10:30)
The importance of the ARP broadcast (11:30)
What do you need to know when working with layer 2 communications? (13:35)
Why is it more important to understand how IT works than how to "do" it? (15:15)

BAM 119: IT Networking for BAS Pros - Part 1 Jun 18, 2018

Show notes

What's the difference between an application port and a switch port?

How do you avoid bandwidth constraints and dropped BAS packets?

If you are planning on having a career in building automation, these are just a few of the challenges you will face. IT networking is becoming a required skill for BAS professionals. But, outside of our IT course, no one is teaching what BAS professionals need to know. And that is why in this week's episode of the Building Automation Monthly Podcast we will be discussing:

How BAS devices use the network to communicate
The different parts and pieces of a BAS network
The three things you must understand to avoid network issues
Why you must start learning IT now to futureproof your career

Ports and Wires

The one model that makes sense of IT networking (4:20)
What is the physical layer of networking? (5:55)
How you can mess up BAS networking and how to avoid it (7:20)
The different networking devices in a BAS network (8:30)
How unmanaged switches are different then managed switches (9:25)
Why physical and logical topologies matter (11:15)
The two types of ports that you need to know (12:20)
When to use access links vs trunk links (13:25)
Why you must embrace the discomfort of speaking like an IT person (15:35)
The one thing you need to learn about how wired communication happens (17:40)
The effect of speed on BAS network bandwidth (23:35)
Why we need to focus in on our networks wiring (26:25)
The three things we need to remember about wired networks (27:30)

BAM 118: How BACnet integrations really work part 3 Jun 11, 2018

Show notes

How would you setup 1,000 BACnet/IP devices? Would you know what to ask IT? Would you know how to troubleshoot these devices if something went wrong? How would you support all these devices?

The amount of BACnet/IP devices being installed is increasingly daily. Unfortunately, the understanding and knowledge of BACnet/IP is not!

That's why in this episode you are going to learn BACnet/IP. By the time you finish this episode you will:

Understand the top questions to answer when designing and deploying BACnet/IP networks
How BACnet/IP devices are unique and the little know nuances to installing BACnet/IP devices
The 5 questions you must be able to answer on every new BACnet/IP installation
The most common problems with BACnet/IP and how you can easily troubleshoot it.

Listen to the episode below.

BACnet IP

What is different with BACnet/IP (1:50)
How the lack of IT knowledge is keeping you unsuccessful (3:45)
Why the lack of IT training options is holding back the BAS industry (4:50)
The impact of large-scale BACnet/IP networks (6:30)
How BACnet/IP communicates (7:45)
The two stacks of BACnet awesomeness (10:15)
The two BACnet addressing schemes (12:40)
How do broadcasts work in BACnet/IP (15:25)
Why the BBMD is the most useful part of BACnet/IP (16:40)
How to add new BACnet/IP devices (19:20)
The step-by-step process to adding new BACnet/IP devices (20:15)
The top questions you need to ask when working with BACnet/IP (22:25)
How to easily deal with an IT group that won't give you static IP addresses (25:10)
Common BACnet/IP troubleshooting strategies (26:45)

BAM 117: How BACnet integrations really work part 2 Jun 04, 2018

Show notes

Have you ever wired up a BACnet MS/TP trunk and it just wouldn't work?

Or for whatever reason, the MS/TP trunk was crazy slow, and the customer was getting upset by slow point data?

If this sounds familiar you're not alone. Early in my career BACnet MS/TP was super confusing. I didn't know how to make sense of it. And learning BACnet MS/TP was made even more difficult by the lack of knowledge about MS/TP that was available.

That's why in this episode we are going to dive into BACnet MS/TP. By the time you finish this episode you will:

Understand the top issues that can cause your BACnet MS/TP trunks to fail
What the most important BACnet MS/TP settings are and why you should care
My five-step process to ensure that your BACnet MS/TP integrations go flawlessly
The most common problems with MS/TP and how you can easily troubleshoot them.

BACnet MS/TP

What makes up BACnet MS/TP (1:50)
How daisy-chains make BACnet MS/TP work (3:55)
Why manufacturers have different device limits (4:30)
The secret of the MS/TP token (5:30)
The single most misconfigured MS/TP setting (7:15)
How MS/TP is addressed and why it matters (8:15)
State machines and tokens (10:30)
How your device Masters MS/TP (12:45)
Ending your MS/TP trunks (15:40)
How to integrate new BACnet MS/TP devices (17:05)
Solving problems with bad MS/TP trunks (22:00)

BAM 116: How BACnet integrations really work part 1 May 28, 2018

Show notes

BACnet is a protocol that confuses many new BAS professionals. Heck, if we're honest with one another it confuses many senior BAS professionals as well. But, it doesn't have to be this way. I've helped several manufacturers build their BACnet stacks and worked extensively with BACnet in the past.

In this three-part series, we are going to explorer how BACnet works.

In the first episode of this series we will discuss:

A general overview of what BACnet is and why it matters to you
The two most important BACnet physical architectures that you must know
How BACnet communications are changing and what you must do to keep up
Why not all BACnet services are created equal and which ones you must focus on

An Overview of BACnet

The foundations of BACnet (2:40)
Common objects in BACnet (4:25)
Objects inside objects inside objects? (6:15)
How properties describe objects (8:40)
Two physical architectures that transport BACnet (13:40)
The most important MS/TP trunk properties (15:30)
MAC addresses and BACnet (17:00)
Why we need to know more about how BACnet/IP works (19:15)
What is BACnet/IP? (21:30)
How do you communicate to other BACnet networks (23:10)
The five BACnet services you need to know! (25:00)

BAM 115: Building Automation Optimization Strategies Part 2 May 21, 2018

Show notes

Is optimization some complex secret hidden throughout the ages and handed down to a select few "experts"?

Or is optimization something we all can learn?

In this episode we will discuss:

The two-steps you must take prior to executing optimization strategies
Five commonly used optimization strategies for your BAS
Tips and tricks you need to know before implementing an optimization strategy

Optimization Strategies for Your BAS

Two things that you must do before every optimization project (1:10)
The art of sensor calibration (1:55)
Ensure your end devices can control HVAC systems (4:20)
Using load to reset your airside system's SAT setpoint (6:35)
Two methods for calculating load for your airside resets (9:07)
Optimizing your waterside systems through load-based resets (11:50)
Methods for calculating waterside load (13:15)
The danger of using OAT to reset your central plant setpoints (16:15)
Using space load to reset pressure setpoints (17:40)
The three ways to calculate load within your spaces (20:10)
How to deal with spaces that aren't accurately controlling (22:15)
Strategies for controlling your economizer (24:05)
Moisture and its effect on economizer control (26:55)
Why the location of your DP sensor matters (29:15)
Why the 2/3rd's of the longest duct rule may not be a good idea (30:45)
The effect of DP on your pump's operation (32:47)

BAM 114: Building Automation Optimization Strategies Part 1 May 14, 2018

Show notes

Depending on what "expert" you talk to there are over 60% of the buildings within the United States that are not "optimized". But what does that even mean?

What is an optimized building? Throughout my career, I've seen well-meaning folks damage their building's HVAC and BAS systems in the pursuit of optimization. That's why I'm tackling this topic. The reality is optimization does not equal energy savings. You could achieve "optimization" by simply making sure all the different BAS you have are tied into a single user interface.

So how do you deal with optimization? That is what we cover in this episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast.

In this episode we will discuss:

What optimization is
How to avoid damaging your building during optimization
Why you need to avoid retro-opto-commissioning
My five-step process for optimizing your building automation system

Here's a timeline breakdown of what we cover in the podcast:

What is optimization and what isn't optimization (2:50)
The upstream and downstream effects of optimization (4:55)
Why how you optimize is more important than why you optimize (6:50)
The dark side of economizer optimization (9:00)
The two places you need to be careful when doing math (8:00)
How to protect your code from the janitor operator (9:20)
Why learning the art of systems thinking is so important (10:55)
Retrocommissioning and optimization ARE NOT the same thing (12:40)
The danger of retro-opto-commissioning (15:20)
The five-step process for optimizing a BAS (19:00)
Why you need to have SMART goals for your optimization projects (19:45)
Why socializing your optimization strategies is the dumbest thing you can do (23:25)

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