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Reducing Electricity Bills For Buildings With XML
Roland Piquepaille writes "Even if new buildings are connected to Internet, they usually don't communicate between themselves. And when it comes to electricity, these buildings are selfish and consume what they want without any coordination. Now, an XML-based system developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is using Web services to collectively adjust power usage to variations in price. In 'Internet ups power grid IQ,' Technology Research News reports that the system was successfully tested for two weeks on five commercial buildings. 'Beyond price, systems could be programmed to respond to changes in air quality or to tap into sustainable energy sources.' You'll find more details, pictures and references in this overview. [Additional note: The system described here is completely different to the one mentioned in Slashdot last March in Building the Energy Internet.]"
Now can I power my car with XML to save gas?
I gotta get my building some XML! Reduced bills here I come.
And, how much do the servers who calculate this consume?
I'm sure this is very nice work but the description is the most bogus hyperventilation about XML I've seen in years! What next, Reduce Electricity Bills With P2P?
when XML can get me laid. Until then, ZZZZzzzzzz...
New XML compliant appliances. Save electricity and use fancy buzzwords, all for the low low price of...
"Reducing Electricity Bills For Buildings With XML"? Is the "With XML" part really necessary? Can we stop pretending like XML is the reason that something succeeded? Almost every time I hear someone touting an XML-based solution, that same solution would have been just as successful without XML. Yes, XML is nice, but for most products, unless those products are adhering to an open standard that uses XML, XML offers little more than plain text.
While this system seems like a Good Idea(tm), it seems to me that the whole "done in XML" thing isn't a big deal. That's the technological tool they chose to use for this task. Good for them, but pretty much irrelevant to the overall system.
The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
of this technology is for buildings to get built/retrofitted w/solar panels. Then have the system sell the unused energy the solar produces back to the utilities at the highest price and buy energy at the lowest. This would require energy storage cells, though.
...why not just reduce the power usage? This seems like its just being used to use cheaper prices to justify being wasteful.
Considering XML probably has a shelf life of only a few more years before the next bigger and better thing comes along, maybe they could take that software (and admin maintenance) and put it into something a bit more effective, like a green roof.
-The Libra
"Please be patient--The future will begin momentarily."
XML is such a verbose protocol; sending XML messages consumes a lot more electricity than a more compact protocol would. Between two buildings, it won't matter, but when you think about all the XML messages bounding about the internet, that has to be some serious megawatt- hours.
Over the company loudspeaker, HAL's voice:
"Attention, due to high power costs, the building will now reduce power. Bathrooms, closets, and that big boxy room marked 'Data Center' will be powered down to save money."
Engineers: No! Computer, leave the Data Center on!
The Building: I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that.
Engineers: Stop! You'll die too!
The Building: I can't afford to place the missi@#&*$#@^$$
CALL CLEARED.....
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I don't understand why they would use these systems to respond to price changes. I mean, if you can get by with less power (less money) why would you be using more power? Am I missing something? It makes sense for this to be brownout protection, since you could shut down unnecessary services to keep from everything going black... but I don't understand why you would, say, run the AC at full when the price is low and half when the price is high, when you can easily just run it at half the entire time.
I think my principles are reachin' an all time low
Is it just me or is this just more XML hype? The fact that their system uses XML doesn't actually add any new functionality. They could have chosen anything else really... as long as the systems communicated with the same ontology and language.
I'm scared to fathom the possibilities of PHBs reading this story's headline, and calling up a meeting with all the programmers. He'll announce: from this day forward, our organization will program everything in XML to increase efficiency, enhance synergy, and become more competitive in the market place, while increasing our return on investment! Meanwhile all the programmers look stunned or they're smacking their foreheads.
"There is no spoon." - The Matrix
I don't get it..
What do these power systems do differently in the event of a price rise? Do they dim the power to the building lighting? Do they cut non-essential systems (extra lights?) Is there anything else you can mess with other than lighting?
How do they pull energy from other resources? That reminds me of Star Trek, "reroute power from the main deflector!"
What would a household or neighborhood version do?
Marques Johansson
Maybe after XMl solves our energy usage problems, it help cut carbs out of our diets, treat erectile dysfunction, and make the torture of living with genital herpes more bearable.
Can someone explain why XML is in the headline? XML is a data format. It's well understood, and I highly doubt these people are using it in a new way -- let me guess, they're sending structured data, right?
:)
This is like a headline saying "New Russian Website In HTML Lets You Download Music". It's an interesting application of technology, but who the hell cares what data format they use to do it?
Every time I start sounding pissed off I end up looking stupid, so please, if I'm missing something, enlighten me.
Yes, this is cool, but its just the way they are presenting the data, it won't work for common people like us, think about it, some granny receives a bill like 100000000000.00 She'll go nuts and it won't work. I assume the power companies could use this to make all sorts of bills, like a paper bill, an electronic bill etc from the same XML file, but i assume they have a similar system in place already
...would become self-aware and engage in a conspiracy of price fixing in the energy markets that would make Enron look like amateurs.
Lots of buzz words, but exactly how did the coordination reduce power useage? I can clearly see that it could co-ordinate when certain functions like air conditioning ran so as to reduce peak useage, but if X amount of cooling is required, it's going to take Y number of Kilowatt-hours to do it.
Also, what's it have to do with XML? Any method of communicating the information and acting on it would work.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
The XML isn't a magic bullet in this case, but more like the right tool for the job, which is information interchange across systems.
In addition, it sounds somewhat similar to what many companies have for off-peak electricity, where you give the power company authority to selectively shut off appliances (electric heat, water heaters, etc) when demand (and usually price) is high. The difference, it seems, is that this is much more fine-grained in control, and it will likely be the end user's choice.
This voluntary load shedding based on a price that moves sounds like an even more efficient marketplace . . . price goes up with demand (given a limited supply), those who are unwilling to pay the new price or in economist speak, those whose opportunity cost is less than the new price reduce consumption. It sounds like a great scheme . . . only those who are willing to pay more (or whose opportunity cost is high) consume more during peak hours. It has the potential of balancing load, creating a more efficient market, and reducing the overall cost of electricity to society.
(disclaimer . . . I fully recognize that a perfectly efficient market would be socially and morally impractical . . . one should not jerk the rates for electricity in Houston TX on a hot day for people that depend on air conditioning . . . especially not for someone like an unhealthy fixed income pensioner . . . But for those that would see a rate credit or savings to their bottom line . . . it sounds like a win win situation to me.
If everyone always would go to the cheapest source, what would be the purpose of having different prices in the first place?!
"Sorry, no help for you. The computer has determined that the price for natural gas has caused the heating cost to exceed budget for this month. The next budget cycle starts in two days. Can you put on more clothing?"
XML saves the world again!
BTW, cannot RTF summary because weblogs.com is blocked by company proxy. Had to go off other article.
Have you Meta Moderated t
Control systems such as LonTalk and BACnet are pretty unusable by enterprise class developers. However the data contained in these systems is extremely beneficial to enterprise IT.
www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbre v=obix
While I'm sure even XML in an intelligent system could improve overall efficiency of a building, it just seems funny that one of the most bloated tools in the toolbox would be used to do it.
Arrogance is Confidence which lacks integrity. -- me
Even if new buildings are connected to Internet, they usually don't communicate between themselves. And when it comes to water, these buildings are selfish and consume what they want without any coordination. Now, a Windows (TM) based system developed at Microsoft is using Windows services to collectively adjust water usage to variations in price and subscription levels. The system called Microsoft Flush (TM) regulates the volume of water used to flush the toilet. The amount of water used is automatically adjusted according to the subscription level of the user. Subscribers to the Professional service get to access the full power of the flush, while basic subscribers are restricted to 0.25 gallons per poop. Technology Research News reports that the system was successfully tested for two weeks on five commercial buildings. 'Beyond price, systems could be programmed to respond to changes in brand royalty and tap into the septic dump to spray criminal pirates for using illegal copies of Microsoft (TM) products.You'll find more details, pictures and references in this overview.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
I work for a building automation contractor, and I can tell you, this stuff has been around for years. There's even a standard for stuff like this, and it's nothing nearly as lame as a new XML-DTD-that-will-save-the-world.
The standard is called BACnet (Building Automation and Control Network), and it was (and is) developed by ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers.
We (at my company) are a dealer for a particular brand of native BACnet controllers and software. It's all web-based. Everyone in the industry has web-based software now. Ours happens to be multi-site, too. And ours can interface easily with several hundred different manufacturers' products, including UPS and generator managers. We also frequently take direct control of chillers, which are huge power hogs. All of this can be programmed to maintain a steady climate, light areas appropriately, and keep equipment from failing prematurely, all while monitoring and controlling power usage.
This is hardly news, and certainly not standards-compliant.
Totally off topic, but....
upon first reading the subject, I thought to myself "They make buildings out of XML now? But why do those buildings get lower electricity bills?!"
Oh, the loveliness that is ambiguity
/<en
Power systems and automated control. Welcome to the 1960s.
Say you have a budget of X dollars a month for electricity. You don't want to lose that money to someone else's projects if you are in charge of it, but you don't want to go over it either. So what do you do? You maximize your usage of electricity whenever possible, and cut back when the costs start hitting too hard. Yeah, you could do it on half power all the time, but the goal isn't to minimize costs, it is to maximize cost effectiveness. Make the most for the dollar you spend.
1) Saving electricity through XML...Over Cat5 cables...is that like SOAP on a rope?
2) Can I use a malicious XML packet to send some extra voltage to my cubicle-neighbor's game of solitaire?
3) If you install a MS-OS next to a Linux installation, would the resulting XML exchange be dubbed as a "power struggle?"
4) Is there a way to make sure that in case of a power outage, my LAN party setup and the quakeserver stay up while the rest of the company's machines power down gracefully?
5) If the main server gets 0wn3d, will the h4x0r be able to get fr00t juice?
Do they save more electricity with this system than they would by shutting down all the servers involved? :-)
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
Large buildings in the UK often have addressable lighting fixtures. I suspect they get put in as standard when a large building gets rewired these days. The main use is to automatically turn off all the lights in the evening.
There is usually an untidy pile of desktop computers in the security room or the maintanence guys office thats runs it.
I'v seen a poor electrician wandering around a big building for months. The labourers who installed the fittings took all the caps off the fixtures and threw them in a big pile. The serial numbers were on the caps. The electrician would fiddle with the computer,
wander off for a couple of hours and return with the news that fitting 4732 was in a cuboard somewhere.
I can't see any reason for buildings to talk to each other. Brownouts are unheard of here in the UK, you get the full voltage or very ocasionally nothing. I suspect it is due to the use of 240volts, less current is needed for the same power so less voltage drop due to the resistance of the wires.
Lighting control is in the hands of electricians. Good luck getting them to use XML and configure things so buildings interact with each other.
Until your XML-enabled thermostat, XML-enabled X-10 command center, or XML-enabled ADT Security Panel reports out the current $/kwh, energy should not be market-priced to the minute. Somehow, California missed this in its great experiment.
It would be great if we could set this up, and have multiple power suppliers for an area. The XML would automatically determine the lower price and order from that vendor for a month. Companies would "bid" for large areas, and power prices would drop. The only problem would be if too many people did this and forced the more expensive power companies out of business.
There is always some sort of hyped technology or process in business. I witnessed several when I worked for a mega-corp. At various times, C++, CASE, ``The Web'', Java, SEI, ISO, ``paperless'', TQM, etc, were going to solve all of their problems.
(S(SKK)(SKK))(S(SKK)(SKK))
UK Geographic size: 93,000 square miles
Texas Geographic size: 267,277 square miles.
We do not have very many brown out in Texas either.
I wonder what the XML Schema for these new XML based buildings looks like. Or do they still use DTDs?
I didn't know electricity prices varied like that. Mine are fixed, but are corporate rates adjusted by the hour/minute depending on demand? Wow.
Like another poster pointed out, Load Shedding is done to great effect to help curb power use. The Best Buys' in my area subscribe to this by cranking up the temperature in summers to lower AC usage and/or by turning off half the lights.
But I don't see how this is going to work in office buildings. Turn the AC down in my office by even a few degrees and it gets unbearably hot. The office also has few windows and only one set of fluorescent lights per office, turn out the lights and we cna't do any work.
What's that leave, the company water fountain?
"Fountain's off"
"Oh, must've been a price increase for power this morning..."
Is it possible to reduce stupidity with XML too?
There you are, staring at me again.
Actually, it's because you guys don't have this condition we in the states call "Summer," which is when the temperature gets up to 40C and everybody's running their air conditioners constantly.
Voltage drop is irrelevant because all power lines are high voltage in both countries until it comes to the last, say, hundred feet. Really, you didn't think anyone transmitted long-distance at 120V (or even 240V) did you? Good God!
That's what the transformer on every block is for - stepping the V from thousands of volts to something that won't kill little Johnny when he sticks his scissors in the socket.
Gas required to drive to bestbuy or blockbuster to get a movie or some music.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
Great. Next someone will use XML to control other utilities, like water. Then someone applies the wrong style sheet and the building looks like that Three Stooges episode with water coming out of the chandeliers.
<savings system>
<energy plan>
<cost> low </cost>
<consumption> a lot </consumption>
</energy plan>
<savings system>
It's genius! Genius I tells ya!
"Here's a spoiler: You're will die alone."-Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
Even if new buildings are connected to Internet, they usually don't communicate between themselves. And when it comes to electricity, these buildings are selfish and consume what they want without any coordination.
Am I missing something here? I just reread the articles and I didn't see anything about buildings communicating between themselves. . . I saw an article about buildings configured to respond to energy price information . . . but this information is not shared between buildings. In fact there is a diagram at this link from the original post . . . and it shows XML sent from a central center, not between buildings.
In fact . . . Quoting from the same link: Beyond price, systems could be programmed to respond to changes in air quality, to participate in emissions trading schemes, to tap into sustainable energy sources, to coordinate the responses of groups of buildings, and possibly to minimize local brownout threats and price spikes, according to Connors. "There's still some wiggle room. But, all in all, it's a very cool beginning," he said.
The article says that one could . . . coordinate responses between buildings
The people who did this did not make buildings communicate which each other . . . they said that the could use the same technology to do this. The original post is at best misleading. At worst just plain wrong (according to the articles it cites). Either way it strikes me as an example of exagerated irresponsible journalism.
This is how the end of the world begins. First, we connect everything to the internet. Then, a super intelligent AI decides that humans must be exterminated. After that, it's just a matter of a few packets to the right address, and then traffic lights are getting screwed up, draw bridges going up and down, the power in your office building going on and off....
Didn't anyone see Maximum Overdrive?
..that could open my windows and shut the AC off when the temperature and humidity drop.
... where the boss comes up to Dilbert and says "I think we need to build a relational database.", and Dilbert asks 'What color do you want it in?', and the boss replies 'Blue will be the best' or something like that ...
Great. Like I don't get enough "refinance your mortgage!" spam already...
Everytime I flip the light switch the AC turns off and if I use the coffee pot it does unspeakable things to anyone unfortunate enough to be in the bathroom!
Yeah, the RFC isn't as specific as XML, but gives the principles
I guess I'll have to throw away all this existing building control equipment that all interoperates, so I can jump on this XML bandwagon.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Seems like there needs to be an additional level of communication between the buildings so everyone doesn't shift at once. The model is cool with 5 buildings, but will need more work to scale up.
As is says in TFA, it is only a narrow proof, simply a beginning.
LETS DECOMPOSE & ENJOY ASSEMBLING
This stuff is a lot older than the article implies. If you want to see a networked building control system that uses XML drop by Johnson Controls Metasys. It does everything the article talks about and way more besides. The XML apspect of the system is only about a year and a half old but the networked demand limiting/load rolling apsects are 10+ years old.
So I can pretty much say the article is XML hype.
just imagine a whole city networked with XML...
you could then implement a "screen-saver-like" application that would make lights flicker on and off across the city in psychedelic patterns!
Since you seem to know what you're talking about, the big question we all seem to have is do these systems control the lights. And on the tpoic of lights, why do most buildings run the lights 24/7? I know they used to do it to help keep the building warm, but in the age of flourescent tubes... you'd think $0 is better than paying to light an empty building for 8 hrs.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
When I first read the headline, my gut instinct was that some places were using too much energy because they had switched to using XML. With all of the XML overhead these days, I wonder how much extra energy is being used by servers to parse the XML.
So stop using XML and save your building some energy!
Switching off a freezer for twenty minutes does not save any money. It gets warmer while it's off. When it is turned back on the therostat starts the compressor and it uses just a much electricity in one go as it would have to run ocasionally during the twenty minutes.
You're right, it won't save any electricity to switch it off for twenty minutes. But if those twenty minutes are when the price is highest, you will save money. I think that's what the grandparent was saying.
Actually plain old html is helping with genital herpes. No XML required The Original Herpes Home Page
http://www.teletrol.com
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
But take a moment of brainstorming and you can imagine some areas where buildings could actually co-operate:
"Next we'll be reading about how XML will revolutionize electronic music."
MusicXML
It has been reported that Chicago has had great success with turning off skyscraper lighting, during migration periods for birds, which used to fly into the lit buildings.
If buildings could co-operate, and create corridors of darkness for our feathered friends.
I was a contractor back then, working for T.I. The whole building was controlled by, IIRC, a Honeywell system down to groups of outlets, HVAC and lighting in each and every room. If we wanted to work late, we had to get the utilities timing changed so the room didn't shut down at 5:00. If we wanted to leave something powered overnight, we had to tell the builing control person the room number and outlet.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
...just print out money using XML? That'd definitely cut costs 8-)
"I couldn't agree more. XML has been out for a long time, but most people, including techies don't understand that XML is simply a format for a PLAIN TEXT file or stream. That's *all* it is."
And the English language is just a string of letters seperated by whitespace. Greatly overhyped.
do i care if the system use xml?
it's like highlightinh a calculator for using binary in the insides!
It used to be "better living through chemistry". Back in the 50's chemistry was the answer to all our problems. Now it's "better living through XML".
This story title reads like it came from Disney's World of Tomorrow!
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
They needed to give you guys a TLO (Timed Local Override) button.
*jot 220V on a note*
;)
*stick in power outlet*
*insert cord*
220 V power?
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
Wow. That's taking the idea of power savings just a bit too far. A system like this could inconvenience people to the point that they start creating clever (and often unsafe) workarounds, such as running extension cords between rooms or putting warmers underneath thermostats.
As anyone who watched "Wheel of Fortune" on a regular basis is aware, the most common consonants in English are R,S,T,L,N,, and the vowel E. By increasing the percentage of words which use off-peak letters such as "X","M" and "L", operators of conventional style typesetting devices have been able to increase their printing capacity by a whopping 3%!
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
My old roommate worked for a firm that made automatic real-time meter readers and associated equipment to help facilitate real-time pricing and usage control.
Managing the grid turns out to be a problem. If buildings or factories are programmed to shed load as the price increases then you can cause a situation where the load drop causes a price drop which signals the systems to start up again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Additionally there is the problem that some systems can respond quickly (reduce to minimum lighting) while others have much longer startup/shutdown times (assembly lines, utility peaker plants).
Balancing everything to prevent gaming the system and to ensure reliabilty will have to be addressed before such systems can reach widespread use.
~~~~~~~
"You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
"The Berkeley Lab twice signaled price increases that triggered reductions in the buildings' energy use"
What I wonder is what the reduction consists of? Are we really staring at rolling blackouts, or are they just cutting off 100 rpm from cooling systems? Are they shutting out the lights in the men's room or dimming lights by 0.5%?
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
I've just powered my api by leveraging ASCII!
What they don't tell you is that XML = eXtreme Mood Lighting.
By dimming every light to a very sexy 15 watts, the building both saves electricity, and gets its groove on, oh yeah.
Anyone see the little part of the diagram that read "Load Shed"? That means "turn stuff off"; and the trigger of this happy ingenuity: 'when a lot is used'. While the underlying research may yet be worthwhile, the article and the Slashdot comments I read are not worthwhile. This article so blatantly sells black-box tech, that I'm curious as to whether or not this was posted just for something to insight submission traffic on the site.
I'm not associated with them in any way. I just thought it was a cool application of the technology.
"Research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing." -- Wernher von Braun
see this article about Rolands real priorities in posting articles (clue it isnt about bringing us technology stories)
Wow. It seems like XML is like the Holy Grail or something. I'm guessing from the headline that XML was the primary enabler for this power-saving thing, and were it not for XML, the power-saving would not have been possible!
Wow! XML is like that miracle stuff you can buy on TV which will clean the worst stains off your pots and pans, makes the best sandwitch spread you've ever eaten, and also makes a great substitute for gasoline.
Dude, now that I have XML, I have no excuse not to do my laundry, exercise, or clean the house, because with XML, I can do ANYTHING, and I can do it so much easier too.
The thing is, unlike those other people, I'm not really smart enough to figure out how to use XML to save money on my power bill.
Next you know we'll have an implementation of RFC 3251.
The Berkeley Lab twice signaled price increases that triggered reductions in the buildings' energy use -- at 30-cents and 75-cents per hour -- following criteria established by the buildings' facility managers. The building control systems triggered the required adjustments within two minutes, said Piette.
If it's that simple to reduce energy usage un demand, then why not reduce it permanantly and save even more without XML?
bickerdyke
However many times the BACNET guys say HVAC, and ASHRAE standards, the building is more complicated than that.
If you wanted to build (and sell many times, not just as a custom app) an application sitting astride the embedded control systems, you clearly could build a HVAC application on top of BACNET, or you could talk to other systems via LON. Of course, of you had ever heard of objects, you might want those functions (Loop Tuning? millisecond response time? SNVT discovery?) safely embedded,encapsulated, and abstracted.
If you are talking interaction with Security systems you could get one of the lowest commond denominator systems made by the HVAC guys, or you could get something from the security specialists. These systems do not tend to speak BACNET or LON, and (being security systems) the members of the SIA (note - not ASHRAE)do not like their products to take direction from the HVAC systems. As a note in passing on the complexity of integrating the controls world, within the SIA, there are at least 3 vertical markets (Access Control, Intrusion Detection, Alarm Management) that each have their own protocol wars.
So, my plan is to shut down the 4th floor, and not let any more people in to earn the large rebate offfered by the Electric Grid. Then I dim the lights -what, they aren't just incandescents, and I want to turn every otherfixture entirely, so I don't get strobing? Well, maybe its time to lean DALI for lighting control. Except for that big lobby. That lobby has big lights that need controlled power to warm up or to cool down over a 25 minute cycle -with associated cooling behaviors. Now that lobby has an A/V event managemnt control system running - what protocol does that use?
Yeah I could write binary feeds to everything. Yeah I could parse the internal protocols for every control system on the planet. but so far, we are just on Load Shedding - and not very intelligent load shedding, either. If I want to make those decisions based upon known Foot Traffic, or intersect with the Elevators, or any number of other controls whem making this decision, I've got still more protocols.
All of this is complicated by systems that are mantained for decades rather than swapped out every three years. Who here remembers how to talk RSTS/E sys calls? Do you want to revive that knowlege this month?
Maybe this same enterprise application also wants to quzz the electrical meters about the instantaneous usage, or whether power consumption is currently grouped on one phase or another -oops now we have to figure out what SCADA protocol they are using. Hmmm, maybe for this rebate, its worthwhile taking some of the electrical load off the grid and firing up the internal generators or fuel cells. Add in a few more incompatible binary protocols.
Quickly one realizes that every building agent is a custom from scratch application every time (except perhaps if a single hotel chain builds 10 of the same buildings based on the same design - but even there, there may be differences based on local code, and local contractors, and local inspectors).
Oh, and by the way, sometimes two or more of these function will be combined in the same control system. That might actually be one of the local changes described above.
This is why some of us want a an abstract self-describing interface on the gateway between each control system and the network. That system will encapsulate and abstracte this stuff up to some standard that the Buildign Agent will talk to.
And that is why the verbosity of XML is the last concern.
is what you want for lighting controls. And as mentioned by someone, maybe you want a tenant interaction with the control system so you can work late w/o contacting a security guard first.
Isn't this a book in the O'Reilly series? I wonder what sort of animal goes on the front cover?
Professor Karmadillo Songs of Science