LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: LyndonZimmermann <lyndonz@senet.com.au>
  To  : linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
  Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 18:17:42 +0930

Building Automation Protocols

Gereetings all,

"The best thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

The Clipsal C-Bus system is one of many (I've seen a list with twenty or
more) protocols for building management systems.  The number is driven by
"horses for courses", ie each having their own application; proprietory
protocols seeking to lock clients in once a system is established; an
inability of the large number of manufacturers to co-operate without getting
bogged down in the paperwork (how many of you have been part of a standards
setting committee?); available technology and the march of progress.

Clipsal have jumped in an developed a suite of excellent products - good on
them!

There are broadly two types of protocol: open and proprietory.

Proprietory protocols (roughly speaking) are those written by a highly
vertically integrated supplier (ie integrates software, hardware, mechanical
components, sensors, the lot), work only with their devices and generally
secret. So your airconditioning controller can't talk to your lighting
controller or your security system.  When you're stuck with these and can't
interface new components or effectively update they're called "Legacy systems".

No doubt old Clipsal systems will fit this bill.

Open protocols are all the rage these days.  There are various types of open
protocol.  One type interprets various proprietory protocols.  They allow
those different systems to talk to each other, but look like they'll be a
maintenance nightmare (just like the interpreting service for the EC!).

Another type is the specialist supplier.  They only make electronic
components and publish the protocol.  Others then write special software or
integrate purchased chips and devices into their devices.  Two examples are
Echelon Corporations "LonMark" and Dallas Semiconductor's "One-wire".
Anyone can make a single component through to an entire system or write a
little device driver through to an entire building automation package for
these.  The big players are starting to adopt this approach, at the expense
of their propriatory protocols.  The incentive is new markets.  Small
dynamic customers just don't want legacy systems or be locked in with one
supplier.  The big players want these customers as well as the big clients
who can afford to be locked in.

If anyone out there is bubbling over with creative juices and wants to work
on the "one wire" technology I'm keen to get involved.  I'm in the
sustainable energy field (ie solar hot water, biomass to energy, energy
efficiency etc) and have some applications that can't justify spending big
bucks on fancy controllers.  The Dallas components are a fraction of the
cost of traditional devices BUT require a bit more software expertise than I
have.

Regards,

Lyndon Zimmermann

Lyndon Zimmermann
BE(Mech - Adelaide) Grad Dip Bus Admin (U of SA)
Sustainable Energy Consultant
24 Waverly St, Mitcham, South Australia, 5062
tel +61-8-8272 9262 mobile 0414 91 4577
email lyndonz@senet.com.au
URL http://users.senet.com.au/~lyndonz

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