Richard Staub (Richard Staub),BUS-House
Recently, we have increasingly seen the process of combining various protocols in the implementation of projects. One such example of cooperation is the St. Olavs University Hospital under construction at the University of Trondheim. It is located in central Norway, where 630,000 people live today (see photo).
St. Olavs University Hospital (Norway)
The first buildings of the center have already opened and have been functioning since 2006, and upon completion of construction (by 2015), the hospital will become one of the largest medical centers in Europe. Its total area will be 210,100 sq. m.
It is assumed that on the basis of the new medical center, in addition to the actual medical work, medical research will be conducted, as well as the training of highly qualified medical personnel.
Siemens, which won the tender for automation of the facility, decided to use the currently popular BACnet (EN ISO 16484-5) and KNX (ISO/IEC 14543) standards in a single bundle. It was proposed to use the open KNX standard to control the lighting system, sun protection and temperature control in more than 2,700 rooms of the center. The DESIGO INSIGHT system will be used for control. The integration of the KNX-based system is supposed to be implemented on the basis of a network of DESIGO PX servers. The DESIGO building management system will allow technical personnel to access building systems via the Internet. DESIGO PX servers are physically connected to the control system, and this connection is realized via an Ethernet network using the BACnet protocol.
Topology of two open protocols
Integration of the KNX control system into the BACnet building automation protocol
For 15 years, KNX has been the international standard for home networks and building management systems. In large projects, it is implemented in the “field levels” of automation. The work carried out on certification and confirmation of the guarantee of compatibility with other protocols allowed KNX to develop into a system that can be easily adapted to a specific project. A large number of suppliers produce components for this protocol with a wide range of products, which are classified into almost 7,000 categories.
Full-fledged ETS software (Embedded Tool Suite) functions in real time regardless of the choice of components and their manufacturers, which significantly simplifies the configuration of the system.
The BACnet standard is increasingly gaining ground in the world as a protocol for the automation and management of large construction projects. Combining two standards in one project allows for the integration of advanced security systems regardless of their manufacturer, which in itself is an undeniable advantage. Integration is carried out on the basis of Ethernet and Internet networks.
Standardization of systems is a guarantee of investment security.
Benefits for designers and operators of building automation systems
In this project, the automation system based on the KNX protocol was implemented with the support of DESIGO-PX servers from Siemens Building Technologies using the “rational engineering” method, in which data transmission paths are predetermined.
This is beneficial for both the designer and the system operator, since the serial interfaces of the DESIGO network combine the strengths of both automation standards.
Standardization of the data conversion procedure: BACnet – KNX
In order to simplify the integration of the KNX and BACnet protocols, a standard data conversion procedure is being developed (see Appendix H.5 of the BACnet standard ”Using BACnet with KNX”).
The basis for such standardization is the compatibility between the BACnet protocol object types and the KNX functional blocks.
The data structure of these protocols has identical semantics, and the data within the KNX protocol corresponds to the specification of the BACnet standard.
The presence of such precedents of unification not at a theoretical level, but in the form of finished projects once again clearly confirms the possibility of fruitful cooperation between different protocols. After all, this is confirmed by professionals.
Based on materials from the BACnet Europe (BIG-EU) magazine |
