| Advances in equipment, processes, and technology are the driving forces in energy management, energy efficiency, and energy cost control improvements. Web Based Energy Information & Control Systems documents the operational experience with Web-based systems within facilities and varied applications and shows the new opportunities for energy and facility managers to quickly and effectively control and manage their operations. Readers will learn what is happening at other facilities and see what is involved in current and future installations of Internet-based technologies. The case studies and applications complement the book's authoritative discussions.
There are clearly two classes of engineers today: those who “get” controls and those who do not. Those who get controls will have the keys to the future of the engineering field as the information-technology revolution continues its inexorable penetration into every nook and cranny of the buildings industry. Those who get controls will be able to respond to the needs of their clients, who, in turn, are responding to the needs of their clients—the occupants of buildings, purchasers of products.
Those who do not get controls will take an accelerated path to early obsolescence because they cannot cope with the web based energy information and control systems that are going into buildings today and tomorrow.
This book is written for those who “get” controls. It will not resolve the chasm between the individuals who are investing their time and resources to embrace technology developments and those who do not; instead, it will widen it. By making such a valuable compilation of experience and guidance from early adopters of new controls technology, this book has created a booster rocket for a larger body of engineers who want to apply it. Those who do not want to apply it are going to get left behind more quickly. This form of Darwinism is natural and inevitable.
Engineering controls has always been critical and complex, even when they were pneumatic. Criticality and complexity grew with time and technology, especially with the advent of direct-digital controls and then networked controls. With each increase in complexity, the field of engineers who would or could keep up has shrunk. Presently, it is common knowledge that the number of engineers, especially consulting engineers, who can design an integrated, interoperable buildingautomation system without depending on suppliers or their service-contracting arms to have a large role is disturbingly small.
This book is the second in a planned three-book sequence, and concentrates on Case Studies and Applications of Web Based Energy Information and Control Systems. The first book presented the basics of Information Technology for Web Based EIS and ECS systems, and this volume now contains detailed case studies and applications which show how facilities and industries are using this web-based technology to improve energy efficiencies and reduce energy costs at their operations. In addition, authors describe how their systems improve the data collection process, and provide information to the facility operators that allows them to easily make decisions to improve the operation of their facilities. This assembly of evolving information in a one-of-a kind resource book links you to the dramatic changes that are occurring in facility energy use, and in the energy production and delivery industry itself.
This book presents many diverse industry views of the complex changes that are occurring in the energy information and control industry. It should help you understand the future of Web-Based Energy Information and Control Systems and the great changes occurring in our industry. I am a great fan of these two books because as much as I believe in the speed of the electronic media, the information must be organized and available in a logical form. We need links and strong connections to the traditional methods of learning to help kick start those that have lost connection with rapidly evolving web-based control. The format of this book allows a physical separation from the virtual side of web-based ways to what is reality. With this book and the Web you should have ready access to some of the most critical information on this new wave of web-based systems technology. |
