Newsletter - May 2018
In This Issue...
Batteries Special Section
- Introduction to Batteries
- Which Type of Battery Should I Use? A Comparison Chart
- Supercapacitors
- Batteries from Nuclear Waste Is it Possible?
- Solid State Batteries Are Getting Real Attention These Days
- Graphene Based Supercapacitors are Getting Upgraded
- German Utility Announces Plan for World's Biggest Battery
- New Battery Could Power Electric Cars 620 Miles on Single Charge!
- Technology Forecast for Electric Vehicle Battery Technology
- Inspiring Battery Thoughts/Innovations
- Electric Planes? Way to Go!
- Elon Musk, The Game Changer
- GigaFactory and Tesla Motors
Other Interesting Content
Featured!!! Chipkin Product Update
Chipkin is happy to announce that we have done a complete revamp of our CAS BACnet Stack. The new stack will meet the standards for BACnet Protocol Revision 19 and includes a vast array of new features along with improved memory management for low resource devices.
We are excited and expect the launch to occur within the next few months. Take a look at our next newsletter for an update! To learn more about BACnet Stack, please visit BACnetStack.com.
Case Study Series
Case Study: Barrington Systems - US Department of Energy Lab
This case study outlines how the U.S. Department of Energy’s Berkeley National Laboratory addressed the risk of relying on obsolete Barrington Systems HVAC controls across more than 70 buildings. With Barrington equipment no longer supported after 2006 and HVAC performance critical to both building operations and sensitive scientific research, the lab needed a way to modernize without causing widespread downtime or incurring the high cost of replacing all field I/O at once.
The solution was a phased migration using gateways to convert existing Barrington LanStar and MicroStar data to BACnet/IP. This enabled auto-discovery of field devices, rapid creation of BACnet objects, and development of a new HMI while legacy systems remained operational. By replacing controllers first and preserving existing wiring and I/O, the lab achieved a cost-effective, low-risk path to full system modernization over time.
Calgary International Airport Upgrade
This case study describes how Calgary International Airport modernized its building automation system while keeping all terminals fully operational. The existing terminals used an aging JCI Metasys system, while the new terminal was built on a Delta Controls BACnet platform. Because airport operations could not tolerate downtime and required a single, integrated monitoring and control system, direct replacement or shutdown of legacy equipment was not feasible.
The S4 gateway solution was selected to bridge the two systems by automatically discovering JCI Metasys field devices and exposing them as BACnet points without disrupting existing operations. This enabled the new Delta BACnet GUI to monitor and gradually take control of legacy zones while avoiding manual point mapping across tens of thousands of data points. The result was a low-risk, cost-effective integration completed in weeks, allowing ESC Automation to deliver unified control across all terminals with minimal engineering effort and no operational interruption.
Featured Series – How Automation Will Affect You Personally
Current Article (Automation Impact Series)
Next Issue (Automation Impact Series)
- Will Home Automation Ever Be Safe?
Automation Impact Series – Previous Articles (June 2017 Newsletter)
- Retail Automation
- How Self-Driving Cars Will Profoundly Change Real Estate
- Will Automation Affect the Property Market?
- If self driving changes peoples attitudes to commuting, will that change the property market?
- Self Driving Cars and the shape of Cars
- Block Chain I/O What Bitcoin Can Teach Automation
- High Temperature Superconductors Overview
Featured Series – Cyber Attack: The Looming Automation Crisis
Current Article (Cyber Attack Series)
Next Issue (Cyber Attack Series)
- Car Hacking - A Real Threat or Just Hype?
Cyber Attack Series – Previous Articles
Looking to chat about BACnet or Honeypots? Strike up a conversation today!
Idiot or Genius?
