Groundbreaking Vol 48 Technology

Page 20

Georgia Institute of Technology, ACC Network Operations Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Smart Building Essentials BY CHRIS ANDREWS, APTITUDE DESIGN AND PRECONSTRUCTION DIRECTOR

In a world where we increasingly hear the importance of implementing “smart” concepts—smart buildings, smart technology, smart cities—it can be difficult to decipher what it all means. What actually makes a building smart, and how is it all connected?

The answers to those questions will not only help owners determine the needs of their buildings, but it will also improve the users’ experiences, keeping systems connected and running seamlessly to create a positive, efficient environment. That’s where Aptitude, a strategic trade partner of JE Dunn comes in—to connect those crucial systems for a truly smart, seamless technology experience. To support the growing need for smart buildings, JE Dunn launched Aptitude: Intelligent Integration in January 2021. Leveraging the nearly 100 years of design-build expertise to deliver connected built environments, the team not only helps owners determine what is best for their buildings, but they also help them understand the scope and ramifications of those needs. Smart technology involves connecting multiple low-voltage systems within a building and can meet needs ranging from security and access systems to nurse call stations, all the way to complex audiovisual and lighting structures. Though smart building is a highly complex process, it really boils down to three main components: Infrastructure, Cyber Security, and Utilization of Collected Data. 20

Infrastructure Infrastructure is the super-highway in which the data travels throughout your building and beyond and is a complex network of low-voltage connections. Infrastructure is made up of jacks at the desk, cabling between there and the active network gear in a telecommunications room, and the wireless access points that employees connect to when not at their desks. With more devices than ever before per person—typically a personal computer, desk phone, cell phone, and tablet—there is increasing stress both on current infrastructure in many buildings as well as the need to improve it. Up until the early 2000s, our industry attempted to improve the speed of data transmission in cable on an almost bi-yearly basis. We quickly passed through standards for Category 3, Category 5, Category 5E, Category 6, Category 6E, Category 6A, and shielded versions of each. The industry was hungry to continue to make the cable faster with every new category. CAT6A had achieved 10 gigabits per second, which was great, but it required that users were connected within the building. When the industry started to virtualize their network services purchasing it through a SaaS (Software as a Service) program that we marketed as “Cloud,” the internet connection became a choke point. As a result, many customers only bought cable with speeds compared to the internet connection they could achieve.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.