Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a by-product of human respiration. Each time we exhale, CO2 is released into the atmosphere around us. Currently, CO2 sensors can be used to automatically control ventilation systems in buildings equipped with Building Automation Systems (BAS). This is referred to as Demand Control Ventilation (DCV).
It's likely that most Americans got their first glimpse of Building Automation Systems in 1939, when the Wizard of Oz appeared from behind his black curtain, frantically pulling levers to remotely spread smoke, his green visage exposed to Dorothy and her pals. Modern Building Automation Systems (BAS) are different than Oz’s in their focus, technology and desired outcomes, but similar in their concept of centralized remote monitoring and control of mechanical systems.
The traditional concept of “preventive maintenance” applies to maintenance on a piece of machinery based on its quantifiable use, or the passage of a set amount of time. A good common example of preventive maintenance is changing the engine oil in your car every 3,000 miles or 3 months, as many automobile owners’ manuals may suggest. “Predictive maintenance” is an attempt to refine maintenance activities to only those times when they are functionally necessary, based on data collection, analysis, and (negative) trend determination from an established “healthy” base level.
Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) offer many advantages to a broad group of facilities stakeholders at commercial, industrial, medical, and educational institutions throughout the United States.
Energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) are an excellent way to finance capital improvements to mechanical and electrical infrastructure, if certain conditions exist. The contracts are typically awarded to an energy services company (ESCO) that can offer the most efficient new equipment installation within a predetermined payback period.
