Page 28 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings-Volume 1

CASE STUDY NO. 1 PACKARD FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
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Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings: Volume 1
(Above) Diagram of the custom automated control system or master control system developed by Packard Foundation IT staff. (Diagram courtesy of Packard Foundation)
Controls
Zero net energy buildings by necessity are smart buildings since all the building features and systems, to be as energy efficient as possible, respond to changing weather, solar, daylight and occupant use conditions on a daily and seasonal basis. In the past, this changeability was met largely through the expenditure of energy, usually to overpower the variations in time. In current highly energy-efficient buildings, especially buildings of a larger size, the response to changes in conditions is carried out to some extent by occupant intervention, but it is primarily done by sophisticated building control systems.
Each building sub-system, whether it is lighting, daylight sensors, HVAC controls (BMS), CO2 sensors, solar photovoltaic production or automatic blinds, generally has a unique set of pro- cessing protocols for its control system. As the need has grown for coordinating these systems for monitoring and data reporting purposes, the building controls industry has responded with integrating systems that “sit on top” of the component control systems. This is new technology and, as might be expected, communication issues sometimes make this a functional problem point during the early operation period of a smart building. (See discussion in later case studies in this monograph.)
While newer integrating controls systems are beginning to emerge in the industry, the Packard Foundation decided to invest in the custom development of its own version of such automation controls, given the importance of building operation in the success of the project. After all, the project location is the heart of Silicon Valley and the Foundation’s IT staff was eager to take on such a challenge. To increase the challenge, all possible building operations were to be part of the automation control system, including room scheduling, security and audio-visual systems. A simple web-based interface was developed to allow easy control by the building operations