Wireless is the future

Wireless building automation will win. Just as wireless has every time it has gone head-to-head with an existing wired technology.  To use just one example, think about the prevalence of wireless Internet access in almost every office versus the almost ubiquitous use of hard-wired Ethernet cables only a few years ago. Wireless wins because it’s less expensive, it’s more flexible and it’s easier to install.

The construction industry is understandably slow to adopt new technologies. Commercial buildings, after all, are around for a long time. It’s not like making a decision on a phone that you are likely to replace in 2 years. Any systems that are tied to building infrastructure need to stay useful over time. Wireless systems can be very flexible – many support changes to evolving communications standards via software upgrades.

One of the big concerns about wireless systems has been over the use of batteries. No facility manager wants to run around changing batteries in countless sensors every year or two. The best wireless systems make use of hardwired power (e.g., the lighting system) for the communication backbone and then use energy harvesting or long-lasting batteries (e.g. 5-10 years) for those sensors that don’t have easy access to power. Since they aren’t required to route messages for other sensors, these devices can operate on significantly less power.

Wireless systems can make retrofits possible where traditional wired systems would be far too expensive to justify.  Yet the advantages of wires for new construction are becoming increasingly compelling. One big advantage is the simplification of the design process. Take lighting controls as an example. Since wireless controls can separate the way lights are powered from how they are controlled, optimal circuit layout is greatly simplified and becomes less dependent on changes to the design. Control details, now largely implemented by software, can be pushed out later in the design process.

Once a wireless backbone is in place, it makes adding new sensors and actuators affordable down the road. How many items are plugged into the power strip at your desk right now? Chances are you have a computer plugged in – even if it’s a laptop – a cell phone, perhaps a printer, a lamp, and a monitor. Most if not all of these items are drawing power even if they are just on standby. What if there was a wireless monitor on the power strip that knew which devices were crucial and which could be shut down at times of peak demand? At the very least, just knowing how much energy was being used by all of these energy vampires would be valuable information.

We may not have reached a completely wireless future just yet, but the day is fast approaching when we can eliminate the need for many – if not most – of our hardwired building systems. And it will be a better day for anyone who wants to have improved information about, and increased control over, the energy we use.