• Defining an Open System
• Building Segments
• Standards Update
• Applications Stories
• White Papers
• LonMark International
• LonWorks Technology At Work In Buildings Around The World

Building Automation Solutions

Commercial buildings have a number of subsystems — security, lighting, elevators, power, safety, and HVAC — that are crucial to a well-run building. But most of them operate separately or, at best, are connected through a series of costly, hard-to-maintain gateways to a single human-machine interface.

Echelon pioneered the concept of open building systems, where manufacturers follow independently maintained interoperability guidelines that let building integrators choose best-of-breed products to create a single, unified building automation system. Our embedded technology and infrastructure products are at the heart of these open systems, delivering benefits such as:

• lower installation and lifecycle costs
• greater expandability and flexibility at a lower cost
• vastly improved energy efficiency

Open building systems based on Echelon technology benefit everyone:

• manufacturers enjoy greater market acceptance
• integrators deliver better systems
• end users lower their energy costs with better, less-costly-to-maintain buildings

Echelon's Corporate Campus Is a Technology Showcase

Our three-story corporate headquarters in San Jose, Calif., is proof that we practice what we preach. The building's key subsystem — based on Echelon enabled devices, infrastructure products, and software from multiple manufacturers — is integrated into one simplified control network. All subsystems run off the same set of wires, which reduced construction and rewiring costs.

Echelon facility managers can easily monitor and control lighting, security, HVAC, and other functions — onsite or at a remote location, 24 hours a day — through a single Web-enabled interface. Remote control is enabled by our i.LON 100 Internet Server, which seamlessly ties Echelon's corporate IP backbone to the building automation system.

While the building is easier to manage, it's also more comfortable to work in, and it works to save energy as well. Employees can set individual lighting and temperature levels for their workspaces through a simple desktop Web interface. Instead of simplistic on/off sensing, workspace occupancy is determined through an employee's work schedule, time of day, and motion sensing, minimizing energy use and maximizing comfort.

All told, over 1,100 devices in the building use Echelon technology, interfacing with 16,000 I/O points (for example, one smart lighting controller connects to 10 eight-inch light fixtures in a conference room).