Access Security and Building Management
Cogent DataHub™ Use Case
The engineering contractors for a building management company in the Middle East came up with a plan for saving energy and increasing convenience for their newly constructed, high-profile office complex. They proposed linking the access security system to the BMS (Building Management System) to activate the lighting and air-conditioning system in each person’s office only when they were in the building.
A challenge arose when they discovered that the data protocols for the two systems were incompatible. The security system had an OPC server, but the BMS offered only a DDE interface. To overcome this problem, and establish robust data communication between the two systems, they used DataHub software. Configuring an OPC connection to the security system, and a DDE connection to the BMS the contractor was able to bridge connections from one server to the other, and establish a single, integrated system.
Now, when an executive arrives for the day and enters the building, his or her office lights up and the air conditioning goes on. When they leave for the day those systems get turned off automatically. The savings in energy have paid for the system many times over, and the system architecture has since been replicated in other locations.
