Smart, connected real estate

by Katie Daniel | December 7, 2015 11:03 am

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By William R MacGowan, P.Eng., CEM
In the late 1800s, this author’s great grandfather, Warren Y. Soper, collaborated with Thomas Ahearn to find a better way of living for those in Ottawa. Like others in the growing city, they were tired of using wood, coal, and gas for the purposes of heating, cooking, and lighting. Thomas Edison, south of the border, had caught their attention. After much back and forth discussion regarding the new value of electricity and electrical generation, they had him ship a water-wheel generator, which was installed and commissioned at the base of Rideau River Falls.

From that moment, things changed for the citizens of the nation’s capital. The flipping of the switch led to the formation and operation of the Ottawa Lighting and Power Company, Ottawa Telephone Company, and Ottawa Street Railway. For buildings, it was also transformative. This new source of clean power ushered in the elevator and air-conditioning. These technologies accelerated the growth and adoption of high-rise commercial building stock around the globe.

Looking back over the last 60 to 70 years, however, there has been little that has truly changed the design, construction, and operations of commercial real estate. Now, Oxford Properties’ RBC WaterPark Place III might serve as another game-changer, thanks to its embrace of smart information technology (IT) and use of Power over Ethernet (PoE).

The power of PoE
Located in downtown Toronto, along Queens Quay on Lake Ontario, the 31-floor RBC WaterPark Place III encompasses some 80,625 m² (867,865 sf). Certified Platinum under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design: Core and Shell (LEED CS) program, the tower leverages the next jump in technology driven by three key factors:

• network convergence (i.e. multiple communication modes such as telephone, video data, and facility systems [e.g. lighting, HVAC, security, and energy metering] running off a single network);
• the rise of high-speed Internet; and
• distribution of direct current[2] (DC)—versus alternating current (AC)—electrical power along with data through Ethernet cabling. Power options include PoE (15 watts), PoE+ (30 watts), and UPoE (60 watts).

WaterPark Place III is the first building in the Americas to deliver both primary electrical power and communication over an open-standard IT smart structured Category 6 Ethernet cabling infrastructure. Leveraging low-voltage IT structured cabling solutions versus traditional line-voltage electrical distribution wiring schemes positively impacts both capital and operating expenditure budgets. It does this by underpinning this technology leap with two crucial, modern concepts.

The first is the Internet of Things (IoT)—the intelligent connectivity of machines or other physical devices, driving massive gains in efficiency, business growth, and quality of life. This can be something as simple as videoconferencing, using your car’s navigation system, or controlling your home’s lighting or security system through a smartphone.

The second concept behind Waterpark Place III is the logical extension of the first, the Internet of Everything (IoE). This is the melding of mobility, Big Data and Analytics, social, and Cloud technologies together with the more than 50 billion devices coming online to not only sense and control the physical world, but also to capture intelligence and allow people to gain insights and improve processes, efficiencies, and productivity. For example, a smart home can make intuitive decisions to turn off the lights or turn up the heat by analyzing use patterns.

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Traditional line-voltage systems have been moved from the base building’s electrical room to its information technology (IT) room. It leverages PoE (15 watts), PoE+ (30 watts), and UPoE (60 watts) at 48-volt DC for products, including building automation system (BAS) components such as:

• variable air volume (VAV) controllers (i.e. the thermostat);
• closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras;
• door locks; and
• light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires.

The trend in edge devices/controllers consuming less power has driven the adoption of delivering electrical power to these new edge devices via PoE.

As the new electrical infrastructure, PoE is both transformational and disruptive for the traditional electrical design and construction world. Design scope is moving from the prime mechanical consultants to the prime electrical IT consultants, and installation is moving from line voltage to low-voltage structured cabling trades.

To facilitate these changes, everyone will need to collaborate earlier in the strategy, design, construction, and operations phases of a project. These changes will also give rise to a new design and construction discipline called ‘smart building integration,’ as the co-operation of mechanical, electrical, and IT systems drive new efficiencies and opportunities.

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Designing WaterPark Place III
The journey of WaterPark Place III began with two queries: Would a smart, connected building deliver new value? Which stakeholders would benefit? With these questions on the table, the process began.

In addition to Oxford Properties, the project team included WZMH (architect), Hidi Rae (prime mechanical consultant), MMM Group (prime electrical/IT consultant), EllisDon (contractor), and smart building network company, FlexITy Solutions. By leveraging an IT smart network not just for the traditional IT services (e.g. Internet, communications) but also for base building applications (e.g. lighting, heating/cooling), it was clear to see replacing disparate networked siloed base building systems with one converged IT networked enterprise solution meant savings in both capital and operating expenditures as only one infrastructure needed to be constructed for multiple applications.

All project stakeholders (i.e. ownership, design, construction, and operations) focused on the concept that if this ‘converged IT infrastructure’ was considered early (i.e. during concept and preliminary design phases), then value would rise in comparison to the tried and true method of waiting until the last moment, once the majority of the building had been constructed, to install a network. For WaterPark, timing was right to take advantage of PoE at the edge, and the analysis of disparate versus converged clearly indicated the latter was the correct direction.

During the design phase, all manufacturers and solution providers responsible for HVAC control, lighting, electrical metering, security, and CCTV were asked to provide system architecture solutions with primary and secondary devices/controllers connected by either Internet Protocol (IP) Ethernet or IP Ethernet/PoE.

Each solution was reviewed and evaluated by the design team, with special attention applied to Day 1 capital expenditures and commissioning. If the solution passed a Day 1 Test, then criteria specific to Day 2 operations and lifecycle costing was applied. Once Day 1 and Day 2 criteria were met, the solution then became part of the base building design tender set.

The various solution packages where then put out to tender. These tenders were released in parallel to the prime mechanical and electrical trades. Since network convergence bridged both mechanical and electrical trades, a co-ordinated effort was undertaken to ensure traditional disparate networks were not included in pricing and commission scopes. Power and communication wiring duplication was eliminated by having a clear set of tender documents. The tender set laid out all network and power requirements, system architectures, end customer uses cases and commissioning schedules. A detailed ‘responsibility matrix’ provided needed mechanical and electrical discipline co-ordination.

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Once all tenders where closed, the design team evaluated each separate system on a standalone basis. Special attention was applied to both capital and operating expenses, along with ease of integration. The selected individual systems were then combined and the total value of expenditures was reviewed with final sign-off following.

With all systems and trades selected, the delivery of a smart building was started. Through the delivery process, special attention was given to having an active PoE network installed and activated early. All IT rooms were required to come on-stream very early in the process so the edge devices for the base building systems (e.g. HVAC, lighting, CCTV, and security) could be powered and then commissioned. The hurdles encountered were not technical, but came in the form of changing traditional process and practice.

For example, all electrical and mechanical consultants and contractors needed to be onsite earlier and have scope completed and commissioned well ahead of traditional construction schedules. Timing and scheduling where adjusted accordingly by the lead general contractor (EllisDon) who ensured its project managers were well-versed in network convergence.

For base building systems, the system that contributed the largest ‘smart’ value came in the form of the HVAC BAS. Delta Controls of Vancouver was selected and its architecture that included PoE (15 watts) for the VAV controls transformed installation, commissioning, and operations. By simplifying installation, programming, and integration, first costs and operating expenses were reduced. Approximately 1800 PoE-powered and communicating controllers/thermostats were supplied and installed.

Structured Cat 6 cable was supplied and installed by Guild Electric’s structured cabling division during the base building’s concrete pour. It was essential mechanical and IT electrical drawings clearly indicated physical locations for all ductwork and terminal units. All cable runs were home-run from the thermostat/controllers distributed on the floor plate back to the centralized IT room, located adjacent to the main electrical and mechanical rooms per floor in the core of the building. The home-run structured network eliminated line-voltage cabling and conduit, which led to quicker and lower-cost installation.

During the construction phase, IT rooms were constructed and powered earlier than traditional projects. IT switches came on-stream much earlier since they provided both power and communication for the primary base building systems. Based on early planning, co-ordination, and scope definition, the base building construction was smooth and seamless. Collaboration between all trades, manufacturers, and consultants delivered a next-generation building designed to be flexible and interactive with the tenants’ needs today and tomorrow.

The ideal office space
As the building moved through construction, Cisco Systems Canada coincidentally began the process of looking for a new home. Multiple locations within the Toronto core were reviewed, compared, and analyzed before WaterPark Place III was selected. Smart building capabilities provided by a converged IP POE infrastructure were paramount. A network that was flexible, modular, and secured provided the opportunity to layer on additional space functionality.

The team assembled to build out the Cisco Smart Work Space across approximately four floors and 9290 m² (100,000 sf) included:

• CBRE (project manager);
• EllisDon (general contractor and smart building integrator);
• HOK (space design);
• Hidi Rae (mechanical/electrical consulting);
• Kelson Mechanical (prime mechanical);
• Guild Electric (prime electrical and structured cabling);
• FlexITy Solutions (smart networks);
• Panduit (network cabling); and
• Delta Controls (automated HVAC).

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Based on recent satisfaction studies, personal control of the environment (including temperature and light level control) was top of mind and led to the replacement of the base building Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI)-based T5 fluorescent lighting system with a next generation IP POE+ (30 watts) LED assembly connected to the building’s IP network.

The control and power architecture for the lighting solution was based on a star and home-run configuration instead of the home-run architecture implemented for the HVAC BAS solution. Compact switches formed the star connection hub, and short-run (small pre-made cables connecting the switch to the luminaire) Cat 6 patch cables were used to provide communication and power to the lighting luminaires including:

• general purposes 2 X 2;
• specialty pot lights;
• recessed linear lighting; and
• suspended linear lighting.

Cat 6 communication connections were home-run in cable trays to the base building IT closet and connected to Ethernet switches housed in a separate communication cabinet located below the base building BAS cabinet. For the workspace, the total IP POE+ fixture count was 1400.

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Conclusion
The journey for both WaterPark Place III and Cisco Systems Canada’s new home started off as concept a number of years ago, developed by a team who began early and were collaborative. By bringing all stakeholders representing the owner, the tenant, the architect, and the design and construction community, all aspects of the project could be clearly articulated and built. The fundamental connection of facilities and IT design via the linkage of MasterFormat specification Divisions 23−HVAC, 25−Integrated Automation, 26−Electrical, and 27−Communications clearly formed the foundation for the delivery of a smart connected building.

[8]William R MacGowan, P.Eng., CEM, is Cisco Systems’ director of smart connected real estate. He has considerable knowledge in the areas of converged building systems, enterprise integration, and the delivery of high-performance business value. With 30 years of experience in the new construction and retrofit industry affiliations, MacGowan has held project management, marketing, and global sales positions in the energy and automation sector. Prior to joining Cisco, he worked at Delta Controls for 16 years in various national and global roles. MacGowan holds an honours degree from Queens University (Kingston, Ont.) in electrical engineering and is a Certified Energy Manager with the American Energy Engineers Association. He can be reached at bimacgow@cisco.com[9].

Source URL: https://www.constructioncanada.net/smart-connected-real-estate/

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