Well-known in the IT sector, but relatively new for facilities management, is the concept of ‘convergence’. This refers to a single building network infrastructure used to run many systems, maximising efficiency and delivering ‘green’ advantages.
While the IT market has been enthusiastic about it for some years, many of the elements of convergence fall within the typical FM remit. Collaboration is therefore the key for FM and IT to capitalise on this efficient approach.
A ‘converged network’ means a single intelligent building cabling system that provides for voice, data, wireless devices, audio/video, energy management, lighting controls, security, fire/safety systems and HVAC.
It’s where the IT world meets the FM domain, using structured cabling to create a single IP ethernet network to run low-voltage building automation systems (BAS) on one integrated, physical infrastructure, including those supported by PoE (Power over Ethernet) and PoE+.
Converged IP networks are reported to bring a host of business benefits; for many, the promise of reduced capital/operating expenditure and improved energy efficiency are each convincing reasons in their own right.
So why isn’t everyone doing it? Perhaps legacy systems are dissuading change? The most likely reason that converged networking isn’t being more rapidly capitalised upon is that it requires two functional domains — FM and IT — to work together and to become joint owners of one system: in other words, a level of collaboration without precedence.
Imagine, for instance, an employee entering a building with their pass badge. With converged IT, the individual’s work space is immediately illuminated, network access is provided, HVAC adjustments are made and any night-time power conservation methods are disabled.
Or when a fire alarm is activated, emergency lighting and pathway guidance systems could be instantaneously activated, doors to exits unlocked, video and audio feeds enabled, and emergency shutdowns of critical systems are initiated, while status and containment information is forwarded to rescue personnel.
These scenarios and others are all perfectly possible, but they require a significant level of integration. The picture is particularly complicated in a world where it’s common for each building service to be served separately by a different and dedicated infrastructure, usually by a specific supplier.
These services can be easily integrated, suppliers rationalised and cost-efficiencies realised through the installation of just one intelligent building cabling system.
Sensible savings
Deploying a converged network means that capital expenditure is reduced at installation as less material is demanded at the outset and a single contractor may be used to install one converged system, compared to multiple contractors installing multiple systems.
However, the more compelling saving is in operating expenditure over the longer term, where an intelligent, converged system supports energy efficient protocols that will save money year-on-year, while playing a major part in more sustainable operation that controls the carbon footprint of the building.
To put a measure on the operational advantages of convergence, the EPA (the US Environmental Protection Agency) suggests that green buildings can reduce energy use by up to 70 per cent. This will mainly come from power efficiency, perhaps from intelligent, sensor-enabled provision of lighting, tailored to meet demand of the building’s inhabitants, and HVAC that operates automatically to control temperature and air movement based on chosen climate settings.
When zones of the building are unoccupied, sensors trigger power conservation routines. These power-efficient services can all be run on one, integrated and scalable network foundation.
Measuring efficiency
Beyond power efficiency, a converged network can also run power monitoring across many disciplines, facilitating assessment of demand and planning for savings. When you consider that in Europe, buildings account for 40 per cent of all energy consumption, it’s immediately striking what an opportunity for efficiency this kind of continual assessment and improvement can present.
The basic premise for intelligent buildings, of course, is to use only the energy required for efficient and effective operation, no less and certainly no more. Energy management systems can also be provisioned via a converged network, to monitor demand and automate demand-based controls.
When we talk about energy efficiency, we’re usually talking literally. However, there’s another aspect to a sustainable approach, beyond the obvious measures, to reduce power consumption and shrink our carbon footprint. This is the human element.
With a single converged network, issue resolution is much simpler and quicker, meaning that human resource is also efficiently deployed. Working with a single structured cabling contractor for ongoing maintenance can reduce service contract costs by 15 per cent according to CABA (Continental Automated Buildings Association).
MACs (moves, adds and changes) can happen more quickly and, with a converged system, costs less to do (CABA estimates 20 per cent less). This not only saves the human resources needed to implement them, but also avoids delay in deployment.
If we look more broadly at efficiency, properly planned, intelligent buildings can make better use of financial resources as well. CABA estimates that intelligent systems can enhance building asset value by two-to-three times the initial investment and achieve a return on investment three to four times faster than traditional buildings.
When specifying, taking a convergent approach reduces cable volume requirement, space requirement in pathways and considerable savings on the overall installation costs, compared to when using multiple cabling systems, pathways and contractors. Having one supplier means fewer contractors and fewer visits, not only important at installation, but also in the long term operation of the site.
Wire and fire? In terms of cabling specification, converged networking with PoE and PoE+ enabled devices can be supported by category 5e, 6, 6A, 7 and category 7A cabling solutions in their shielded and un-shielded construction types, replacing the need for proprietary and co-axial cable or connectivity.
Multi-mode and single-mode optical fibre can also be used as part of a converged network infrastructure if needed to support a higher bandwidth backbone or to extend distances beyond the 100-metre channel length of copper, but cannot support PoE enabled devices. The major consideration when selecting a cabling system is to estimate its life-cycle.
Maximum longevity and minimum maintenance makes the best use of resources, so future performance demands must be considered and provisioned for. Currently, category 7A/class FA is the highest performing twisted-pair copper cabling system on the market, which provides a significant amount of bandwidth above and beyond other 10Gb/s network infrastructures.
Converged convergence
Just as convergence allows many low-voltage applications to run over one, integrated network, it is possible to run a number of low-speed, high-density applications over different pairs of a 4-pair twisted-pair copper-structured cabling channel using the concept of ‘cable sharing’. It could be described as ‘converged convergence’, whereby the cost savings of a converged network are compounded by the savings associated with the utilisation of cable sharing.
This standards-approved strategy takes convergence on a major step, or indeed leap, as it frees up valuable pathway space by reducing the number of cables required. It further reduces the number of outlets required, which can result in lower installation labour costs. By using cable sharing, unused pairs can be reduced by up to 70 per cent — over and above the system efficiency afforded by a converged IP network.
Efficient cabling
In a typical converged network environment, a wide range of applications (eg VoIP, CATV, CCTV, internet, security cameras, automation control systems, and intercom) are deployed that utilise only one or two pairs for transmission. However, cable sharing — which is possible with some fully shielded, category 7A/class FA cables — supports multiple low-voltage applications over one cable, using all four pairs rather than just one or two.
Because of its fully shielded construction, the signals on individual category 7A pairs are fully isolated from each other and multiple applications transmitting on just one or two pairs may be run without concern for interference. In fact, category 7A/class FA media is so robust, that two PoE applications (12.95 W maximum power delivered to the each powered device) can be supported over one channel as long as power is delivered using IEEE 802.3-2005 Alternative A.
As an example, if six services (VoIP, CATV, CCTV, internet, security cameras, automation control systems, and intercom) are required for a specific network implementation, providing a dedicated 4-pair cable for each low-pair count application would require six outlets at the work area or zone box; leaving a total of 16 unused pairs! A more efficient solution would be to implement a cable-sharing approach whereby each work area or zone box would support the six services over two category 7A/class FA channels.
By this cable-sharing approach, we can reduce the number of cables physically installed into a building, thereby reducing the size of containment systems and the number of patch panels and cabinets. This has obvious and potentially significant cost-saving benefits for the building owner.
Can worlds converge?
In summary, converged IP Ethernet networks provide many compelling benefits and facilitate intelligent, automated building systems with a centralised point of control.
Making buildings greener, convergence reduces materials and waste, resulting in more environmentally-conscious installation, and provides greater control of systems to optimise energy efficiency. With a focus on the future, the case for convergence is most convincing when considered over the longer term, with initial cap-ex advantages rapidly overtaken by the op-ex reductions and green sustainability.
Furthermore, it’s an approach most likely to qualify for green technology incentives such as the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) assessment system and the innovation technology credits proposed the GBTA (Green Building Technology Alliance), established by BICSI.
The reasons for a converged IP Ethernet network are clear and increasingly significant, but the challenge may be considerable. Is it possible to share one network cabling system to run all the building’s services? Can shared responsibility deliver significant benefits to the organisation as a whole? In short, can facilities and IT work together on this?
