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The Green Campus
IT Meets BAS
5/1/2008
Universities have a lot of old buildings. Will their systems pose a problem for integration with IT?
Some of the legacy systems can't be integrated, but many building automation systems have open standards. Only the oldest are locked out, and even those sometimes can be converted. They have open standards protocols for the most part, and the technology is here to tie them to the IT network. It doesn't require new inventions or technology, and there are a number of vendors of this type of software.
How much does integration cost? How can universities get started?
The cost will vary a lot, but the return is energy savings, as well as the opportunity to participate in demand response. I believe universities are great places to implement some of these new ideas. They have large data centers, large computer networks, large campuses, complex occupancy patterns, cogeneration plants in some cases- all of these lend themselves to energy-saving experiments. The campus itself can be a lab. Students can be involved in these projects and that, in turn, will lead to the adoption of the practices by the private sector. Building automation is a difficult technology, so you find out what you need, you prioritize, you allocate resources. That's an ideal class project! The IT department also can be involved-for example, by modeling buildings to LEED standards before they're built. They're all software functions: You get the specs on a building and what components you need, you fine-tune it before you build it, you put systems in it to monitor building performance constantly, and you identify inefficiencies before you get the energy bill. There's even newer technology out there to help you determine which parts of the data center are coolest and which computers to move there. It's all software. You see? It's what IT lives and breathes.
::WEBEXTRAS ::
The Changing Face of Auxiliary Services As new needs crop up on campus, Auxiliary Services finds solutions for mobile transactions, mountains of junk mail, even green construction.
Rama Ramaswami is senior editor at The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist, Financial Times, and other international publications. She is based in New York City.
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