Controls & Equipment
Controls & Equipment
Controls & Equipment Ltd. is an Atlantic Canadian, leading edge controls contractor capable of providing the latest in Energy Management Controls Systems, Access, CCTV and HVAC Services. C&E is positioned to provide complete integration of BACnet building solutions and is interested in making buildings “smart grid ready”.
C&E and the Smart Grid Interoperability Lab
C&E initially contacted SGIN to help with integrating their building automation technology with the utility’s energy management systems responsible for automating Demand Response. Under Demand Response (DR) programs, North American utilities provide building owner’s financial incentives to reduce their energy demand at specific times of the year when the grid is under stress; or increase their energy demand to absorb surpluses of renewable energy.
SGIN began their project with C&E and Delta Controls with an OpenADR knowledge transfer session, which resulted in Delta Controls interest in developing their own OpenADR VEN functionality, as a part of their enteliWEB building controls software. The session’s objective was to explain the OpenADR compliant machine-to-machine messaging that would be needed between their building control system and the utility’s energy management system. These messages would enable measurements to be translated into OpenADR standard reports and for the building assets to participate in demand response events issued by the utility; in addition to the administrative messages needed for device registration.
SGIN worked side-by side with developers from Delta Controls to ensure successful integration between the end product, the OpenADR VEN, the OpenADR VTN, and the Siemens Distributed Energy Management System. In this case, the implementation of the Delta Controls VEN needed to interface with the optimization logic of the building management controller. This controller, following OpenADR messaging from the utility, would then translate the curtailment signal to the end loads like HVAC, battery storage or EV chargers.
When the VEN was developed, the SGIN/Siemens Interoperability Lab worked with Delta Controls to remotely test their new OpenADR VEN in a lab setting, with simulated consumption data, while thoroughly testing and debugging all required OpenADR message payloads. The services performed by the SGIN Interoperability Lab are outline below:
- SGIN performed the Siemens DEMS configuration and guided Delta Controls through the device-side configuration.
- The lab team worked with the client to debug secure authentication using test certificates, as well as resolve any connectivity issues.
- Once connectivity was established between the Siemens Decentralized Energy Management system and the VEN, the lab team began to debug OpenADR standard messages, ensuring registering, reporting and Demand Response events were managed properly by the building automation system.
- SGIN developed standard test cases to validate required OpenADR functionality, as well as employ exploratory ad-hoc testing with support from Siemens product specialists to identify the root cause of any OpenADR protocol issue.
The testing ended with a real field trial testing. Delta Controls arranged a live asset at the Control & Equipment Head Office in Moncton. The testing was repeated to verify proper device response when shedding the building’s HVAC system load.
With the support of SGIN, C&E/Delta are making their customer’s buildings more intelligent, preparing for the next generation of electricity network and energy exchanges.
Who We Are
The Smart Grid Innovation Network (SGIN) is a collaborative partnership between NB Power, The University of New Brunswick and Siemens Canada. SGIN drives and supports a smart grid ecosystem for innovation, technology advancement, and research and development.
More Information
For more information about how the Siemens Interoperability Lab or the Smart Grid Innovation Network can help your company build a ”smart grid ready” product or service, please complete the vendor application form or contact us.
For more information on Controls & Equipment and their intelligent building controller equipments, please Chris Stevens, VP of Technical sales at CStevens@controlsequipment.