More and more contractors are having to learn about building management systems. Or, if they aren’t, they should be — especially as more building owners demand that their systems be more functional and flexible.
Part of this trend toward more flexible systems includes device networking (yes, another “hot” term from the world of computers). All it really means is that real-time data is available from the actual device. The old way a building automation system worked involved, for example, a space sensor that talked about the temperature within a space to a CPU or a mainframe computer. That mainframe computer could then dial out or be dialed into.