Category: Smart Automation

Lighting is more than just a functional necessity; it’s a powerful tool that can transform any space, setting the mood and enhancing the environment. One of the essential features of modern lighting solutions is Dimming. The ability to dim lights offers endless opportunities to creatively shape the ambience of a room, making it a crucial component for both residential and commercial spaces. Whether you want to create a cozy atmosphere for a dinner party or a focused environment for work, dimming allows you to tailor the lighting to your exact needs. In commercial environments Dimming can be a significant contributor to lowering energy consumption and bills.

The Importance of Dimming

1. Mood Creation: Dimming allows you to set the right mood for any occasion, whether it’s a relaxing evening at home or an engaging social gathering.
2. Energy Efficiency: Lowering the brightness of lights reduces energy consumption, leading to cost savings and environmental benefits.
3. Extended Lifespan: Operating lights at lower levels can extend the lifespan of the bulbs, reducing the need for frequent replacements.
4. Enhanced Comfort: Adjusting light levels can reduce eye strain and create a more comfortable environment.

Dimming with LED Drivers

LED drivers are essential components in LED lighting systems. They regulate the power supplied to the LED lights and can include dimming functionality. There are various types of LED drivers such a Phase cut Dimming, Analog Dimming (0-10V), Digital Dimming (DALI) all of which enable dimming. Most LED driver can typically be available either of Constant Voltage or Constant Current types. Although it is more typical to find LED strips being controlled by Constant Voltage and COB lights by Constant Current type of drivers. This however depends on the LEDs being selected.

Advantages of Dimming with LED Drivers

• Precision: LED drivers provide precise control over light levels, allowing for smooth transitions and fine-tuned lighting.
• Compatibility: They can be integrated with advanced control systems for automated lighting adjustments.
• Flexibility: Suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple residential setups to complex commercial systems.

Phase-Cut Dimming

Phase-cut dimming is a method that adjusts the brightness of lights by modifying the power supply. It’s commonly used with incandescent and halogen bulbs and can also be used with LEDs through compatible Constant current or Constant Voltage drivers.

 Pros:

• Easy to implement in existing wiring systems
• Cost-effective for retrofits
• Compatible with a wide range of dimmer switches

Cons:

• Can cause flickering or compatibility issues with some LEDs. Testing needed for each fixture
• Less precise range of dimming
• May produce audible noise in some applications

Analog Dimming

Analog dimming also called 0-10V dimming, changes LED light output dimming by simply adjusting the DC current or voltage in the string depending on whether it is a constant voltage or constant current type

Pros:

• Smoother and more consistent control over dimming levels than phase cut
• Compatible with advanced lighting control systems
• Ideal for new installations with dedicated dimming control lines

Cons:

• Requires control wiring from Drivers to reach the switches, which may be more difficult in retrofit situations where new wiring cannot be added.

DALI Dimming

DALI dimming is a digital system, which means it operates using a protocol that sends commands and information over the bus. Based on open standard protocol, it provides interoperability and consistent dimming output through standardized linear or logarithmic curves for various product manufacturers.

Pros:

• Very smooth control over dimming levels especially at very low levels of dimming as compared to phase cut or analog options
• Functions that allow individual or group dimming
• Ability to establish scene-based control across multiple light fixtures

Cons:

• Usually, DALI drivers are more expensive than any other types of analog drivers.
• While DALI by itself allows scenes, generally items like AC and Fans cannot be included in those scenes. BuildTrack augments typical DALI scenes to allow inclusion of AC, Fan and Media devices also.

Choosing the Right Dimming Method

Whether you choose analog, phase-cut or DALI format of dimming based on your preferences for simplicity and cost-effectiveness, understanding the differences between these methods will help you make the best choice for your needs. BuildTrack touch switches enable the ability to dim, tune, create scenes/schedules and adjust lighting colours to meet diverse customer needs.

Home automation systems are rapidly transforming how we interact with our living spaces. These systems can be broadly categorized into two types: Centralized Systems and Decentralized Systems. Both have their unique advantages and drawbacks, especially concerning cabling and features. This blog will explore these aspects in detail to help you understand which system might be more suitable for your needs.

CABLING:

Centralized System

1. Centralized Wiring Requirements
   • Separate Conduits: Centralization requires separate conduits for the control cable. This dedicated wiring increases complexity and cost.
   • Conventional System Shift: The rigid architecture of Centralization makes it nearly impossible to revert to a conventional system in case of a failure. The centralized controllers and keypads are critical points of failure; if they go down, the entire system stops functioning.
2. Cost Implications:
   • Civil Work and Cabling: The need for separate conduiting and additional cables for keypads control supply drives up the installation costs. This is over and above the standard 230 V supply required for sockets, ACs, and other loads not managed by the control system.
   • Overall Expense: The combination of specialized cabling like ELV cables for Keypad control supply and additional civil work makes Centralized Systems a more expensive option compared to decentralized systems.

Decentralized System

1. Flexibility in Wiring:
   • Integrated Conduits: Decentralized systems integrate control cables with existing wiring, reducing the need for separate conduits and additional cabling.
   • Stand-Alone Functionality: In the event of an automation failure, decentralized systems’ switches can continue to function independently, ensuring that basic operations remain unaffected.
2. Cost Efficiency:
   • Reduced Civil Work: Less civil work is required as there’s no need for separate conduiting for control cables.
   • Lower Installation Costs: With no need for extensive additional cabling, the installation costs for decentralized systems are generally lower.

FEATURES

Centralized System

1. Load Management:
   • Central Termination: All loads are terminated centrally and are managed exclusively through keypads. This can be limiting as it requires the entire system to be operational for any functionality.
2. Limitations:
   • Fan Speed Regulation: Centralized systems generally do not include fan speed regulators, which are critical for Indian homes.

Decentralized System

1. Versatility and Aesthetics:
   • Modular Assembly: Decentralized systems allow a combination of switches, keypads, and sockets in a single modular assembly. This flexibility ensures that you can maintain matching aesthetics throughout your home.
   • Touch and Electromechanical Switches: Both types of switches can be included and will continue to operate even if the controllers fail.
2. Critical Features:
   • Fan Speed Regulators: These are typically included in decentralized systems, making them more suitable for regions that require detailed climate control.

Conclusion

Centralized systems (such as KNX) are sophisticated but generally tend to be more expensive and rigid once they are deployed. They also typically require significant civil work. In contrast, decentralized systems are typically more cost-effective and flexible solutions with and allow failure elements to be isolated without impacting the overall operations of the system or individual switches for the user. For most homeowners, decentralized systems provide a balanced, practical approach to home automation. Ultimately, the choice between a centralized and decentralized home automation system will depend on your specific needs, budget, and the level of complexity you are willing to manage.

Exceptional lighting can transform any space, bringing it to life and captivating the senses. Thoughtful lighting design paired with automation can set the mood and enrich the overall experience of any space.

The impact of lighting on a space cannot be overstated. Whether it’s a restaurant, cozy living room, an elegant dining area, or a professional conference room, the right lighting can make all the difference. It can highlight architectural features, create focal points, and enhance the overall ambiance. With the right automation technology, these effects can be achieved effortlessly and consistently.

Essential Elements of Lighting Solutions

Lighting solutions need to provide the options that can work together like a symphony to enable the desired mood within a given space. Some of the essential capabilities that are needed within the deployed solution must be:

Dimming

The ability to dim lighting provides infinite opportunities to creatively craft the moods that are desired in a space. It becomes an indispensable canvas that can be used artistically both to address the various times of the day as well as to accentuate specific spaces or moods for situations which would benefit from it. LED lighting makes use of various types of drivers to achieve the desired level of dimming of each lighting fixture from the lowest to the highest. Different types of dimming such as Phase Cut or Zero-to-ten can be used based on the wiring limitations presented by the physical spaces.

Tunability

The capability of LED lighting to display various colour temperatures allows tunable lights to mimic the natural light that one observes over the various periods of the day. This lighting can vary from dim yellowish to daylight white. All this variety is achievable, as needed by users, in the same fixture by using smart LED drivers.

Colour Change

Some moods demand a variety of colours to be enabled in lighting. LED strips can accommodate these colour changes, again using drivers to create the type of ambience that is needed.

The Role of Automation

Lighting automation takes the benefits of thoughtful lighting design to the next level. By automating lighting systems, you can pre-program the desired type of lighting ambience that is needed. This happens through capabilities called Profiles and Schedules.

Profiles

This allows users to define a combination of various types of lights at various types of dimming, tunability and colour to be triggered from a single click on a physical button or an app. This provides the ultimate convenience of creating the desired lighting and the accompaniment of other elements (e.g. curtains, blinds, AC) to generate the desired.

Schedules

Either profiles or individual lighting may need to change based on either timing of the day or even time of the year. Schedules provide an automated way to ensure that the correct lighting profile is turned on or off at the desired time of the day and then switched to some other profile at another time, all without user intervention.

Incorporating exceptional lighting with advanced automation technologies can truly transform any space. BuildTrack offers a range of lighting automation solutions to maximize the potential of your lighting setup and deliver the best combination of ambience, energy efficiency and convenience.

We use switches for every need we have for turning on/off electrical appliances. It is something that we are all used to. Most often though when one comes to a room, usually it is not a single switch that will be triggered. The lights may be triggered, the fan, maybe the AC instead if it is a hot day, perhaps the TV or music system and the curtains may be opened up part-way. These different things need to happen together to create the right ambience for the room. These combinations of gadgets or appliances that are triggered together is called a PROFILE, and often terms like SCENES or MOODS have also been used to describe them.

These PROFILES are not only dependent on the event, such as a movie or yoga or relaxation or party or going to bed or leaving the home or focusing on work etc. They can also be based on individuals’ preferences or time of the day or year. Relaxation during the daytime vs night will require different lighting scenarios, and similarly different air cooling if it is during summer vs. winter. So, PROFILES not only need to be many, but also needs to be flexible so that they can be changed as conditions change

Typically, the elements of the home that enter a profile can be one or many of these elements:

• Lighting – ON or OFF
• Lighting – various Dimming Levels between 0-100
• Lighting – desired tunable temperatures for LED
• Lighting – desired RGB levels
• Fan – ON at specific speed levels or OFF
• AC – Specific Temperature for cooling
• TV & Cable – ON to certain channel or OFF
• Curtains/Blinds – Either open to desired extent or fully closed
• Door Sensors – Armed to sound alarm if door is opened

Any combinations of these devices should be possible on a PROFILE. Depending on the circumstances some of these devices may be used the PROFILE, and others may either be ignored or left alone in their original state when the PROFILE is triggered, or alternately they may need to be specifically required to be OFF as part of the PROFILE. All these considerations are important in the definition of a PROFILE.

Accessing these PROFILES on a daily basis should be easy, so they should be accessible either via Smart Apps or through touch switches available on a keypad or also via voice assistants. This kind of easy access through multiple means makes the PROFILE much easier to use on a daily basis. In some situations, PROFILES may be needed to be automatically triggered based on time schedules. So, if the Smart Apps allow for scheduling, then not just individual switches, but also PROFILES them which should be accessible on them.

Keypads can be integrated into the same panel as individual switches. This is to allow the desired level of flexibility that is required by the user in each switch panel as sometimes control over individual elements of lighting, fans etc might be necessary.

Figure: This shows a 4 PROFILE key module on the left, with some individual light switches all present in the same Switch Panel

Figure: Smart App shows the same PROFILES as present on the Touch Keypads

The most appealing and useful Home Automation solutions should allow for any combination of the above-mentioned options as a part of the solution. They should be flexible to allow change in PROFILES as one either gets familiarized with them and wants some flexibility and changes to allow them to be comfortable with the ambience that is created. The intent of all these options is to ensure that you have the best ambience and living experience as a result of deploying these home automation solutions.

If you are considering either building or renovating a home then these days it is very relevant to consider making it a Smart Home. Even if you are not renovating your home, there are options that can help convert your home into a Smart Home without significant costs. Lighting is one of the most important facets of your home that will be controlled by automation and this article provides a perspective on some key elements to consider, while making your lighting choices.

A few years ago, most of us only had limited choices to make in lighting, it was either incandescent or fluorescent (tubelight). These days however consumers are spoiled for lighting choices as technology advancements have resulted in a number of new options. Users now have to choose from widely different offerings such as LED downlighters, LED Strip lights, RGB LEDs, Tuneable lights, Magnetic tracks, halogen lamps and much more. Making sense of all these can be challenging and often lighting designers or showrooms can help you. But having a basic knowledge of the different elements of lighting is essential to help you through your decisions. The intent of this article is to just provide you with such a basic understanding, and to share how your lighting relates to the automation you choose for your smart home.

The below table shows you the basic types of lighting and some key information about them. The LED lighting especially must be carefully reviewed when it is to be connected to automation, because unlike the resistive lighting if not planned properly they can result in very irritating flickering after some time or certainly in a reduced life for some expensive fixtures. The dimming for LEDs is achieved through what are commonly called as “drivers” and these can be CVD (Constant Voltage Drivers) or CCD (Constant Current Drivers). Care must be taken to match the type of driver and its wattage with the type of LED being connected to it.

Smart Automation and Touch Switches that you would use to turn on/off or dim the various lighting options typically connect to these drivers to enable the dimming. The smart switches you choose must match the type of driver so that it can send it the right communication, as only then would you be able to control lighting and dimming via Smart App or Voice Assistants like Alexa or Google Home.

We constantly come across people who are making choices of lighting and smart automation independently from each other. That is something that should be avoided to ensure that both your lighting and smart home goals are realized. BuildTrack offers a range of touch switches for on/off control and dimming control, including very compact dimmers that fit multiple dimming switches into the smallest area. These touch switches are elegantly designed with tempered glass surfaces and metal framing of many colors to add to the aesthetics of your room while enabling your lighting needs. Choose yours today, using the online ability by BuildTrack to Build your Switch

Homes these days have multiple types of lights – cove lights, chandeliers, wall décor lights, party lights and within these there is the added choice of dimmable lights, tunable lights, LED color strip lights and more. In addition to this lighting variety, there are other diverse comfort elements in a room. These are devices such as Fans, Air Conditioners , Curtains, Blinds, projectors, TVs and more. These various items in the home are rarely used one at a time, but rather they are turned on in some group combinations that suit the occupants requirement. These combinations are called ‘scenes’ or ‘profiles’ because they create the necessary ambience that the occupant wishes to experience.

Many home owners are adopting Home Automation solutions. Most Home Automation solutions allow users to create such ‘profiles’ or ‘scenes’ on their Smart Apps. Users can typically choose the various lighting, fans, AC, curtains and other combinations for each ‘profile’ and they can also change these profiles as their tastes or circumstances change. There can be profiles for when one wakes up in the morning (e.g ‘Good Morning’ profile) and another for when going to sleep. Similarly they may be for events, like when leaving the home (‘Good Bye’ profile) or when watching a movie (‘Cinema’ profile) and so forth.

While many Home Automation solutions allow the convenience of using profiles via Smart App or voice assistants like Alexa/Google, they do not offer physical ‘switch-like’ device on the walls that could trigger these same ‘profiles’. The introduction of ‘Keypads’ as a part of the Home Automation solution has changed that. Keypads now offers home automation users with tremendous flexibility to execute such ‘scenes’ or ‘profiles’ without needing to resort to a Smart App or Voice commands. BuildTrack’s keypads are designed to be identical to the Smart Touch Switches and can blend in within the switches. In fact they can also be part of a switch panel or independently on their own panel.

The advantages of the keypads are many,

1. A keypad has a small footprint and does not occupy the space that multiple switches might take up on any wall. It can be used as an alternative to switches when home automation is deployed.
2. BuildTrack keypads are unique in their ability to control not just lighting, but also curtains, blinds, ACs, Fans, TVs, Projector mounts and more. Most other keypads in the market can only handle lighting scenes.
3. BuildTrack keypads are mapped to profiles that are defined on the Smart App, and since the Smart App profiles can be edited to add, remove or change specific devices (e.g. add/remove lights or change dimming levels or change desired AC temp settings) the keypads effectively serve as customizable switches.
4. BuildTrack keypads support multi-way operation, i.e. they are 2-way, 3-way and more. If the same profile is set on multiple keypads across the home, then triggering one will show you the correct status on all
5. Even if a home only choses BuildTrack Keypads instead of switches, BuildTrack still allows control of individual devices as switches on the Smart App.
6. Keypads are available in wired and wireless formats. The wireless formats do not require any change to existing wiring.
7. BuildTrack Keypads can co-exist with smart touch switches on the same switch panel, creating tremendous flexibility.

If you are interested in home automation, then take a look at BuildTrack smart keypads and smart touch switches for your home.

If you are planning to have Smart Touch Switches or Home Automation as part of your home, then you have to look at the certifications that the products carry. While users are not typically acquainted by the certifications, it is at least important to be familiar with some of the key certifications because these products are installed within your homes, and you and your family constantly interact with them and are constantly in the vicinity of these products. The objective of this article is to share some of the key certifications that you need to look for

Safety Certification
While the Smart Touch Switches are electronic products, they are directly connected to your AC electrical systems. It is therefore essential that the safety level of these products conform to the highest global standards. IEC 62368 is a new global standard that was introduced in Dec 2020 to supersede all existing standards for safety. It is based on sound engineering principles, research and field data. It addresses all hazards that are likely to influence the operation of the device and evaluates all the internal safeguards that are built into the device to tackle such hazards. An important aspect is that, the 62368 standard applies not only to the end-user product but also to components and subsystems within it. It is the gold standard of performance testing for safety and IEC 62368 has been incorporated by almost every single country/geography for their own certifications, as seen in the figure below. In fact, countries such as US, Singapore, and other developed countries have made such certifications as a mandatory items for such products.

So when you buy your next Smart Touch Switch, check to see if it has the 62368 Certification ! You and your family constantly interact with the switch. You need to be sure that it is safe !

Radiation Emissions Certification
The term Radiated Emissions refers to the unintentional release of electromagnetic energy from an electronic device or apparatus. Any electronic device may generate Electromagnetic fields that unintentionally propagate away from the device’s structure. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has adopted the BS EN 61000-6 standard set for such ‘electromagnetic compatibility’ of such devices with strict limits on the radiation. This is the same standard as the international standard adopted by both FCC (U.S) and CE (Europe). The device is placed in an anechoic chamber (see Figure) and its radiated energy measured via an Electromagnetic Compatibility Test. It is certified if it is within acceptable limits for its appropriate use situation, such as in this case Residential Use for home automation products.

Product being tested in an Anechoic chamber.

RoHS Compliance Certification
European Uniion rules are some of the strictest that are restrict the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment to protect the environment and public health. The RoHS Directive currently restricts the use of ten substances: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Many of these were used in the PCB manufacture, and if a product is RoHS compliant then these chemicals have not been used within the product.

BuildTrack’s Smart Touch Switches comply with all of these requirements. The touch switches comply with IEC 62368 which is the “gold” standard for safety . The product complies with BS EN 61000-6 which implies that any radiated emissions are well within limits for residential use and the product is RoHS compliant, ensuring environmental and users health. BuildTrack’s Smart Touch Switches are the Touch Switches on the market that currently comply with all these 3 safety and health related certifications.

Aircrafts have cockpits consisting of instruments and gauges that pilots find necessary to monitor the operations of all the systems in the aircraft and to control them. While buildings may not be as complex, they are also increasingly sophisticated with multiple different systems within them to support their operation. The Building Management System (BMS) or Building Automation System (BAS)  as they are commonly known serves as the equivalent of the cockpit in bringing together the information from disparate systems into a single framework which can be used to manage the operation of the building. A BMS or BAS  system typically would allow for both monitoring and control of these varied systems that are present within the building to deliver Safety, Security, Hygiene, Energy Efficiency, Comfort, Convenience and Operational Efficiencies. Some of the typical systems are listed below

Fire Safety Systems:

• Fire Panels with associated fire sensors
• Sprinkler Systems
• Fire Pumps and Fire Tanks
• Stairwell pressurization systems (to contain smoke)
• Gas leak sensors

Security Systems:

• CCTV systems
• Building level Video Door Phone Systems
• Gate Entry Systems
• Card/biometirc based entry systems
• Security Motion sensors

Ventilation Systems:

• Ventilation Panels connected to Axial Fans, AHUs and Dampers for Parking
• HVAC Panels for Chillers, AHU and Dampers (for centrally air conditioned buildings)
• CO2 Level Monitoring
• Toilet Exhaust Fans

Lighting Management:

• Common areas lighting

Elevator/Lift Systems:

• Lift status monitoring

Water and Sewage Systems:

• Smart Water Meters
• Pump Panels for Water Pumps & Tank Level Sensors
• Flush Pumps & Flush Tanks
• STP Panel

Power Management:

• • Smart Energy Meters

• UPS Panels
• Solar Panels
• LT Panel (Modbus)

Parking Garage Systems:

• Lighting Management
• Ventilation Management
• CO Level monitoring

Even though these are disparate systems, often from different vendors, it is possible to integrate their monitoring and key aspects of control into a single BMS system, as long as the systems have some option to connect with them to extract data or to send control signals. Many of these typically have a Modbus protocol option offered by the manufacturer which can make integrating them into a single BMS a feasible effort.

One of the challenges of traditional BMS/BAS systems was that they were generally desktop based systems. Access to them was limited to specific computers, which were physically located within the building, typically within a “control room”. The emergence of the Internet of Things based technologies, has allowed the creation of BMS systems whose devices communicate with a cloud-server over the internet. This server is accessed by users through browsers or Smart Apps to enable monitor and control of the assets and systems in the building that are connected to the BMS. Since the cloud-server is  accessible over the internet, the BMS is accessible from anywhere and allows both monitor and control by the Facility Management Team.

In the case of The 42, India’s tallest residential building, BuildTrack was able to bring together many such systems under a common BMS management framework, which uses IoT technologies. The control and monitoring of the building is possible with the right authentication, over the internet via BuildTrack’s cloud servers.

In our previous blog, we have mentioned about how high rises or buildings typically use a water management system that is powered by a 3-phase pumps. This often results in overfilling of tanks, or overworking of pumps thereby resulting in wastage of water and energy as well as reducing the life of the pumps. BuildTrack has developed an automated water management system, which can operate independently or as part of the Building Management System (BMS) to eliminating such wastage.

This system used a DDC connected to water level sensors placed in various tanks. The DDC automatically controls the pump(s), through the pump panel to which it connects.  A DDC can also allow access to users remotely to control the pump and monitor the status of the water level in tanks via Smart App. To achieve this, such a DDC should be connected to either a local wifi network or to the internet.

BuildTrack offer options such as being able to connect the DDC to a router, which can in turn be used as a local Wifi network or connected to the internet. The local network option provides the ability to access it via a Smart App or a browser directly, while connected to that network via the connecting devices that have the Smart App/browser. The internet connected option, connects the DDC to the BuildTrack cloud server. Using the cloud server option opens up additional abilities, since storage is available on the cloud server. The Smart App or browser connects to the cloud server to send commands to the DDC or to receive data on status from the DDC. The cloud server can also store the activity history of the pump and water levels, if such data is required for any purpose. This accessibility via the internet allows such information and current status to be accessible from anywhere that the internet is available and if multiple sites need to be collectively monitored from a single centralized interface, the cloud server enables the same as well.

Whether used as an autonomous system or as part of a Building Management System, BuildTrack offers the necessary DDC, Sensors and Cloud Server to serve as an efficient water management system that reduces wastage of water from overflows, and ensures that the energy consumption of the pump is minimized by eliminating wastage. It even extends the life of the pump by ensuring that it does not run dry and increases the efficiency of any on-site labor used for this activity.  The BuildTrack DDC can operate

• In automated mode, by itself, without internet or any network access,
• It can work over a local network to provide Smart App/Browser access on that network
• It can work with a static IP to provide Smart App/Browser access over the internet
• It can work with the BuildTrack Cloud Server, over the internet to provide remote access as well as data storage, for access by Smart App/Browser from anywhere the internet is accessible

A few words about more complex water management systems that the above mentioned DDC system is also equipped to handle,

1. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) pumps – To prevent excessive pressure on the piping as well as to save energy, VFD pumps are commonly deployed. The DDC can control the speed of these pumps based on the pressure transducers status as measured at the head of the pump. It will also extend the life of the pump considerably and reduce maintenance costs.
2. Multi-tank situation- Often a single pump can be used to fill multiple overhead tanks often distributed across the property. In such situations, either solenoid valves or butterfly valves may be used to shut off the flow of water to one tank while the others continue to need water. The DDC can handle such situations as well.
3. Continuous Water Monitoring – Float sensors provide digital status (min/max), but often situations demand that you need continuous level monitoring of water. In such cases Ultrasonic sensors (analog) need to be used for monitoring and the DDC is able to monitor and report the continuous water levels in such situations
4. Water distribution management – this is unrelated to the filling of tanks, but often landscaping and other needs are automated to be fulfilled from the tank. The control of solenoid valves or in case of water conservation, butterfly valves is made possible by the DDC to allow remote management or even schedule based management of such events.
5. Smart Water Meters – At the supply end or at the consumption end, these smart water meters which use Modbus protocols for providing the data, can be monitored by BuildTrack’s Gateway. The live consumption information can be accessed and history can be stored on the cloud server. This can also be useful to monitor leakages in the water system also.

Take advantage of these new technology and systems for your water management. Conserve water and energy.

 

Diagram of water management system for 3-phase pumps, with remote Smart App access

 

Smart App UI for water management

 

Most commercial buildings, large villas, residential buildings and high rises typically use a water management system that is powered by a 3-phase water pump or event typically a bank of such pumps.  Typically, these pumps are used to transfer water from a ground or below-ground level tank to one or more overhead tank and they are connected to a pump panel for managing this water automation system. There is inevitably both wastage of water and energy in this process when it is managed manually and often even dedicated manual labor to manage the process.  The water overflow from tanks or the overworking of the pump are typical causes of such wastage. If a pump runs dry then there is a reduction of pump life as well. An automated water management system, which can be independent or part of the Building Management System (BMS) can serve to eliminate this wastage, by efficiently managing the pumping of water.

There are many different layouts for these systems based on the size of buildings or the layout of the buildings and the water tanks. Most commonly, one overhead tank is on the top of the building, and it is supplied by one underground tank under the building. But, in the case of high-rises there may be many service levels where tanks hold the water before another pump transfers them to the next service level water tank and so forth in stages all the way to the top of the building. Situations are also possible for large buildings with many wings, where multiple overhead tanks exist in a single building, being supplied from a single ground level tank, via a single pump or multiple 3-phase pumps. In a commercial complex or a multi-apartment residential complex the same single ground tank and multiple pump(s) may supply multiple overhead tanks that sit on the top of different buildings. So, the layout of the water supply system can be highly varied depending on the circumstance.

In most cases, irrespective of these varied layouts the water management is done manually, which means that some indicator is used to determine the water level in both the sending tank and the receiving tank, which is used to manually turn the Pump, on or off. In many cases this involves manual monitoring of the tanks, visually or through some outside indicators. The pumps are usually manually turned on or off from the pump panel, by someone tending to them, who uses the tank level indicators to make that decision. Some pumps also have an ‘automated control’ option on their panel, besides the manual control. This option allows an external controller to signal them to be turned ON/OFF. When the manual option is not used, an external controller, typically a Direct Digital Controller (DDC) would have to be used to perform this automated control activity. Such a DDC would have to be fed with information from sensors about the water level from various tanks and would use that information to control the pump(s), by using its connection to the pump panel.

So typically, this system entails the following:

• 2 Digital Water level (float) sensors for the lower tank(s) – one triggers by min level and the other by max level
• 2 Digital Water level (float) sensors for the upper tank(s)­– one triggers by min level and the other by max level
• A Direct Digital Controller (DDC) that connects to the 3-phase Pump Panel and to these sensors

This is a wired system where a twisted pair connects the DDC with the various sensors. The distance that can be covered is almost 300m between the sensors and the DDC, which would effectively address even most high-rise deployments.

The DDC logic is automated to operate as follows,

• If the upper tank has water at or below its min level, while the lower thank has water above its min level, the DDC will operate the pump ON
• If the upper tank has water at or above its max level, then the DDC will operate the pump to be OFF
• If the lower tank has water below its min level then the DDC will operate the pump to be OFF irrespective of the situation of the upper tank.
• If the setting on the pump is set to Manual, then the DDC cuts off the automated operation of the pump, but still displays both the water tank levels

BuildTrack offers such a water management system consisting of a DDC and sensor that can connect to most existing pump panels. A DDC can also be accessed via Smart App remotely to control and monitor the water level. Read more about this in our upcoming blog on automated water management system.

 

Diagram of water management system for 3-phase pumps