Siemens has officially launched its new benchmark building control centre, Desigo CC, designed to integrate all building systems under the one umbrella.
Executive general manager of building technologies at Siemens, Stefan Schwab, said that as the first ever management station of its kind, Desigo CC is a single, comprehensive platform that allows customers to integrate all of their building systems – from heating, ventilation and air conditioning to fire safety and security, power, lighting and shading.
“Buildings account for 40 per cent of global energy consumption and operating costs consume 80 per cent of total building costs,” Schwab said. “Managers, investors, operators and facility managers need relevant information to handle all aspects of property and building portfolios.”
An open platform based on standard protocols, Desigo CC can be easily adapted to the requirements of the building operator. Siemens developed it from the ground up using input from operators around the world to provide a state-of-the art, holistic and intuitive platform for improving building performance.
“Incorporating Desigo CC as early as possible in the design phase means developers can maximise the benefits of this powerful management system,” Schwab said.
“This interdisciplinary approach allows Desigo CC to display the status of different systems in real time, exploit synergies and reduce costs, both during installation and when training employees who only have to be trained to work with one system.
“It also positions customers for future growth as additional systems can be added to the control centre as needed after the initial installation.”
As an open platform, Desigo CC supports a wide range of standard protocols, including BACnet, OPC and a variety of IT standards, and enables integration of third-party products. It meets the advanced BACnet B-AWS profile and enables customers to set up schedules, trend reports and alerts during normal operation. This provides experienced users with extensive and new capabilities for building management.
Schwab said the developers paid special attention to intuitive operation of the management station. Alongside a hierarchically organised system overview, the user interface contains three areas where relevant information is displayed according to context and users can access the necessary functions directly.
The interface can be configured to ensure users are only able to view information and access functions in line with their role and responsibilities. To make work easier for users, Desigo CC offers an intelligent navigation concept, which directs users step by step through the required tasks and only displays the information required. This helps to ensure that users have direct access to all the integrated systems.
“This unique workflow method integrates seamlessly with a uniform approach to multi-disciplinary systems, reducing the need for programming of interfaces through gateways and other high level interfaces,” he said.
Schwab said Desigo CC included a powerful application for creating reports that could be used for a wide range of analyses.
“The data from different sources can be displayed in aggregated or consolidated formats, and an application for historical analysis enables users to identify and visualise trends in building performance by comparing current readings with data from legacy systems,” he said.
“Manual evaluations are also supported, such as automated reports based on schedules or defined events, and graphics generated in real time show the current status of different building parameters.”
Desigo CC is highly scalable and can be used in individual commercial buildings as well as with multi-site properties. Visit www.siemens.com.au/desigocc