Written by Ron Tellas

 

What happens when a smart building doesn’t have a high-performance infrastructure working behind the scenes to handle power and data-transmission needs quickly and efficiently?

 

Bandwidth bottlenecks and latency issues, device and system malfunction, and user inefficiency are sure to be the result.

 

Smart Building Infrastructure Design Considerations

Every smart building is unique based on the goals its owner mapped out (operating-cost improvements, energy-efficiency gains, employee-satisfaction growth, etc.). These distinct objectives help identify the technologies, systems, and devices that should be deployed and integrated throughout the smart building. From there, the right cabling and network infrastructure can be designed to support data access, software platforms, and protocols.

 

Planning a connected infrastructure for a smart building requires many considerations for each application.

 

Cabling and Connectivity

Selecting the right cable type depends on several factors, including performance and bandwidth requirements for current and future applications, distances between telecommunications rooms (TRs) and devices, power requirements, and costs.

 

Most smart buildings rely on a mixture of cabling types:

• Balanced twisted-pair copper cabling (Single Pair Ethernet or four-pair Category cable)
• Fiber optic cabling (singlemode or multimode cable)
• Hybrid fiber-copper cable
• Specialty cables (RemoteIP Cable, Fault-Managed Power Cable, etc.)

Work Area Outlets vs. Service Outlets

There are two types of work area outlets to consider:

• Telecom outlets (TOs)
• Service outlets (SOs)

TOs are used in locations where devices are administered by the user (a laptop or IP phone). SOs connect to more permanent devices that are for a specific application or remain in a certain location (security cameras, wireless access points, etc.). They also support modular plug terminated link (MPTL) topology, which allows horizontal cable to be terminated on one end to an RJ45 plug that connects directly to a device.

 

Pathways and Spaces

ANSI/TIA-569 provides general requirements for pathways and spaces, while ANSI/BICSI-007 covers TR layout and size options. Best practices dictate that pathways and spaces should accommodate future growth of at least 50%. (If you’re renovating an existing facility, however, this isn’t always possible.)

 

Possible scenarios include:

• A single TR to house telecom equipment and specialty systems, with the core network located in racks in the middle of the room
• One TR for the core network and one TR for the other systems

Remote Power

Connected devices in smart buildings require low-voltage DC power. PoE and SPoE (Single-Pair Power over Ethernet) that deliver DC power to devices over twisted-pair copper cabling are considered Class 2 power-limited circuits, defined in the National Electrical Code’s Article 725. Class 2 power can also be delivered via hybrid fiber-copper cabling. Some devices, such as those used in professional sound, AV, security, and life-safety systems, are powered via Class 3 power-limited circuits. Both Class 2 and Class 3 circuits limit power-source output.

 

Another way to deliver power to devices in smart buildings is through fault-managed power (FMP), or Class 4 power. In these systems, the circuit is continuously monitored for fault conditions. Fault detection stops the flow of electricity within milliseconds.

 

Like Class 2, Class 4 can be deployed using hybrid fiber-copper cables that bring power and data together over long distances using a single cable run.

 

Evaluate the Connectivity Capabilities of Your Smart Building

Smart-building owners need to not only invest in high-performance infrastructure but also be confident that the infrastructure will operate at its full potential. That way, systems, devices, and people can communicate and connect to the information they need.

 

This confidence comes in the form of certification, achieved through testing which proves that the mission-critical infrastructure operates as intended.

 

Just like cabling systems can be certified for performance, smart buildings can also be certified for their intelligence and functionality.

 

Get to Know SPIRE

SPIRE™ (Smart Buildings Assessment and Rating Program)—a collaboration between TIA and UL Solutions—is an assessment and rating program designed to help owners verify that their building’s systems are integrated to share data and be managed across a single interface.

 

First launched in 2020 and updated in 2023, SPIRE offers a framework that connects owners with technology-agnostic metrics they can use to evaluate building systems, processes, and infrastructure in six areas:

• Connectivity
• Cybersecurity
• Health and well-being
• Life and property safety
• Power and energy
• Sustainability

SPIRE’s connectivity assessment criteria is used to verify the intelligence of the building. It evaluates five areas to make sure the smart building can effectively and efficiently connect and power more people and more IT and OT devices.

• Media: Assesses the bandwidth and low-power delivery capabilities of media installed throughout the building.
• Coverage: Assesses support and coverage for IT-OT convergence throughout the building and property.
• Security: Assesses physical security of building connectivity, infrastructure, and related assets.
• Expansion: Assesses the ability of connectivity, pathways, and spaces to support expansion.
• Resilience: Assesses connectivity redundancy and the policies and procedures surrounding the ability of critical operations to continue functioning during an event.

 

Your Resource for ICT Infrastructure in Smart Buildings

Following best practices and standards to design smart building connectivity infrastructure is essential for a futureproof facility.

 

Making the right decisions requires a trusted advisor like Belden. We understand smart buildings and are at the heart of this technology transformation. Our team is here to help you make your smart building safer, more comfortable, more resilient, and more cost-effective.

 

If you want to read more about the topic of designing and selecting ICT infrastructure for smart buildings, read the latest issue of ICT Today, which features an article penned by contributing members of CCCA’s New Technology & Trends Committee, including Belden.

 

Learn more about our smart building solutions.

 

Find the original article here

 

Written by Dr. Michael Hilgner, Lukas Bechtel, Cornelia Eitel

 

As Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) extends the use of Ethernet technology beyond automotive applications to sensors and actuators in industrial automation, SPE becomes more visible to and accessible by various user groups.

 

In a recent blog, we covered the five technical SPE features that leaders in industrial environments can use to determine the relevance of the technology for their specific applications. These features include:

• Seamless communication
• High bandwidth
• Long transmission distances
• Remote power capabilities
• Installation flexibility

 

But deciding whether to deploy SPE is rarely this simple. The decision to use Single Pair Ethernet is often made by a group of stakeholders with differing priorities and opinions on which SPE features and benefits are most critical or relevant.

 

Below, we introduce the stakeholders who are typically involved in the SPE decision-making process, as well as their specific interests and opportunities when it comes to SPE technology.

 

Construction and Installation Professionals

Communication technology choices have a major influence on the decision to move forward with SPE. Weight, cable routing, installation of data and power cabling, maintenance, and fire protection must be taken into account.

 

In some applications, SPE offers advantages over today’s physical transmission standards:

• SPE cables can reduce weight compared to other types of copper-based cabling.
• With a small outer diameter and bend radius, SPE can simplify cable routing.
• In harsh industrial environments, copper-based transmission, such as SPE, offers durability advantages over fiber-based systems.
• Thanks to SPE’s remote power capabilities, a single data cable can be used to transmit data and provide power. This can be achieved similar to Power over Ethernet (PoE) via the data pair or by using hybrid cables.

 

Construction of a train is an application where SPE may be beneficial: This is a weight- and space-sensitive environment that exposes cables to harsh conditions. Here, the use of SPE cables for networking control, monitoring systems, and passenger information systems within the train offers significant advantages.

 

Smaller, lighter-weight cables streamline cable routing, take up less space on the train, and increase flexibility for trouble-free installation. This significantly reduces the overall weight of the train, which improves energy efficiency and performance (a lower mass makes it easier to accelerate and decelerate).

 

The cables do not break easily in tight installations or under vibration. At the same time, SPE’s remote power capabilities use data-transmission cables to enable an efficient power supply for sensors, cameras, and displays.

 

The result: better operational efficiency, safety, and passenger experiences.

 

Network Administrators

Once a system is installed, a network administrator must distribute the addresses and authorizations of the communication participants in the network.

 

SPE’s features of seamless communication and remote power play a central role in simplifying network installation and maintenance while supporting common security mechanisms. Seamless communication simplifies integration and management of network components by providing a unified, IP-based communication platform to the sensor/actuator level.

 

This reduces the complexity of network commissioning and supports the efficient application of security mechanisms, such as IEEE 802.1X, and enables end-to-end authentication and encryption across all network levels. SPE’s remote power supply also helps streamline the installation and maintenance of devices by eliminating the need for separate power cables, which is particularly useful when setting up network components in hard-to-reach or remote areas.

 

An example of this can be found in the creation of a secure network in a large warehouse, where SPE is used to integrate a variety of surveillance cameras and access control systems.

 

By using SPE, these devices can be easily connected to data and power over a single cable, significantly reducing installation costs and complexity while facilitating compliance with security standards through IEEE 802.1X to ensure secure and reliable network operation. However, for network-enabled devices, this calls for extra effort in implementing the required functions compared to fieldbuses and potentially requires more hardware resources, such as computing power or memory.

 

Application Programmers

The seamless communication and bandwidth features of SPE are particularly important for application engineers who are involved in programming systems and carrying out factory acceptance tests (FATs). SPE supports efficient, end-to-end IP-based communication, which enables direct and uncomplicated networking of sensors, actuators, and control units.

 

This simplifies the programming and integration of system components, as there are fewer restrictions in terms of compatibility and connectivity. For example, an application engineer can switch flexibly between sensor manufacturers without having the connection as a central selection criterion. At the same time, the switch from fieldbus to Ethernet technology provides end devices with more bandwidth so that additional diagnostic data can be retrieved.

 

In contrast to four- and eight-wire Ethernet connections, SPE enables the use of compact connectors and lighter cables. Compared to fieldbuses, however, SPE requires the implementation of a complete IEEE network stack, which creates additional development costs. Standards development organization ODVA has accepted this challenge and has responded with a reduced functional scope of EtherNet/IP for devices with severe hardware limitations (“constrained devices”). This includes CIP Security with pre-shared keys and control data exchange exclusively via UDP.

 

Application Operators

For application operators tasked with the control, maintenance, and servicing of systems, the remote power and seamless communication features of SPE play a central role.

 

Remote power makes it possible to supply end devices, such as sensors and actuators, with power via Ethernet cables, which simplifies installation and maintenance, especially in difficult-to-access or large-footprint areas.

 

This becomes even more important in the context of remote monitoring and control of installations that use SCADA systems, which require reliable and parallel communication for process control and monitoring. The seamless communication offered by SPE is crucial here to ensure uniform IP-based networking to the sensor/actuator level.

 

This end-to-end connectivity not only facilitates the integration of different system components but also supports the parallel transmission of control commands and real-time data acquisition for SCADA systems.

 

A concrete example of this is the remote control and monitoring of a distributed power generation system. By using SPE, application operators can monitor the output of solar panels and wind turbines in real-time and simultaneously send control commands to inverters and load management systems, ensuring optimum energy yield.

 

The combination of remote power supply and seamless communication enables efficient, reliable, and cost-effective operations management, which is essential for modern infrastructure management. Until now, remote monitoring and control has not been implemented directly with sensor data, but the controllers in the processes have provided aggregated data to SCADA systems. This reduces demand for the sensors in fieldbus applications but requires regular adaptation of the control programs to extract current data.

 

Data Scientists

For data scientists involved in plant-wide data analysis, predictive maintenance, and control optimization, SPE’s bandwidth and seamless communication features are particularly important. The high bandwidth of SPE enables the fast transmission of large amounts of data required for analysis and machine learning. This is crucial for gaining real-time insights and developing accurate predictive models. Seamless communication also facilitates the integration of data from disparate sources via a unified interface, reducing the complexity of data collection and enabling more comprehensive data analysis.

 

A practical example of this is the optimization of production processes in a manufacturing plant. A data scientist can use SPE to collect data from sensors on machines at high frequency and use this information to develop predictive maintenance algorithms. By analyzing this data, potential failures can be detected, and maintenance work can be proactively planned before unplanned downtime occurs.

 

The combination of high bandwidth and seamless communication enables efficient data collection and analysis, leading to a significant increase in plant availability and optimization of operational processes. In current fieldbus environments, sensor connections are isolated by controllers that act as gateways. As a result, data scientists cannot retrieve the sensor data in the required resolution. This limitation restricts their role in current fieldbus environments.

 

Belden’s Focus on SPE

As industry-specific SPE variants continue to be standardized through IEEE 802.3 and stakeholders consider the technology for their industrial automation applications, Belden will help lead the charge in bringing Single Pair Ethernet to industrial automation applications so plants can reap the benefits.

 

Our Single Pair Ethernet portfolio of cabling and connectivity products is designed to optimize Ethernet connection possibilities in harsh environments, including industrial and transportation operations.

 

Find the original article here

 

Written by Matt Wopata

 

Bringing computing intelligence to the edge of an OT network unlocks new waves of advanced automation capabilities, from predictive maintenance that anticipates equipment needs to intelligent robotics that self-operate (think automated guided vehicles, for example).

 

According to MIT Technology Review, 27% of manufacturing plants have edge computing in production today, with another 56% prepared to kick off pilot projects in the next two years.

 

Bringing Edge Computing to Automation Infrastructure with OpEdge

To process large volumes of operational data in today’s connected industrial environments, Hirschmann OpEdge-8D brings edge computing capabilities to automation infrastructure.

 

Acting as a robust industrial edge gateway, it allows mission-critical applications to run at the network edge, enabling plants to quickly transform their heaps of local data into useful insights and actions. When integrated with Belden Horizon™ Console Edge Orchestration, cloud-hosted device management, application orchestration and secure remote access functionality are all possible.

 

Designed to complement OT spaces, the OpEdge-8D platform is easy to use and install, supports application deployment in a few different ways and can be used with many systems and applications.

 

How Belden and Inductive Automation Work Together

To help industrial environments take full advantage of what digital transformation has to offer, Belden partners with industry players, such as Inductive Automation, a provider of industrial automation software, to provide solutions that help industrial environments fulfill their Industry 4.0 journey.

 

Inductive Automation’s Ignition software removes the technological and economic obstacles associated with bridging production and IT so plants can turn great ideas into reality quickly. It enables the creation of virtually all kinds of industrial applications, including SCADA, IIoT, MES (machine execution systems) and more—all on one platform.

 

Uniting Ignition and Hirschmann’s OpEdge family makes affordable digital transformation and edge computing possible for industrial operations in three ways.

1. Faster Time to Value

The Belden Horizon Console streamlines the onboarding, configuration and maintenance of OT gateways, end devices (e.g., PLCs and I/O) and edge applications through three main services:

• Belden Horizon Device Manager allows users to seamlessly onboard and configure Belden and ProSoft edge gateways.
• Belden Horizon Edge Orchestration allows users to seamlessly deploy and manage edge applications (e.g., Ignition containers) on fleets of Hirschmann OpEdge hardware.
• Belden Horizon Secure Remote Access (SRA) allows users to remotely access and configure both the OT end device connected to the Hirschmann gateways (e.g., PLCs and I/O) and the edge applications running on the gateways (e.g., accessing an Ignition instance running on an OpEdge).

2. Lower Maintenance Costs

The Belden Horizon Console helps users reduce two types of maintenance costs associated with IIoT deployments:

• Troubleshooting time associated with OT end devices can be reduced by leveraging Belden Horizon Console’s SRA software, which empowers technicians to remotely connect to OT assets and applications and eliminates the need to travel onsite. The Belden Horizon Console also supports remote packet captures, allowing network engineers to diagnose pesky network-related issues.
• Fleet management costs associated with updating OT devices and edge applications can be reduced thanks to the Belden Horizon Console’s ability to provide secure remote access to OT devices and edge applications (like Ignition) and update multiple Hirschmann OpEdge systems simultaneously.

3. Certified Performance

OpEdge-8D is one of the industry’s first certified Ignition edge devices. The certification is granted by Inductive Automation to devices that are fully compatible with Ignition Edge software and are ready to be pre-imaged with it.

 

This gives you the confidence to launch Ignition software and easily and affordably expand your system to capture, process and visualize large volumes of critical operational data at the edge.

Explore Our Ecosystem Partnerships

We partner with industry experts to connect you with the products and solutions you need—all in one place—to streamline project complexity while maximizing business value and agility for digital transformation.

 

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Written by Guilhermme Lisboa and Aman Sheth

 

What’s Driving Higher Energy Demand?

As the economy, businesses and consumers become more electrified, they create new kinds of energy loads. Here are three examples:

Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicles (EVs) are on the move—literally and figuratively. As more EVs hit the road, they’re also making energy mobile, consuming energy from different places on the grid at different times, depending on when and where they charge. This requires dynamic, real-time control over the grid so electrons can be pushed to wherever they’re needed.

Data Centers

As data centers handle new demands ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to virtual reality (VR), they play an increasingly critical role in our digital world—and they consume more power. According to commercial real estate advisor Newmark, U.S. data center power consumption will reach 35 GW by 2030, which is almost double the energy they consumed in 2022. As the world becomes more tech-forward, data center deployment will continue.

Industrial Processes

With record investments in U.S. manufacturing supported by key legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the industry is experiencing significant momentum. And many manufacturing and industrial processes require heat—which will require more energy.

 

What This All Means for Power Transmission and Distribution Companies

The time to prepare for more energy demand is now. Grid infrastructure must be ready to support double-digit load increases in relatively short order, which requires rapid planning for and construction of new power generation and transmission systems.

More Power Generation

As energy demand increases, more power generation will be needed. Because energy transition is moving consumers away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy, much of this power generation may happen by adding more wind farms, solar farms and other types of renewable energy sources. Traditional power plants, such as gas-fired plants, will also be needed.

More Transmission Lines

Even more challenging than increasing generation is increasing the country’s number of transmission and distribution lines, which carry energy from where it’s generated to where it’s consumed.

In California, for example, it can take 10 years or longer to build a single high-voltage transmission line. The process involves numerous stakeholders, from landowners who must agree on the line’s route to regulatory bodies that must approve and oversee their construction. Also creating challenges is the grid itself, which is undersized, is many decades old and can’t always support increased power transmission and distribution.

Remember: The grid was designed in and for an earlier era. While it has handled growing energy demands so far, it has a limited capacity to do so in the future. Increasing the flow of electrons on the grid could overload infrastructure and impact voltage and frequency stability.

More Substations

In addition to more lines, power transmission and distribution companies will also need more substations to improve grid resilience, integrate renewable sources of energy, reduce the distance between power generation and consumers and distribute energy loads evenly.

Tomorrow’s substations will need to be intelligent to handle more real-time data—from voltage, flow and current measurements to fault detection, event logging and maintenance records. These digital substations use sensors and this real-time data to support remote monitoring and control, enable digital communication and promote efficient, profitable power supply.

Because they contain their own computers, storage, networking, power, cooling and other infrastructure for given workloads, some even refer to these substations as micro data centers.

More Energy Storage

Energy sources like solar and wind aren’t always predictable. Unlike traditional power plants that generate the same amount of energy at the same times, variables like weather, system orientation and maintenance impact renewable energy generation.

Storage systems act as a warehouse to stock pile energy surpluses that are generated during sunny or windy periods—by consumers’ residential systems as well as utilities’ commercial systems—so it can be released when these resources aren’t as plentiful. This ensures a consistent supply of power and can protect against fluctuations in output or prevent voltage drops and blackouts.

New Job Roles

Remember what we said about digital substations becoming data centers? As this transformation happens, power transmission and distribution teams will need new skills.

A data center environment operates much differently than an operational technology (OT) environment (such as a traditional substation). Utility companies will need IT professionals to oversee software and hardware capabilities in complex substation environments that will include servers and other networking equipment.

In some cases, hiring may be necessary. In other cases, upskilling for existing OT team members can help fill gaps.

It’s Time to Accelerate Digitization

As society progresses and consumes more energy per capita, we all have a responsibility to generate, transmit and distribute energy in a sustainable manner.

Belden enables power transmission and distribution companies to accelerate digitization and outperform industry benchmarks in operational areas like substation automation systems, smart grids and load dispatch centers.

The experts and consultants in our Customer Innovation Centers can help you create a digital roadmap so you can start to prepare now for the surge in energy demand ahead and take advantage of the data being captured by your digital substations to improve operations.

 

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Written by Guilhermme Lisboa and Aman Sheth

 

Digitalization: The Energy Transition Enabler

With clean-energy targets in place, power transmission and distribution companies must respond—and the only way they can do so is through digital transformation. According to the latest World Energy Investment report, grid-related investments in digital technologies was expected to reach 19% of total grid investment in 2023.

 

Energy transition requires more sophisticated grids—and refined management and control of these grids. It will also require power transmission and distribution companies to scale quickly.

Consider Brazil as an example of what can happen if your company isn’t prepared. Because of the country’s growth in clean energy and the creation of micro and mini power distributed generation, energy surpluses are being injected back into to Brazil’s grid—but its existing infrastructure isn’t equipped for it, which is causing reliability issues.

That’s where digitalization comes in. It can facilitate new capabilities to support energy transition, such as the three examples below.

1. Enabling Digital Substations

Digital substations replace analog components with digital components (think relays, meters, protection systems, etc.). Digital components are also connected through fiber optic cables.

These substations are almost like micro data centers, with infrastructure that provides power transmission and distribution companies with the capability to capture, utilize and transmit accurate, real-time data.

The digital operations, technologies, methods and processes enabled by digital substations support better visualization for system awareness and resilience. They also give utilities deeper access to their connected digital systems and the opportunity to standardize their data.

2. Supporting Operational Insights

Digital transformation enables power transmission and distribution companies to capture real-time data from their infrastructure (such as through the digital substations we mentioned above) so they can monitor and respond to:

• Energy demand
• The mix of energy sources being fed into the grid
• System uptime
• Performance issues

The ability to monitor not only operational technology (OT) data, but also data about network performance, will help utilities gain insight into network reliability to gauge problems like congestion or unauthorized access.

3. Enacting Predictive Maintenance

Through devices like sensors, smart meters and SCADA systems, utilities can monitor the condition of their systems and assets to detect operational anomalies, such as abnormal temperature readings or increased vibration.

 

These indicators may be early warning signs of failure. When deviations occur, alerts can automatically be sent to the correct teams so they can prioritize, respond to and address maintenance activities before they escalate to downtime.

 

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