Beckhoff Automation South Africa recently held a series of presentations on the subject of Intelligent Building Automation. To address applications in this field, Beckhoff is investing in the education and development of system integrators, architects, engineers and suppliers of other building sub-systems such as HVAC, lighting, access and security. It is also promoting the intelligent use of energy within buildings. The company's aim is to form powerful synergistic partnerships in this specialised automation application arena in order to offer building operators integrated and energy efficient systems.
Conrad Muller, managing director or Beckhoff South Africa, summarised the company's viewpoint: "The concept of various devices, communicating and sharing controls and information via standard Ethernet protocols is not new in the industrial automation segment. Only now is the building industry realising that a building can also be seen as a very large machine which needs to regulate its own parameters, to result in the most efficient, comfortable and consistent product. Flexibility requirements in modern buildings force developers to seek out products that will allow them the most variable use options, at the lowest expense."
Verena Blanke, international product manager for Building Automation Technology at Beckhoff came to help with the presentations and share her knowledge of these systems with participants.
(Left to right) Conrad Muller (Beckhoff South Africa), Verena Blanke (Beckhoff GmBH), Kenneth McPherson (Beckhoff South Africa)
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