Its been a tough year for everyone involved in the building industry! They say it will improve "soon". One thing is certain - building owners and operators (and tenants) have to examine ways to save energy and comply with tough new environmental regulations (e.g. the UK legislation, due to commence in April). Most BMS technology on the market today was purpose built for new projects - thats where most of the money is (or was) and thats when customers opened their chequebooks.

But what about the built market? Thats where most of the energy is consumed and CO2 emitted. Wireless? - thats part of the solution.  Integration to existing systems? - still a major problem, even if your BMS supplier says they support "standards". Software and services? - It simple doesn't work anymore to have a PC in the boiler room with a few screens for controlling plant and equipment.

So we spent time and energy and many discussions with consulting engineers, controls contractors and equipment suppliers to see how can we address the problems. Our solution? - Open Source software for designing and delivering advanced building control solutions. What is Open Source? (see www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source).

Why Open Source? - Well its just about the best way to get a robust, feature rich software solution in a reasonable timeframe and at an affordable price for the industry. And when you consider the high costs involved in getting an existing building updgraded to the latest advanced BMS solution, this approach will dramatically improve the marketplace for existing buidings seeking to improve energy use and carbon emissions.

We are actively seeking participation in this initiative (click on the Open Source Community tab) and stay tuned (bookmark this page)!