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The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology

A weekly podcast where we discuss topics related to building automation. We provide useful tips and action-packed examples to help you better understand the industry.
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The Smart Buildings Academy Podcast | Teaching You Building Automation, Systems Integration, and Information Technology
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Now displaying: 2019
Dec 30, 2019

This is the end of our 8 part series on HVAC control sequences. In this episode, we will be discussing how piping, pumping, and pressurization work. In this podcast, we will be discussing

  • How to control pumps
  • When to use variable speed pumping
  • The proper way to control a secondary loop
  • How a decoupler is used in chiller sequencing
Dec 23, 2019

Water-cooled chillers are one of the main systems in large buildings. Understanding how to control a cooling tower properly is complex but it is also understandable. 

In this episode, we are going to go through how to properly control chilled water systems.

We will look at:

  • The difference between range and approach and why they matter
  • How to sequence cooling towers to properly handle condenser water temperature
  • The use of partial load chillers and how to properly sequence them
  • And much more!
Dec 9, 2019

How do chillers work? 

What do you need to know?

In this episode, we explore how chilled water systems work. We look at utilizing the concepts of heat transfer and evaporation in order to cool a building. 

We also explore the different types of chillers and proper chiller sequencing. 

Dec 2, 2019

Have you ever found yourself struggling to control the hot water supply temperature for a primary loop?

Or maybe you couldn't figure out the best way to stage the boilers in your central plant?

In this week's episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we will be diving into hot water systems. You will learn:

  • Why we use hot water
  • The importance of state changes
  • How to control hot water boilers
  • The purpose of mixing valves
  • Why we use steam and how to control it
  • And much more!
Nov 25, 2019

AHU's, MAU's, Face and bypass, energy recovery, humidification!!!

There are so many concepts that you need to understand about HVAC systems in order to control them with your building automation system.

In this episode, we continue our multi-part series on how to implement HVAC control sequences with a focus on 100% Outdoor air units, Makeup air units, face and bypass, and energy recovery.

Nov 18, 2019

Have you ever had difficulty controlling air handlers with your BAS? In this week's episode, we work through how to sequence a variety of different air handling systems using your building automation system.

Oct 28, 2019

Airside systems account for the majority of the HVAC systems that we control with a BAS, but do you know how they work?

In this week's episode we are going to discuss how to control airside systems. We are going to look at rooftop units, air handlers, and other airside systems. We will discuss the devices we control, the sequences we use, and strategies we can implement to optimize the control of the our airside systems.

Oct 21, 2019

How do you control HVAC equipment with your building automation system?

In this episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we take a look at how to control terminal units and what we need to consider when we are controlling those units.

Resources:
► https://buildingautomationmonthly.com/introducing-control-sequence-fundamentals/

Oct 14, 2019

Is your customer's building automation system secure? 

How can you make sure your BAS projects are cyber secure? 

How do you know where to start?

In this week's episode, we discuss what cybersecurity is and what you need to know in order to securely execute BAS work.

Oct 7, 2019

What if you could make it so that your building automation server never failed?

What if every time your BAS server got slow it automatically sped up?

Is this even possible?

In this episode we discuss how to utilize virtualization to ensure that our BAS servers stay fast and functional 24/7.

Sep 30, 2019

How do you plan your BAS workloads? 

How do you determine when you have enough staff?

How can you make sure that you are maximizing the profitability of your BAS projects?

In this episode, we answer a listener question on how to properly estimate their workloads and project staffing. 

We also explore strategies on how to maximize profitability in our building automation businesses.

Sep 23, 2019

How do you maximize your sales success? 

How do you grow your building automation accounts?

In this episode, I discuss the tips and techniques I have learned from top-tier sales executives as well as the strategies I have personally used to grow my own business from zero to 4,600+ paying customers.

You will learn:

  • How to identify and connect with your target customer
  • Why you must embrace a focus area
  • What tactics work for providing value that results in sales
  • And much more
Sep 16, 2019

What is working in building automation?

What changes could you make to be more successful as a building automation business or in your building automation career?

In this episode, I discuss 11 of the most impactful things I've learned leading the fastest-growing building automation training business in the world.

Sep 9, 2019

Have you ever logged into a BAS only to find all the controllers and points offline?

What do you do? 

How do you troubleshoot the problem?

What if there was a proven approach to identifying why your data wasn't getting to your front-end?

In this episode, we discuss how data is collected from I/O and delivered to your front-end. We also look at the most common issues that impede data flow and how to fix them.

Sep 2, 2019

Data Lakes, Digital Twins, BI...

Every day it seems as if the world of data is becoming more complex. In this week's episode, we will discuss exactly what today's BAS professional needs to understand about data in order to survive. 

We will look at how data is stored, visualized, analyzed, and much more in this week's insightful episode.

Aug 26, 2019

Today's building automation world runs on data. But what is data? 

That's a question that the industry as a whole has failed to answer. In this episode, we dive into what data is, how data is created, why data matters, and how can be used for smart integrated buildings.

Aug 12, 2019

There is a saying that troubleshooting a building automation system is more of an art than a science. But, what if there was a methodology that was proven to reduce the time it takes to troubleshoot a building automation system.

In this week's episode, we are going to look at how to utilize our troubleshooting methodology in several real-world scenarios.

Jul 29, 2019

Have you ever wondered how a building automation system's web user interface works?

How does data travel from your web browser to the BAS and back?

How can you begin to troubleshoot these web user interfaces and make changes to them to meet customer needs?

We answer all these questions in this week's episode.

Jul 22, 2019

You have what it takes to get a job in building automation. All you need is a clear plan. 

In this week's episode, I lay out a step-by-step plan to get your first job in building automation even if you have zero experience with building automation.

Jul 15, 2019

What does it take to grow a building automation team and how can you grow a team during a talent shortage?

In this week's episode, we discuss how to organize and optimize your building automation business. We also look at how to asses, train, and measure your team to produce a highly profitable business.

Jul 1, 2019

How do pumps and pipes work? Why do we need them? And most importantly how do we control them with our building automation systems?

In this week's episode, we wrap up our 5-part series on controlling HVAC systems. We will look at:

  • How piping and pumping systems work together to provide conditioned water to core HVAC systems
  • Why you need to understand the interactions between flow and pressure and how to control both
  • The nuances of primary, secondary and decoupled loops
Jun 24, 2019

Hot water systems are the lifeblood of your occupant's comfort. But how do you control them?

In this week's episode, we discuss how to control hot water systems. 

  • We dive into the concepts of phase change, heat transfer and how to optimally utilize your heat sources.
  • We discuss how to properly stage and control hot water systems
  • We also look at how to utilize steam heating effectively
Jun 17, 2019

Learning how to control hydronic systems with your building automation system can be a challenge. In this episode, we continue our multi-part series on how to control HVAC systems using your building automation system. In this episode you will learn:

  • How to chilled water systems work
  • Common variables that affect the control of chilled water systems
  • How cooling towers work and the effect of humidity on the condenser water
  • And much more.
Jun 10, 2019

Have you ever wondered how to control an RTU or AHU using your BAS?

What comes first? What do you need to know? 

In this episode, we walk through how to control airside systems and discuss the nuances associated with controlling RTU's, 100% OAU, and MA SP AHU's.

Jun 3, 2019

How do you control HVAC systems with your building automation system?

In part one of our multipart episode, we will discuss how to control the process variables in a space. After all, everything begins with having proper temperature, humidity, pressure, and airflow within the space.

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