Two weeks ago, I attended the Honeywell Building Solutions Users Group (HUG) in Scottsdale, and learned about Honeywell’s commitment to convergence and integration.

Convergence was described by Greg Taylor, the director marketing for Honeywell Americas, as “putting everything on the same network.” This includes all building systems as well as security, which can save energy, according to Taylor. “Dynamic scheduling coordinates disparate systems through the security system, which knows who should be in the building and whether it should be occupied,” he said. Furthermore, security systems can also be used to determine occupancy rates for sensors generating “people counting data,” which helps determine energy intensity.

Integrating lighting control and HVAC is more novel than it should be in 2009 according to Taylor. The good news is that the benefits of automation are now being realized, especially with technological advances and the rise of building information modeling (BIM), according to Taylor. BIM, which looks at the interplay of systems, “analyzes a building during construction to look for conflicts,” and correct them.

Not only does Honeywell have several different products to achieve convergence and integration, their philosophy, which was echoed throughout the time I spent there, as being committed to working with a building’s existing systems to reach these goals.

For more information, visit the Honeywell Building Solutions HUG website.