For the last decade, I have had the privilege of being an Engineered Systems columnist. The magazine selects columnists who are actively involved in project design and implementation. My career is shifting from being actively involved in the development of projects to research on new areas for building controls and the interaction between buildings and the electrical grid. In January, there will be a new columnist, so this month I will focus on looking back over the last decade of controls and building automation. Then next month, I will offer my perspective on the future.
When we look back at the last 10 to 15 years, there have been some positive changes that have occurred with controls and building automation along with a number of industry challenges.