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108-556: Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home . A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It may also include home security such as access control and alarm systems. The phrase smart home refers to home automation devices that have internet access. Home automation, a broader category, includes any device that can be monitored or controlled via wireless radio signals, not just those having internet access. When connected with

216-409: A cell wall . Newly dead animals may be covered by an exoskeleton . Fragmentation processes, which break through these protective layers, accelerate the rate of microbial decomposition. Animals fragment detritus as they hunt for food, as does passage through the gut. Freeze-thaw cycles and cycles of wetting and drying also fragment dead material. The chemical alteration of the dead organic matter

324-495: A food chain . Real systems are much more complex than this—organisms will generally feed on more than one form of food, and may feed at more than one trophic level. Carnivores may capture some prey that is part of a plant-based trophic system and others that are part of a detritus-based trophic system (a bird that feeds both on herbivorous grasshoppers and earthworms, which consume detritus). Real systems, with all these complexities, form food webs rather than food chains which present

432-605: A habitat . Ecosystem ecology is the "study of the interactions between organisms and their environment as an integrated system". The size of ecosystems can range up to ten orders of magnitude , from the surface layers of rocks to the surface of the planet. The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study started in 1963 to study the White Mountains in New Hampshire . It was the first successful attempt to study an entire watershed as an ecosystem. The study used stream chemistry as

540-553: A 2015 survey done by iControl, the primary drivers of the demand for smart and connected devices are first "personal and family security", and second "excitement about energy savings". Home automation includes a variety of smart security systems and surveillance setups. This allows consumers to monitor their homes while away, and to give trusted family members access to that information in case anything bad happens. While there are many competing vendors, there are increasing efforts towards open source systems. However, there are issues with

648-555: A BMS typically represent 40% of a building's energy usage; if lighting is included, this number approaches to 70%. BMS systems are a critical component to managing energy demand. Improperly configured BMS systems are believed to account for 20% of building energy usage, or approximately 8% of total energy usage in the United States. In addition to controlling the building's internal environment, BMS systems are sometimes linked to access control (turnstiles and access doors controlling who

756-609: A central role over a wide range, for example, in the slow development of soil from bare rock and the faster recovery of a community from disturbance . Disturbance also plays an important role in ecological processes. F. Stuart Chapin and coauthors define disturbance as "a relatively discrete event in time that removes plant biomass". This can range from herbivore outbreaks, treefalls, fires, hurricanes, floods, glacial advances , to volcanic eruptions . Such disturbances can cause large changes in plant, animal and microbe populations, as well as soil organic matter content. Disturbance

864-507: A critical role in global nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. Phosphorus enters ecosystems through weathering . As ecosystems age this supply diminishes, making phosphorus-limitation more common in older landscapes (especially in the tropics). Calcium and sulfur are also produced by weathering, but acid deposition is an important source of sulfur in many ecosystems. Although magnesium and manganese are produced by weathering, exchanges between soil organic matter and living cells account for

972-517: A faster recovery. More severe and more frequent disturbance result in longer recovery times. From one year to another, ecosystems experience variation in their biotic and abiotic environments. A drought , a colder than usual winter, and a pest outbreak all are short-term variability in environmental conditions. Animal populations vary from year to year, building up during resource-rich periods and crashing as they overshoot their food supply. Longer-term changes also shape ecosystem processes. For example,

1080-454: A form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend, and may be part of. Ecosystem goods include the "tangible, material products" of ecosystem processes such as water, food, fuel, construction material, and medicinal plants . Ecosystem services , on the other hand, are generally "improvements in the condition or location of things of value". These include things like

1188-423: A frequency of pulses accordingly. Controllers are essentially small, purpose-built computers with input and output capabilities. These controllers come in a range of sizes and capabilities to control devices commonly found in buildings, and to control sub-networks of controllers. Inputs allow a controller to read temperature, humidity, pressure, current flow, air flow, and other essential factors. The outputs allow

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1296-427: A function-based typology has been proposed to leverage the strengths of these different approaches into a unified system. Human activities are important in almost all ecosystems. Although humans exist and operate within ecosystems, their cumulative effects are large enough to influence external factors like climate. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend. Ecosystem goods include

1404-698: A general level, for example, tropical forests , temperate grasslands , and arctic tundra . There can be any degree of subcategories among ecosystem types that comprise a biome, e.g., needle-leafed boreal forests or wet tropical forests. Although ecosystems are most commonly categorized by their structure and geography, there are also other ways to categorize and classify ecosystems such as by their level of human impact (see anthropogenic biome ), or by their integration with social processes or technological processes or their novelty (e.g. novel ecosystem ). Each of these taxonomies of ecosystems tends to emphasize different structural or functional properties. None of these

1512-407: A given appliance, leading to overall positive environmental impacts and lower electricity bills for the consumers using the system. To do this, researchers propose using data from sensors regarding consumer activity within the home to anticipate consumer needs and balance that with energy consumption. Furthermore, home automation has a large potential regarding family safety and security. According to

1620-691: A high cost of ownership, inflexibility of interconnected devices, and poor manageability. When designing and creating a home automation system, engineers take into account several factors including scalability, how well the devices can be monitored and controlled, ease of installation and use for the consumer, affordability, speed, security, and ability to diagnose issues. Findings from iControl showed that consumers prioritize ease-of-use over technical innovation, and although consumers recognize that new connected devices have an unparalleled cool factor, they are not quite ready to use them in their own homes yet. Historically, systems have been sold as complete systems where

1728-612: A larger failure. Some sites are programmed so that critical alarms are automatically re-sent at varying intervals. For example, a repeating critical alarm (of an uninterruptible power supply in 'bypass') might resound at 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and every 2 to 4 hours thereafter until the alarms are resolved. Security systems can be interlocked to a building automation system. If occupancy sensors are present, they can also be used as burglar alarms. Because security systems are often deliberately sabotaged, at least some detectors or cameras should have battery backup and wireless connectivity and

1836-450: A leak), or when excess methane is detected in the building's air supply. Most building automation networks consist of a primary and secondary bus which connect high-level controllers (generally specialized for building automation, but may be generic programmable logic controllers ) with lower-level controllers, input/output devices and a user interface (also known as a human interface device). ASHRAE 's open protocol BACnet or

1944-399: A load upon command. An example would be to turn on the parking lot lights when a photocell indicates it is dark outside. Another example would be to open a valve by allowing 24VDC/AC to pass through the output powering the valve. Analog outputs could also be pulse type outputs emitting a frequency of pulses over a given period of time. An example is an energy meter calculating kWh and emitting

2052-665: A means of monitoring ecosystem properties, and developed a detailed biogeochemical model of the ecosystem. Long-term research at the site led to the discovery of acid rain in North America in 1972. Researchers documented the depletion of soil cations (especially calcium) over the next several decades. Ecosystems can be studied through a variety of approaches—theoretical studies, studies monitoring specific ecosystems over long periods of time, those that look at differences between ecosystems to elucidate how they work and direct manipulative experimentation. Studies can be carried out at

2160-528: A more important role in moving nutrients around. This can be especially important as the soil thaws in the spring, creating a pulse of nutrients that become available. Decomposition rates are low under very wet or very dry conditions. Decomposition rates are highest in wet, moist conditions with adequate levels of oxygen. Wet soils tend to become deficient in oxygen (this is especially true in wetlands ), which slows microbial growth. In dry soils, decomposition slows as well, but bacteria continue to grow (albeit at

2268-487: A non-controlled building. Most commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings built after 2000 include a BAS, whilst older buildings may be retrofitted with a new BAS. A building controlled by a BAS is often referred to as an intelligent building, a "smart building", or (if a residence) a " smart home ". Commercial and industrial buildings have historically relied on robust proven protocols (like BACnet ) while proprietary protocols (like X-10 ) were used in homes. With

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2376-406: A number of common, non random properties in the topology of their network. The carbon and nutrients in dead organic matter are broken down by a group of processes known as decomposition. This releases nutrients that can then be re-used for plant and microbial production and returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (or water) where it can be used for photosynthesis. In the absence of decomposition,

2484-638: A potentially hazardous or costly situation if no one who can solve the problem is notified. Notification can be through a computer (email or text message), pager , cellular phone voice call, audible alarm, or all of these. For insurance and liability purposes all systems keep logs of who was notified, when and how. Alarms may immediately notify someone or only notify when alarms build to some threshold of seriousness or urgency. At sites with several buildings, momentary power failures can cause hundreds or thousands of alarms from equipment that has shut down – these should be suppressed and recognized as symptoms of

2592-512: A problem for security , data security and data privacy , since patches to bugs found in the core operating system often do not reach users of older and lower-price devices. One set of researchers say that the failure of vendors to support older devices with patches and updates leaves more than 87% of active devices vulnerable. Concerns have been raised by tenants renting from landlords who decide to upgrade units with smart home technology. These concerns include weak wireless connections that render

2700-421: A process known as denitrification . Mycorrhizal fungi which are symbiotic with plant roots, use carbohydrates supplied by the plants and in return transfer phosphorus and nitrogen compounds back to the plant roots. This is an important pathway of organic nitrogen transfer from dead organic matter to plants. This mechanism may contribute to more than 70 Tg of annually assimilated plant nitrogen, thereby playing

2808-696: A significant portion of ecosystem fluxes. Potassium is primarily cycled between living cells and soil organic matter. Biodiversity plays an important role in ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem processes are driven by the species in an ecosystem, the nature of the individual species, and the relative abundance of organisms among these species. Ecosystem processes are the net effect of the actions of individual organisms as they interact with their environment. Ecological theory suggests that in order to coexist, species must have some level of limiting similarity —they must be different from one another in some fundamental way, otherwise, one species would competitively exclude

2916-408: A slower rate) even after soils become too dry to support plant growth. Ecosystems are dynamic entities. They are subject to periodic disturbances and are always in the process of recovering from past disturbances. When a perturbation occurs, an ecosystem responds by moving away from its initial state. The tendency of an ecosystem to remain close to its equilibrium state, despite that disturbance,

3024-464: A small effect on ecosystem function. Ecologically distinct species, on the other hand, have a much larger effect. Similarly, dominant species have a large effect on ecosystem function, while rare species tend to have a small effect. Keystone species tend to have an effect on ecosystem function that is disproportionate to their abundance in an ecosystem. An ecosystem engineer is any organism that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys

3132-602: A smart light setup, one participant thought that her iPad communicated directly with the light, telling it to either turn-off or on. In reality, the iPad sends a signal to the cloud system that the company uses (in this case, the Hue Bridge) which then signals directly to the device. Overall, this field is still evolving and the nature of each device is constantly changing. While technologists work to create more secure, streamlined, and standardized security protocols, consumers also need to learn more about how these devices work and what

3240-413: A stand-alone AC system) into a central building automation system. Terminal unit controllers usually are suited for control of lighting and/or simpler devices such as a package rooftop unit, heat pump, VAV box, fan coil, etc. The installer typically selects one of the available pre-programmed personalities best suited to the device to be controlled, and does not have to create new control logic. Occupancy

3348-526: A system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedbacks is termed its ecological resilience . Ecosystems can be studied through a variety of approaches—theoretical studies, studies monitoring specific ecosystems over long periods of time, those that look at differences between ecosystems to elucidate how they work and direct manipulative experimentation. Biomes are general classes or categories of ecosystems. However, there

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3456-487: A variable measurement. Examples are temperature , humidity and pressure sensors which could be thermistor , 4–20 mA , 0–10 volt or platinum resistance thermometer (resistance temperature detector), or wireless sensors . A digital input indicates a device is on or off. Some examples of digital inputs would be a door contact switch, a current switch, an air flow switch , or a voltage-free relay contact (dry contact). Digital inputs could also be pulse inputs counting

3564-522: A variety of scales, ranging from whole-ecosystem studies to studying microcosms or mesocosms (simplified representations of ecosystems). American ecologist Stephen R. Carpenter has argued that microcosm experiments can be "irrelevant and diversionary" if they are not carried out in conjunction with field studies done at the ecosystem scale. In such cases, microcosm experiments may fail to accurately predict ecosystem-level dynamics. Biomes are general classes or categories of ecosystems. However, there

3672-509: Is a subset of building automation and with a similar purpose; it is the consolidation of one or more systems under centralized control, though in this case in one room. The most common example of room automation is corporate boardroom, presentation suites, and lecture halls, where the operation of the large number of devices that define the room function (such as videoconferencing equipment, video projectors , lighting control systems , public address systems etc.) would make manual operation of

3780-538: Is a typical function of a BAS, as is the more sophisticated ventilation and humidity monitoring required of "tight" insulated buildings. Most green buildings also use as many low-power DC devices as possible. Even a passivhaus design intended to consume no net energy whatsoever will typically require a BAS to manage heat capture , shading and venting, and scheduling device use. Building management systems are most commonly implemented in large projects with extensive mechanical, HVAC, and electrical systems. Systems linked to

3888-416: Is allowed access and egress to the building) or other security systems such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) and motion detectors. Fire alarm systems and elevators are also sometimes linked to a BMS for monitoring. In case a fire is detected then only the fire alarm panel could close dampers in the ventilation system to stop smoke spreading, shut down air handlers, start smoke evacuation fans, and send all

3996-454: Is an international synthesis by over 1000 of the world's leading biological scientists that analyzes the state of the Earth's ecosystems and provides summaries and guidelines for decision-makers. The report identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. It concludes that human activity is having a significant and escalating impact on

4104-442: Is consumed by animals while still alive and enters the plant-based trophic system. After plants and animals die, the organic matter contained in them enters the detritus-based trophic system. Ecosystem respiration is the sum of respiration by all living organisms (plants, animals, and decomposers) in the ecosystem. Net ecosystem production is the difference between gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration. In

4212-423: Is controlled by internal factors. Therefore, internal factors not only control ecosystem processes but are also controlled by them. Ecosystems are dynamic entities—they are subject to periodic disturbances and are always in the process of recovering from some past disturbance. The tendency of an ecosystem to remain close to its equilibrium state, despite that disturbance, is termed its resistance . The capacity of

4320-569: Is followed by succession, a "directional change in ecosystem structure and functioning resulting from biotically driven changes in resource supply." The frequency and severity of disturbance determine the way it affects ecosystem function. A major disturbance like a volcanic eruption or glacial advance and retreat leave behind soils that lack plants, animals or organic matter. Ecosystems that experience such disturbances undergo primary succession . A less severe disturbance like forest fires, hurricanes or cultivation result in secondary succession and

4428-554: Is governed by three sets of factors—the physical environment (temperature, moisture, and soil properties), the quantity and quality of the dead material available to decomposers, and the nature of the microbial community itself. Temperature controls the rate of microbial respiration; the higher the temperature, the faster the microbial decomposition occurs. Temperature also affects soil moisture, which affects decomposition. Freeze-thaw cycles also affect decomposition—freezing temperatures kill soil microorganisms, which allows leaching to play

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4536-450: Is needed. This can save money by using less chilled or heated water (not all AHUs use chilled or hot water circuits). Some external air is needed to keep the building's air healthy. To optimize energy efficiency while maintaining healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) , demand control (or controlled) ventilation (DCV) adjusts the amount of outside air based on measured levels of occupancy. Analog or digital temperature sensors may be placed in

4644-405: Is no clear distinction between biomes and ecosystems. Biomes are always defined at a very general level. Ecosystems can be described at levels that range from very general (in which case the names are sometimes the same as those of biomes) to very specific, such as "wet coastal needle-leafed forests". Biomes vary due to global variations in climate . Biomes are often defined by their structure: at

4752-516: Is no clear distinction between biomes and ecosystems. Ecosystem classifications are specific kinds of ecological classifications that consider all four elements of the definition of ecosystems : a biotic component, an abiotic complex, the interactions between and within them, and the physical space they occupy. Biotic factors of the ecosystem are living things; such as plants, animals, and bacteria, while abiotic are non-living components; such as water, soil and atmosphere. Plants allow energy to enter

4860-487: Is one of two or more operating modes for a building automation system; Unoccupied, Morning Warmup, and Night-time Setback are other common modes. Occupancy is usually based on time of day schedules. In Occupancy mode, the BAS aims to provides a comfortable climate and adequate lighting, often with zone-based control so that users on one side of a building have a different thermostat (or a different system, or sub system) than users on

4968-531: Is primarily achieved through bacterial and fungal action. Fungal hyphae produce enzymes that can break through the tough outer structures surrounding dead plant material. They also produce enzymes that break down lignin , which allows them access to both cell contents and the nitrogen in the lignin. Fungi can transfer carbon and nitrogen through their hyphal networks and thus, unlike bacteria, are not dependent solely on locally available resources. Decomposition rates vary among ecosystems. The rate of decomposition

5076-485: Is termed its resistance . The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedbacks is termed its ecological resilience . Resilience thinking also includes humanity as an integral part of the biosphere where we are dependent on ecosystem services for our survival and must build and maintain their natural capacities to withstand shocks and disturbances. Time plays

5184-422: Is the "best" classification. Ecosystem classifications are specific kinds of ecological classifications that consider all four elements of the definition of ecosystems : a biotic component, an abiotic complex, the interactions between and within them, and the physical space they occupy. Different approaches to ecological classifications have been developed in terrestrial, freshwater and marine disciplines, and

5292-527: The IEEE 1905.1 standard and verified by the nVoy auditing mark. These accommodate typically only IP-based networking but can make use of any existing wiring, and also integrate powerline networking over AC circuits, power over Ethernet low-power DC circuits, high-bandwidth wireless networks such as LTE and IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac and often integrate these using the building-specific wireless mesh open standard Zigbee . Proprietary hardware dominates

5400-490: The field bus Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI). Lamps with DALI ballasts are fully dimmable. DALI can also detect lamp and ballast failures on DALI luminaires and signals failures. Shading and glazing are essential components in the building system, they affect occupants’ visual, acoustical, and thermal comfort and provide the occupant with a view outdoor. Automated shading and glazing systems are solutions for controlling solar heat gains and glare. It refers to

5508-553: The pulses over a period of time. An example is a turbine flow meter transmitting flow data as a frequency of pulses to an input. Nonintrusive load monitoring is software relying on digital sensors and algorithms to discover appliance or other loads from electrical or magnetic characteristics of the circuit. It is however detecting the event by an analog means. These are extremely cost-effective in operation and useful not only for identification but to detect start-up transients , line or equipment faults, etc. Analog outputs control

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5616-555: The resource inputs are generally controlled by external processes like climate and parent material, the availability of these resources within the ecosystem is controlled by internal factors like decomposition, root competition or shading. Other factors like disturbance, succession or the types of species present are also internal factors. Primary production is the production of organic matter from inorganic carbon sources. This mainly occurs through photosynthesis . The energy incorporated through this process supports life on earth, while

5724-435: The "tangible, material products" of ecosystem processes such as water, food, fuel, construction material, and medicinal plants . They also include less tangible items like tourism and recreation, and genes from wild plants and animals that can be used to improve domestic species. Ecosystem services , on the other hand, are generally "improvements in the condition or location of things of value". These include things like

5832-549: The Internet, home sensors and activation devices are an important constituent of the Internet of Things ("IoT"). A home automation system typically connects controlled devices to a central smart home hub (sometimes called a " gateway "). The user interface for control of the system uses either wall-mounted terminals, tablet or desktop computers, a mobile phone application, or a Web interface that may also be accessible off-site through

5940-452: The Internet. Early home automation began with labor-saving machines. Self-contained electric or gas powered home appliances became viable in the 1900s with the introduction of electric power distribution and led to the introduction of washing machines (1904), water heaters (1889), refrigerators (1913), sewing machines , dishwashers , and clothes dryers . In 1975, the first general purpose home automation network technology, X10 ,

6048-466: The ability to trigger alarms when disconnected. Modern systems typically use power-over-Ethernet (which can operate a pan-tilt-zoom camera and other devices up to 30–90 watts) which is capable of charging such batteries and keeps wireless networks free for genuinely wireless applications, such as backup communication in outage. Fire alarm panels and their related smoke alarm systems are usually hard-wired to override building automation. For example: if

6156-481: The absence of disturbance, net ecosystem production is equivalent to the net carbon accumulation in the ecosystem. Energy can also be released from an ecosystem through disturbances such as wildfire or transferred to other ecosystems (e.g., from a forest to a stream to a lake) by erosion . In aquatic systems , the proportion of plant biomass that gets consumed by herbivores is much higher than in terrestrial systems. In trophic systems, photosynthetic organisms are

6264-468: The advent of wireless sensor networks and the Internet of Things, an increasing number of smart buildings are resorting to using low-power wireless communication technologies such as Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy and LoRa to interconnect the local sensors, actuators and processing devices. Almost all multi-story green buildings are designed to accommodate a BAS for the energy, air and water conservation characteristics. Electrical device demand response

6372-402: The amount of energy available to the ecosystem. Parent material determines the nature of the soil in an ecosystem, and influences the supply of mineral nutrients. Topography also controls ecosystem processes by affecting things like microclimate , soil development and the movement of water through a system. For example, ecosystems can be quite different if situated in a small depression on

6480-504: The amount of light available, the amount of leaf area a plant has to capture light (shading by other plants is a major limitation of photosynthesis), the rate at which carbon dioxide can be supplied to the chloroplasts to support photosynthesis, the availability of water, and the availability of suitable temperatures for carrying out photosynthesis. Energy and carbon enter ecosystems through photosynthesis, are incorporated into living tissue, transferred to other organisms that feed on

6588-408: The carbon makes up much of the organic matter in living and dead biomass, soil carbon and fossil fuels . It also drives the carbon cycle , which influences global climate via the greenhouse effect . Through the process of photosynthesis, plants capture energy from light and use it to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen . The photosynthesis carried out by all

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6696-432: The combustion of fossil fuels, ammonia gas which evaporates from agricultural fields which have had fertilizers applied to them, and dust. Anthropogenic nitrogen inputs account for about 80% of all nitrogen fluxes in ecosystems. When plant tissues are shed or are eaten, the nitrogen in those tissues becomes available to animals and microbes. Microbial decomposition releases nitrogen compounds from dead organic matter in

6804-418: The concept to draw attention to the importance of transfers of materials between organisms and their environment. He later refined the term, describing it as "The whole system, ... including not only the organism-complex, but also the whole complex of physical factors forming what we call the environment". Tansley regarded ecosystems not simply as natural units, but as "mental isolates". Tansley later defined

6912-658: The consumer relies on one vendor for the entire system including the hardware, the communications protocol, the central hub, and the user interface. However, there are now open hardware and open source software systems which can be used instead of or with proprietary hardware. Many of these systems interface with consumer electronics such as the Arduino or Raspberry Pi, which are easily accessible online and in most electronics stores. In addition, home automation devices are increasingly interfaced with mobile phones through Bluetooth, allowing for increased affordability and customizability for

7020-500: The control of daylight and solar energy to enter into built environment in relation to outdoor conditions, daylighting demands and solar positions. The common products include venetian blinds , roller shades , louvers , and shutters. They are mostly installed on the interior side of the glazing system because of the low maintenance cost, but also can be used on the exterior or a combination of both. Most air handlers mix return and outside air so less temperature/humidity conditioning

7128-755: The controller market. Each company has controllers for specific applications. Some are designed with limited controls and no interoperability, such as simple packaged roof top units for HVAC. Software will typically not integrate well with packages from other vendors. Cooperation is at the Zigbee/BACnet/LonTalk level only. Current systems provide interoperability at the application level, allowing users to mix-and-match devices from different manufacturers, and to provide integration with other compatible building control systems . These typically rely on SNMP , long used for this same purpose to integrate diverse computer networking devices into one coherent network. With

7236-501: The controller to send command and control signals to slave devices, and to other parts of the system. Inputs and outputs can be either digital or analog. Digital outputs are also sometimes called discrete depending on manufacturer. Controllers used for building automation can be grouped in three categories: programmable logic controllers (PLCs), system/network controllers, and terminal unit controllers. However an additional device can also exist in order to integrate third-party systems (e.g.

7344-406: The current state of home automation including a lack of standardized security measures and deprecation of older devices without backwards compatibility. Home automation has high potential for sharing data between family members or trusted individuals for personal security purposes and could lead to energy saving measures with a positive environmental impact in the future. The home automation market

7452-403: The dead organic matter would accumulate in an ecosystem, and nutrients and atmospheric carbon dioxide would be depleted. Decomposition processes can be separated into three categories— leaching , fragmentation and chemical alteration of dead material. As water moves through dead organic matter, it dissolves and carries with it the water-soluble components. These are then taken up by organisms in

7560-408: The door or appliance unusable or impractical; the security of door passcodes kept by the landlord; and the potential invasion of privacy that comes with connecting smart home technologies to home networks. Researchers have also conducted user studies to determine what the barriers are for consumers when integrating home automation devices or systems into their daily lifestyle. One of the main takeaways

7668-643: The ecosystem or to gradual disruption of biotic processes and degradation of abiotic conditions of the ecosystem. Once the original ecosystem has lost its defining features, it is considered "collapsed ". Ecosystem restoration can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals . An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the abiotic pools (or physical environment) with which they interact. The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. "Ecosystem processes" are

7776-584: The elevators to the ground floor and park them to prevent people from using them. Building management systems have also included disaster-response mechanisms (such as base isolation ) to save structures from earthquakes. In more recent times, companies and governments have been working to find similar solutions for flood zones and coastal areas at-risk to rising sea levels . Self-adjusting floating environment draws from existing technologies used to float concrete bridges and runways such as Washington's SR 520 and Japan's Mega-Float . Analog inputs are used to read

7884-544: The end of the year 2018. The word " domotics " is a contraction of the Latin word for a home ( domus ) and the word robotics . The word "smart" in "smart home" refers to the system being aware of the state of its devices, which is done through the information and communication technologies (ICT) protocol and the Internet of Things (IoT). Home automation is prevalent in a variety of different realms, including: In 2011, Microsoft Research found that home automation could involve

7992-421: The flow of energy through a lake was the primary driver of the ecosystem. Hutchinson's students, brothers Howard T. Odum and Eugene P. Odum , further developed a "systems approach" to the study of ecosystems. This allowed them to study the flow of energy and material through ecological systems. Ecosystems are controlled by both external and internal factors. External factors, also called state factors, control

8100-452: The forests of eastern North America still show legacies of cultivation which ceased in 1850 when large areas were reverted to forests. Another example is the methane production in eastern Siberian lakes that is controlled by organic matter which accumulated during the Pleistocene . Ecosystems continually exchange energy and carbon with the wider environment . Mineral nutrients, on

8208-541: The growing spectrum of capabilities and connections to the Internet of Things , building automation systems were repeatedly reported to be vulnerable, allowing hackers and cybercriminals to attack their components. Buildings can be exploited by hackers to measure or change their environment: sensors allow surveillance (e.g. monitoring movements of employees or habits of inhabitants) while actuators allow to perform actions in buildings (e.g. opening doors or windows for intruders). Several vendors and committees started to improve

8316-539: The implications of putting them in their homes can be. The growth of this field is currently limited not only by technology but also by a user's ability to trust a device and integrate it successfully into his/her daily life. Utilizing home automation could lead to more efficient and intelligent energy-saving techniques. By integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) with renewable energy systems such as solar power or wind power, homes can autonomously make decisions about whether to store energy or expend it for

8424-691: The landscape, versus one present on an adjacent steep hillside. Other external factors that play an important role in ecosystem functioning include time and potential biota , the organisms that are present in a region and could potentially occupy a particular site. Ecosystems in similar environments that are located in different parts of the world can end up doing things very differently simply because they have different pools of species present. The introduction of non-native species can cause substantial shifts in ecosystem function. Unlike external factors, internal factors in ecosystems not only control ecosystem processes but are also controlled by them. While

8532-407: The last motion was sensed. A photocell placed outside a building can sense darkness, and the time of day, and modulate lights in outer offices and the parking lot. Lighting is also a good candidate for demand response , with many control systems providing the ability to dim (or turn off) lights to take advantage of DR incentives and savings. In newer buildings, the lighting control can be based on

8640-423: The living and dead plant matter, and eventually released through respiration. The carbon and energy incorporated into plant tissues (net primary production) is either consumed by animals while the plant is alive, or it remains uneaten when the plant tissue dies and becomes detritus . In terrestrial ecosystems , the vast majority of the net primary production ends up being broken down by decomposers . The remainder

8748-471: The maintenance of hydrological cycles , cleaning air and water, the maintenance of oxygen in the atmosphere, crop pollination and even things like beauty, inspiration and opportunities for research. Many ecosystems become degraded through human impacts, such as soil loss , air and water pollution , habitat fragmentation , water diversion , fire suppression , and introduced species and invasive species . These threats can lead to abrupt transformation of

8856-408: The maintenance of hydrological cycles, cleaning air and water, the maintenance of oxygen in the atmosphere, crop pollination and even things like beauty, inspiration and opportunities for research. While material from the ecosystem had traditionally been recognized as being the basis for things of economic value, ecosystem services tend to be taken for granted. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

8964-504: The open protocol LonTalk specify how most such devices interoperate. Modern systems use SNMP to track events, building on decades of history with SNMP-based protocols in the computer networking world. Physical connectivity between devices was historically provided by dedicated optical fiber , ethernet , ARCNET , RS-232 , RS-485 or a low-bandwidth special purpose wireless network . Modern systems rely on standards-based multi-protocol heterogeneous networking such as that specified in

9072-536: The opposite side. A temperature sensor in the zone provides feedback to the controller, so it can deliver heating or cooling as needed. If enabled, morning warmup (MWU) mode occurs prior to occupancy. During Morning Warmup the BAS tries to bring the building to setpoint just in time for Occupancy. The BAS often factors in outdoor conditions and historical experience to optimize MWU. This is also referred to as optimized start . Some buildings rely on occupancy sensors to activate lighting or climate conditioning. Given

9180-537: The other hand, are mostly cycled back and forth between plants, animals, microbes and the soil. Most nitrogen enters ecosystems through biological nitrogen fixation , is deposited through precipitation, dust, gases or is applied as fertilizer . Most terrestrial ecosystems are nitrogen-limited in the short term making nitrogen cycling an important control on ecosystem production. Over the long term, phosphorus availability can also be critical. Macronutrients which are required by all plants in large quantities include

9288-509: The other. Despite this, the cumulative effect of additional species in an ecosystem is not linear: additional species may enhance nitrogen retention, for example. However, beyond some level of species richness, additional species may have little additive effect unless they differ substantially from species already present. This is the case for example for exotic species . The addition (or loss) of species that are ecologically similar to those already present in an ecosystem tends to only have

9396-403: The overall structure of an ecosystem and the way things work within it, but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. On broad geographic scales, climate is the factor that "most strongly determines ecosystem processes and structure". Climate determines the biome in which the ecosystem is embedded. Rainfall patterns and seasonal temperatures influence photosynthesis and thereby determine

9504-405: The plants in an ecosystem is called the gross primary production (GPP). About half of the gross GPP is respired by plants in order to provide the energy that supports their growth and maintenance. The remainder, that portion of GPP that is not used up by respiration, is known as the net primary production (NPP). Total photosynthesis is limited by a range of environmental factors. These include

9612-412: The potential for long lead times before a space becomes sufficiently cool or warm, climate conditioning is not often initiated directly by an occupancy sensor. Lighting can be turned on, off, or dimmed with a building automation or lighting control system based on time of day, or on occupancy sensor, photosensors and timers. One typical example is to turn the lights in a space on for a half-hour since

9720-585: The primary nutrients (which are most limiting as they are used in largest amounts): Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. Secondary major nutrients (less often limiting) include: Calcium, magnesium, sulfur. Micronutrients required by all plants in small quantities include boron, chloride, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc. Finally, there are also beneficial nutrients which may be required by certain plants or by plants under specific environmental conditions: aluminum, cobalt, iodine, nickel, selenium, silicon, sodium, vanadium. Until modern times, nitrogen fixation

9828-413: The primary producers. The organisms that consume their tissues are called primary consumers or secondary producers — herbivores . Organisms which feed on microbes ( bacteria and fungi ) are termed microbivores . Animals that feed on primary consumers— carnivores —are secondary consumers. Each of these constitutes a trophic level. The sequence of consumption—from plant to herbivore, to carnivore—forms

9936-525: The room very complex. It is common for room automation systems to employ a touchscreen as the primary way of controlling each operation. Ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system ) is a system that environments and their organisms form through their interaction. The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors . External factors such as climate , parent material which forms

10044-507: The security features in their products and standards, including KNX, Zigbee and BACnet (see recent standards or standard drafts). However, researchers report several open problems in building automation security. On November 11, 2019, a 132-page security research paper was released titled "I Own Your Building (Management System)" by Gjoko Krstic and Sipke Mellema that addressed more than 100 vulnerabilities affecting various BMS and access control solutions by various vendors. Room automation

10152-476: The smoke alarm is activated, all the outside air dampers close to prevent air coming into the building, and an exhaust system can isolate the blaze. Similarly, electrical fault detection systems can turn entire circuits off, regardless of the number of alarms this triggers or persons this distresses. Fossil fuel combustion devices also tend to have their own over-rides, such as natural gas feed lines that turn off when slow pressure drops are detected (indicating

10260-409: The soil and topography , control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. Internal factors are controlled, for example, by decomposition , root competition, shading, disturbance, succession, and the types of species present. While the resource inputs are generally controlled by external processes, the availability of these resources within the ecosystem

10368-611: The soil, react with mineral soil, or are transported beyond the confines of the ecosystem (and are considered lost to it). Newly shed leaves and newly dead animals have high concentrations of water-soluble components and include sugars , amino acids and mineral nutrients. Leaching is more important in wet environments and less important in dry ones. Fragmentation processes break organic material into smaller pieces, exposing new surfaces for colonization by microbes. Freshly shed leaf litter may be inaccessible due to an outer layer of cuticle or bark , and cell contents are protected by

10476-511: The soil, where plants, fungi, and bacteria compete for it. Some soil bacteria use organic nitrogen-containing compounds as a source of carbon, and release ammonium ions into the soil. This process is known as nitrogen mineralization . Others convert ammonium to nitrite and nitrate ions, a process known as nitrification . Nitric oxide and nitrous oxide are also produced during nitrification. Under nitrogen-rich and oxygen-poor conditions, nitrates and nitrites are converted to nitrogen gas ,

10584-424: The space or room, the return and supply air ducts , and sometimes the external air. Actuators are placed on the hot and chilled water valves, the outside air and return air dampers. The supply fan (and return if applicable) is started and stopped based on either time of day, temperatures, building pressures or a combination. All modern building automation systems have alarm capabilities. It does little good to detect

10692-483: The spatial extent of ecosystems using the term " ecotope ". G. Evelyn Hutchinson , a limnologist who was a contemporary of Tansley's, combined Charles Elton 's ideas about trophic ecology with those of Russian geochemist Vladimir Vernadsky . As a result, he suggested that mineral nutrient availability in a lake limited algal production . This would, in turn, limit the abundance of animals that feed on algae. Raymond Lindeman took these ideas further to suggest that

10800-406: The speed or position of a device, such as a variable frequency drive , an I-P ( current to pneumatics ) transducer , or a valve or damper actuator . An example is a hot water valve opening up 25% to maintain a setpoint . Another example is a variable frequency drive ramping up a motor slowly to avoid a hard start. Digital outputs are used to open and close relays and switches as well as drive

10908-454: The system through photosynthesis , building up plant tissue. Animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system, by feeding on plants and on one another. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter , decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to

11016-421: The transfers of energy and materials from one pool to another. Ecosystem processes are known to "take place at a wide range of scales". Therefore, the correct scale of study depends on the question asked. The term "ecosystem" was first used in 1935 in a publication by British ecologist Arthur Tansley . The term was coined by Arthur Roy Clapham , who came up with the word at Tansley's request. Tansley devised

11124-488: The use of technology to control external or internal shading devices (such as blinds, and shades) or glazing itself. The system has an active and rapid response to various changing outdoor data (such as solar, wind) and to changing interior environment (such as temperature, illuminance, and occupant demands). Building shading and glazing systems can contribute to thermal and lighting improvement from both energy conservation and comfort point of view. Dynamic shading devices allow

11232-612: The user. Home automation suffers from platform fragmentation and lack of technical standards a situation where the variety of home automation devices, in terms of both hardware variations and differences in the software running on them, makes the task of developing applications that work consistently between different inconsistent technology ecosystems hard. Customers may hesitate to bet their IoT future on proprietary software or hardware devices that use proprietary protocols that may fade or become difficult to customize and interconnect. The nature of home automation devices can also be

11340-481: Was developed. It is a communication protocol for electronic devices. It primarily uses electric power transmission wiring for signalling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts of digital data , and remains the most widely available. By 2012, in the United States, according to ABI Research, 1.5 million home automation systems were installed. Per research firm Statista more than 45 million smart home devices will be installed in U.S. homes by

11448-417: Was regarding ease of use, as consumers tend to steer towards "plug and play" solutions over more complicated setups. One study found that there were large gaps in the mental-models generated by users regarding how the devices actually work. Specifically, the findings showed that there was a lot of misunderstanding related to where the data collected by smart devices was stored and how it was used. For example, in

11556-679: Was the major source of nitrogen for ecosystems. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria either live symbiotically with plants or live freely in the soil. The energetic cost is high for plants that support nitrogen-fixing symbionts—as much as 25% of gross primary production when measured in controlled conditions. Many members of the legume plant family support nitrogen-fixing symbionts. Some cyanobacteria are also capable of nitrogen fixation. These are phototrophs , which carry out photosynthesis. Like other nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they can either be free-living or have symbiotic relationships with plants. Other sources of nitrogen include acid deposition produced through

11664-409: Was worth US$ 64 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to over $ 163 billion in 2028. Building automation BAS functionality may keep a buildings climate within a specified range, provide light to rooms based on occupancy, monitor performance and device failures, and provide malfunction alarms to building maintenance staff. A BAS works to reduce building energy and maintenance costs compared to

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