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

Everything is shutting down. The economy is nose-diving. How do you keep your building automation business afloat? In this episode The Building Automation Monthly Podcast we talk about several win-win services that you can sell to help your customers deal with the Coronavirus's effect on their business. We also talk about strategies to cover the cost of your employees and how to maintain your busi...

You need to control the moisture content of your airstreams but how? In this week's episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast, we explore the concept of psychrometrics and how it affects the comfort and controllability of your building systems. In this episode you will learn: What Psychrometrics are How you can control the moisture and temperature of your airstream Why relative humidity i...

In this episode, we discuss how PID loops work and how to tune PID loops. This episode covers: What a PID Loop is How to calculate your settings for a loop The reason our loops shouldn't use derivative My number 1 trick for quickly tuning loops The effect of I on loops When to use direct or reverse loops Why you should avoid biasing your loop

In this episode, we discuss how to build out a use case library to increase your ability to sell and execute smart building projects.  This episode covers:  What a use case is? Why a use case library? Where to get started? How to structure a use case? The integral pieces of a use case library

This week we have Curt Bramel the North and South America channel sales leader for Tridium. In this episode Curt and I discuss: The highest margin activity in the market right now The biggest challenges to growth that integrators are facing How integrators are dealing with the labor shortage in the market right now The potential opportunities that integrators could miss in the next few years Growt...

In this episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast we interview cybersecurity expert Fred Gordy.  Fred has a broad background in cybersecurity. Fred has a wealth of experience during his rise from working at a major mechanical contractor to leading the cybersecurity practice at Intelligent Buildings. We discuss: What cybersecurity is The major risks to a BAS How to mitigate risks The legal...

Why do analytics projects fail? What makes them successful?  What is the secret to effectively implementing analytics?  In this week's episode of The Building Automation Monthly Podcast we discuss: What analytics are How analytics work My experience implementing analytics My six-step process for effectively implementing analytics

OT networks are becoming increasingly common in building automation projects. But what is an OT network and what do you need to know about OT networks to succeed in your BAS career? In this episode we discuss: How OT networks work Why OT networks are used How OT networks are different than IT networks How to implement OT networks How to connect OT networks to IT networks and much more!

This week we are talking with 75F's CEO Deepinder Singh. I really enjoyed this interview as Deepinder is very technical and his story for why he started 75F is really unique.  In this interview we look at: What is 75F? Why another controls solution? Why 75F is a full-stack solution and what that means 75F's interesting way of negating cybersecurity concerns What problem does 75F solve? What makes...

Have you ever wondered how your BAS user interface works?  What happens exactly when you change your setpoints? In this week's episode, we are going to look at how a BAS communicates from the GUI to the field controller and from the field controller to the GUI.

How do you troubleshoot IT systems? Where do you begin? In this episode, we will look at how you can troubleshoot even the most complex building automation system.   

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

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 wat...

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. 

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 boi...

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.

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.

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/

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.

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.

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.

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 a...

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.

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 t...