Software for smart buildings and building automation

Lighting is crucial in the built environment. For instance, in office settings, maintaining consistent brightness without glare is vital for employee comfort and productivity. zenon can be utilized to manage lighting and shading, providing HTML interfaces for manual operation along with logic blocks for automated control.

These automated controls can be based on a variety of factors, including solar radiation and occupancy schedules. Automated lighting systems enhance staff and visitor satisfaction while minimizing energy waste throughout the building.

In addition to room lighting automation, the zenon software platform can also automatically raise or lower external window shades. Such operation can be based on weather conditions, for example. This feature allows buildings to reduce energy costs and minimize the repair costs incurred when extreme weather events damage external shades.

Summer overheating in buildings can significantly impact comfort and energy efficiency. Effective measures must be implemented to meet summer thermal protection requirements, as outlined in standards and regulations such as the European standards EN 16798 and EN 13363, as well as national building codes. These regulations ensure that buildings are designed to minimize excessive heat gain during the summer months, enhancing indoor comfort and reducing the need for energy-intensive cooling solutions.

Implementing shading devices, proper insulation, and ventilation strategies is essential to comply with these standards and maintain optimal indoor temperatures.

zenon can access sensor data to track indoor and outdoor temperatures, humidity or CO2 concentration to inform and control heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in rooms. By automatically regulating temperature and heating cycles, zenon helps to maximize energy-saving potential.

Ensuring thermal comfort is essential for creating ergonomic indoor environments. The analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort can be achieved using the predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) indices, alongside local thermal comfort criteria. These indices provide a quantifiable measure of comfort by evaluating various factors such as temperature, humidity, and air velocity. Implementing these calculations with zenon helps to optimize indoor conditions, enhancing occupant comfort and productivity while adhering to established standards for thermal ergonomics.