Industry Leading Companies Join Fast-Growing EnOcean Alliance

The EnOcean Alliance, a consortium of companies working to standardize and internationalize energy harvesting wireless technology for green intelligent buildings is one of the fastest growing member organizations of its kind. EnOcean Alliance is proud to be adding such market leaders as General Electric, Titus, Viessman and Overkiz, a Somfy company, to its rapidly growing list of members. With the addition of BSC Computer GmbH as the newest promoter member, the EnOcean Alliance now totals 172 companies. In 2010, over 50 new member companies joined the consortium, resulting in 50 percent growth over 2009.

Confirming this technology’s rapid adoption rate, there are now thousands of EnOcean-enabled buildings in North America and more than 100,000 worldwide. Quickly becoming the industry standard for both new and retrofit green intelligent buildings, EnOcean’s miniaturized energy harvesting modules feature ultra low power radio technology that is highly attractive to OEMs developing wireless sensors and switches used to improve the energy efficiency of commercial facilities significantly.

“Battery-free wireless sensors leveraging radio frequency technology are on the verge of becoming ubiquitous because of their remarkable flexibility,” said Kirsten West, principal analyst at West Technology Research. “We’re seeing significant deployments across building, industrial and home automation applications. Consequently, OEMs representing all kinds of devices are exploring this technology more seriously. That certainly explains why the EnOcean Alliance is seeing its membership grow so quickly.”

As the latest member of the EnOcean Alliance, BSC Software allows the status of all EnOcean-based equipment to be captured and visualized in real-time, as well as stored in a database for further utilization.  With this information, facility managers can start or shut down a wide range of disparate devices on a scheduled or remote basis as well as program event controls and timers. As a result, idle systems can be taken offline to eliminate unnecessary power consumption and restarted on an as-needed basis with a simple mouse click or securely activated via a smartphone. 

Collectively, Alliance participants represent more than 700 interoperable products, all based on EnOcean’s battery-free technology that converts ambient solar, thermal and motion energy into usable electrical energy.  This breakthrough technology is being employed in products ranging from wireless key card switches to occupancy sensors to room controllers, all of which play a vital role in contributing to improved energy efficiency and occupant comfort.

The work of EnOcean Alliance members continuously focuses on creating seamless communication between different EnOcean enabled devices and standardizing the technology on an international level. To meet the needs of a growing list of OEMs, the Alliance’s technical working group recently released a new version of the EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEP 2.1). The expanded specification has already been published, containing approximately 100 profiles for the development of a variety of building automation solutions.

 “The rapid growth of the EnOcean Alliance is strong validation that OEMs recognize the advantages of wireless energy harvesting technology for a wide range of applications,” said Graham Martin, Chairman of the EnOcean Alliance.  “Of equal importance is the fact that this technology is playing an instrumental role in driving energy efficiency initiatives across multiple industries on a worldwide basis.”

About the EnOcean Alliance
Leading companies worldwide from the building sector collected to form the EnOcean Alliance, with the aim of promoting and establishing innovative automation solutions for sustainable buildings – and so to make buildings more energy-efficient, more flexible and lower in cost. The core technology of the Alliance is the energy harvesting wireless technology for flexibly positioned and service-free sensor solutions. The EnOcean Alliance aims to standardize and internationalize energy harvesting wireless technology, and is dedicated to creating interoperability between the products of OEM partners. More than 170 companies currently belong to the EnOcean Alliance. The headquarters of the non-profit organization is located in San Ramon, CA.  See also:  http://www.enocean-alliance.org/en/

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Pharmaceutical Manufacturing FacilityFeatures Sustainable Design

Integrating manufacturing research and office environments was a key objective of United Therapeutics Corporation (UT) for their recently completed facility. To meet its objective, UT turned to O’Neal, Inc. to provide master planning and detailed design for the pharmaceutical solid dose manufacturing and research and development facility in the Research Triangle Park, NC.   

Form truly meets function in UT’s breathtaking facility. UT was interested in producing a state-of-art facility that reflected the company mission of “Medicines for Life.” During programming, O’Neal worked with UT and created the “Circle of Life” and “Betterment of Mankind” through UT medicines themes that were reflected within the design and layout of the building. Manufacturing is at the core of the building, with all other functions acting as “spokes” in the wheel.

According to David Zaccardelli, Vice President Pharmaceutical Development, the project was “something far from ordinary that integrated manufacturing within the office environment.”

In addition to manufacturing and R&D, the 203,000-square-foot facility serves as office space for administration, marketing and management functions. The project scope for O’Neal consisted of master planning of a 54-acre site in the RTP. The master plan was developed for the project to be constructed over a two and a half year period. O’Neal’s expertise and experience in potent compound solid dose pharmaceutical manufacturing design were key criteria in the selection process. “O'Neal provided exceptional input into the architectural and manufacturing design while maintaining energy efficiency, and creative land use to create a world class facility," said Zaccardelli.

The programming and detailed design services for Phase I of the master plan included a facility to house solid dosage manufacturing facilities, packaging, a 40,000-square-foot warehouse, and 95,000 square feet of corporate office space that includes a central data center, auditorium, and cafeteria. The facility also includes R&D laboratories, QA/QC laboratories and a fully integrated formulation pilot plant.

Several unique building elements were included in the design, including: curved panels that wrap around the structure, extensive natural daylight, a glass-encased entry lobby with a 38’ tall saltwater aquarium, and 258 rooftop solar panels.

The building incorporates green and sustainable design elements, and was designed following LEED standards. In addition, the facility was designed through the Durham Country Storm Water and Erosion Control Division to reduce environmental impact and to control soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation. Low-emitting materials, such as carpet and adhesives, that meet requirements of the Green Label program were used. In addition, the building features extensive glass for natural daylight. Bike storage spaces and changing and shower rooms were incorporated to encourage alternative transportation. Water efficient landscaping was accomplished by utilizing reverse osmosis reject water for re-use in the plant and grass irrigation system.

O’Neal proactively worked with UT to deliver several value engineering items that resulted in significant savings. O’Neal worked closely with DPR Construction of Raleigh during construction of the project. Overall, the project was delivered three weeks early on a twenty-two and half month schedule.