Integrating systems for lighting, heating, building access, and security is a complex endeavor, one that can leave facility managers in a scary situation or locked into a cage. That was the message from Greg Witt in a presentation sponsored by Alpha Energy Solutions at the Kentucky School Plant Management Association (KSPMA) conference in Lexington.
Greg Witt discusses system integration at Alpha Energy’s presentation at KSPMA.
Witt of Cochrane Supply works with Alpha Energy Solutions and its customers to integrate building systems for energy efficiency, safety, and customer satisfaction. Witt told the school plant administrators that one of the keys to successful integration is to choose vendors for their experience.
His presentation showed how a single integrator ties together systems from different manufacturers. For example, Witt explained how system requirements in schools and office buildings, and even hospitals and prisons, require the sophistication to allow a person to access a building with a card to be allowed only to a particular floor or office.
This includes lighting only the areas needed for entry. But the system also must be set up to allow occupants a path to safety in case of fire or another emergency.
“The challenge is to get all these systems to work together efficiently,” he said.
Alpha Energy’s Gerry Lewis awards a UK Basketball print to Ballard County’s Kerry Fulcher.
Afterward, Alpha Energy Solutions’ Sales Director Gerry Lewis awarded a Big Blue door prize to Kerry Fulcher, Facilities Manager at Ballard County.
