ELON: govt. contracts Echelon Helps the GSA Move to Open Systems and Substantially Reduce Costs.
The E.M. Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois, consists of approximately one million square feet of space serving Federal district courts, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the General Service Administration (GSA), and other Federal agencies. Given the number of courtrooms in the building, maintaining a comfortable temperature level throughout is a major challenge. In the past, a building engineer had to manually adjust the controls to meet the needs of various courtrooms. Over time, it became clear that the building?s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and control systems, dating back to 1963, had to be replaced. The GSA decided to retrofit the complex using an open LonWorks© network. From the start, the new LonWorks solution proved to be a wise investment, saving the GSA an estimated $150,000* in installation and commissioning costs. Additionally, the system promises to dramatically reduce yearly operating costs, saving an estimated $75,000* in engineering resources and overhead and reducing annual energy consumption and expenses by 30 percent. And, since LonWorks is an open platform, the agency no longer has to rely on proprietary products.
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The GSA is currently evaluating the LonWorks system as a national control standard for all the buildings owned and managed by the agency.
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