The integrated building system (IBS) concept, sometimes known as
building automation, has presented the designer and the
electrical contractor with more complex challenges than
traditional individual systems did. One of the more critical
challenges is ensuring that the requisite power demands of the
entire facility under construction are met. “If we accept the
definition that building automation involves a computerized
network of electronic devices that monitor and control virtually
all of a building’s systems, then logic dictates that this sort
of integration is going to incorporate more complicated
requirements, including those related to power demands,” said
Richard Bingham, Electrical Contractor’s power quality
columnist. “With all the systems tied together, it’s no longer a
question of simply relying on Ohm’s and Kirchoff’s Laws to
determine how the power flows because this is a more complex
situation, and all parties concerned in the project have to pay
much more attention to what effect one system migh