Honeywell and Analog Devices, Inc. announced at CES 2024 that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the digitization of commercial buildings by upgrading to digital connectivity technologies without replacing existing wiring, which will help reduce cost, waste, and downtime. The strategic alliance would bring this new technology to building management systems for the first time.
Many of the commercial buildings in the United States are outdated and inefficient and, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the majority of them were built before the year 2000. Additionally, organizations are relying on networking technology to transmit ever-greater volumes of data, causing a surge in demand for cloud storage and processing speed. Digitizing building management systems will allow managers to reduce energy consumption through real-time decisions, while it will upgrade a building’s network performance and security to current Internet-protocol networks without extensive costs and remodeling.
“For more than a decade, ADI and Honeywell have collaborated on driving the next waves of innovation,” said Martin Cotter, senior vice president, Industrial and Multi Markets and president of ADI EMEA region. “In this next phase of our work together, we are thrilled to see these ADI technologies move beyond factory automation and into Honeywell’s building management system to help customers reduce building energy consumption, which can save money, improve resiliency, and help meet emissions reductions goals.”
“Honeywell is revolutionizing building management systems to help building owners tackle today’s biggest challenges,” said Suresh Venkatarayalu, Honeywell’s chief technology officer. “This collaboration with ADI would offer building owners the ability to upgrade and enhance their wiring without a significant upfront investment, and with less labor and environmental impact.”
Honeywell plans to adopt ADI’s single-pair Ethernet (T1L) and software configurable input/output (SWIO) solutions in its building management systems. ADI’s single-pair Ethernet enables long-reach Ethernet connectivity with the possibility of reusing a building’s existing wiring, reducing installation time and cost, and reducing waste. Single-pair Ethernet complements existing Ethernet connectivity in building management systems, bringing enhanced connectivity from the edge to the cloud, helping eliminate data islands and better utilizing assets.
ADI’s offering would also reduce product complexities by enabling Honeywell to build a single version of the product for different needs, allowing more future-proofed control and automation for when a building is remodeled, or requirements change. This helps increase the speed of product installation, reduces inventory needs, and enables easier and more affordable changes.