Eli Kaberon and Bettina Chang, Editorial Interns

Upgrading LONworks

VIew the full story, including all images and figures, in our monthly digital edition As building automation becomes more important for energy efficiency, convenience, and the bottom line, engineers and building owners demand systems that can incorporate products of varying brands in an open-bid market. LONmark has developed and advanced the LONworks protocol to manage these changing technologies, allowing engineers, owners, and contractors to choose the products that work best, cost less, and communicate with the network. With constant updates to the existing protocol and development of new "smart" technologies, the standards appear to be advancing as quickly as the technology they integrate. Smart grid Plans for an American smart grid have included lofty numbers and goals for some of the nation's biggest companies, and LONmark is one of them. The National Institute of Standards and Technology brought together LONmark and other private companies to help create the Smart Grid Standards Roadmap and recommend a list of standards that should be included in the development of the nation's smart grid.