Building Systems Management

[heffneil]

I know this is generally home based systems here but I thought some people might be able to suggest a system they know first hand or have heard good things about to manage an entire building. I am looking for security, temperature and humidity monitoring, water detection which all seems simple but I need integrated key card access for about 25 doors and cameras. I have looked at a honeywell system and they had a decent product but its very expensive and the sales people never followed up with me so I am basically not going to go with them. Johnson Controls never got back to me either so I at this point I need to find something myself. On the security side there are about 10 partitions that make up each area that needs its own keypad maybe two per partition. I was hoping to be able to have a system sophisticated enough to say I want to see this door at 10 AM and show me who entered that door on the key card logs and cue the video for that time as well.

Any ideas!

Thanks!

Neil

 

[GraysonPeddie]

With about 10 partitions, which is about 20 keypads (2 keypads per partition), you'll need two of Elk M1 Gold security systems for that and then connect 2 of the control panels to a central server for central security management. A relay from Elk 1's output 3 could be connected to any input zone in Elk 2, so if there's an alarm, you could have Elk 1 trigger an alarm for Elk 2, which will then set off the alarm for Elk 2... However, I don't think this would work if Elk 2's Output 3 gets connected to Elk 1's input zone, as I think this would cause a confusion for both of the systems--like an infinite loop, unless you set a "variable" for the rule to indicate if the alarm has occured... I'm thinking of something like this:

Elk 1 goes into alarm mode, turns on Output 3, which the relay will "open the circuit," and when connected to zone 1 of Elk 2 (as an example), will trigger a zone violation and then turns on Elk 2's Output 3, which then leads to Elk's 1 zone 1 and the violates also! So then, if a rule is setup so that Output 3 is already turned on, the rule will say "okay, you can forget about turning on Output 3, and you can stay open until the alarm stops." This serves as a confirmation that the Elk 2 causes an alarm as requested by Elk 1, which is toggled by Output 3.

I could create a diagram for the last paragraph, but if you can picture having 2 Elk security systems in your mind, I think you'll get the ideal.

Maybe there is a commercial-grade "business" security system that can support up to 16 partitions with 20 to 32 keypads? That's a lot, but maybe it'd be a good ideal to split the "main control panel" into two control panels?

I can't be of any help, so I'll let the others chime in and provide some answers for you. In my opinion, I really don't think this forum is geared toward businesses in need of a security system...

 

[stew]

Take a look at the Andover Continuum product (http://www.tac.com/Navigate?node=2901). We use it at work (data centers) to integrate Lighting, HVAC, Security, CCTV, etc. Pretty reasonable per seat cost and it's easy to maintain. Works well for multiple buildings and monitoring from a central point also.

Stew

 

[heffneil]

I still haven't made much progress. I realized I need 60 water sensors and 100 temperature sensors. I need 16 keypads, probably 25 motions, and 17 door sensors. The biggest problem besides have too many zones (over 200 if I have a humidity and temperature sensor) is the number of partitions. I really like the Omni (HAI) system and I am very capable of programming the system to active lighting contactors and other devices. Anyone know of an Omni or Elk like product that is highly programmable and highly scalable?

Neil

 

[Mike P]

Neil,

Where are you located? Sounds like you need an integration company. I deal with quite a few in the NY, NJ, & CT area.

Mike

 

[heffneil]

Neil,

Where are you located? Sounds like you need an integration company. I deal with quite a few in the NY, NJ, & CT area.

Mike

My building is in Newark Delaware.

Thanks,

Neil

 

[gatchel]

I also recommend dealing with an Integration company. The system is very large as far as alarm points, etc. If you want alarm, access control and CCTV all to play nice with each other you need someone who knows their stuff.

 

[Mike P]

Neil,

Try Security Servicies and Technologies(SST). They are located in Eatontown, NJ. I have not worked with them in a while, But I know they cover that area. You can also try Access Control Technologies (ACT) They are a little further north in Clifton, NJ. Also there is Ingersoll Rand Security Servicies (IR) They are located in Parsippany, NJ as well as other locations. You can Google them to get the contacts numbers. ACT is a smaller but more recommended company, But I am not sure if the will do Delaware. I do work with all three of these companys, They are all good.

Hope this helps you out.

Mike

 

[datanab]

Hi Neil,
If you feel like doing some of your own development, we have some low cost systems that can do everything that you are looking for, at least from a hardware standpoint. It would definitely take some work for you to develop the software to make it all work properly, but we've had a few customers do similar projects on their own in the past.
Specifically, our BarioNet controller can interface with up to 2 wiegand card access readers for the access control as well as tie into modbus i/o modules via RS485 for the temperature and humidity sensing. We have a number of low cost temperature sensors that can tie into the system as well as some nice options for humidity. You will be hardpressed to find a comparable solution for the same cost, but again, in order to create a total solution it will take some development time by you.
Regards,
Adam
DataNab.com