Background/Biography
Paul Paisley has been managing commercial real estate facilities since 2003 and has worked with some of the best-known companies in the industry including Lincoln Property Company, Hines, and Transwestern. Paul is currently the Chief Engineer of The Offices at Pin Oak Park, located at the gateway to the Texas Medical Center. Pin Oak is a 5 building medical office complex totaling 504,721 square feet.
How long have you been using CBAS?
I’ve been using Computrols off and on for the last 11 years. One of the buildings I managed previously had a failing DSC 8500 system that was slated to be replaced. We used Computrols there to replace plant controls, some of the floor controllers, and cooling tower operations.
When I started at Pin Oak, we had an old Andover system with start-stop control that was starting to fail beyond repair, and we are now in the process of converting all 5 buildings over to Computrols. We are doing the install with our in-house team and expect all of the buildings to be completed in the next year and a half. We also have plans to start using Computrols access control line as well.
What are your favorite features in CBAS and why?
The English-language programming logic is easily one of my favorite features because it allows us to do all of our programming in-house.
I also like that the system saves histories on all points, all the time. This is really helpful when it comes to optimizing the system and troubleshooting equipment.
Being able to do our own graphics programming has been great too. We’ve used some graphics from Computrols free graphics library and have created others on our own.
What kind of impact has CBAS had on your building from an energy consumption and/or operational standpoint?
Since switching over to Computrols, we have had a lot fewer tenant complaints as a result of having much tighter control of our HVAC system. Also, our previous system was pneumatic, so it’s been nice to have a DDC system in which we can get reliable data back without having to be in the field to take temperatures, etc.. We can also address issues like start failures remotely now.
From an energy-saving perspective, I think its too early to say but I suspect we’ll see some good results over the next year.
Are your employees more engaged with the system?
Very much so. They are pulling wire and helping terminate boards in the field right now. Before, they were scared to touch the system and would call me if anything needed to be done with the controls. Now, they are getting comfortable making adjustments on their own and becoming more knowledgable on how to navigate CBAS.
What do you see in the future of building automation?
I see artificial intelligence becoming a big deal in building automation. I think you’ll start to see smart systems that recognize when someone walks onto campus and automatically adjusts their AC and lighting to their preferences.
