One of the most important services we offer to our Chicagoland commercial customers is the installation and maintenance of building automation systems (BAS). These controls give businesses an unprecedented amount of manipulation over multiple systems and devices—HVAC, lighting, security—providing a level of efficiency that was previously impossible.
Like any advanced technology, BAS has a life cycle. As technology advances, older building automation systems will become legacy platforms: outmoded and obsolete. A current point of concern for commercial facilities that use building automation is that the widespread AX versions of Niagara software, which is used in a variety of BAS including those from Lynxspring, Honeywell, and Johnson Controls, was listed as “End of Life” as of July 1, 2021. The last update was made back in Q1 2020, and now parts, licenses, and additional devices will no longer be available. We have a solution for customers who are using this legacy platform, which is a migration to the Niagara 4 platform from Tridium.
The JACE Platform
So what does this all mean? In order to integrate multiple systems and devices inside a commercial building, there must be a physical connection. JACE, which stands for Java Application Control Engine, is a controller that provides this connection. The JACE platform can link together many different proprietary networks to create a single unitary system—which is the purpose of building controls—and it can scale along with the growth and changes in a business.
A building that uses an obsolete JACE platform such as Niagra AX will no longer be able to create a unified architecture that improves building efficiency. To solve this problem, we can offer installation and migration to Niagra 4.
The Niagara 4
The Niagara 4 from Tridium is a building management system that uses an HTML framework to allow for the same level of connectivity between multiple devices from different manufacturers with separate protocols.
Niagara 4 improves upon previous JACE platforms: it can provide better comfort and energy savings, a number of powerful new functionalities, uses a comprehensive graphical toolset, connects to systems more quickly and easily, can extend to more devices to give you more visibility and control, and has the latest in cyber-security protections.
Call Us to Get Started
We know all this is quite technical, and maybe a bit overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Not when you have experts working with you to install and maintain the best BAS system for your commercial facility. When you need the best in building controls in Hillside, IL and the rest of Chicagoland, you can leave all the hard work to us.
If your building currently uses a legacy platform, we can provide you with a seamless migration to Niagara 4. Using Niagra 4 as your building management system gives you more options for scaling your business and improved building automation. We can install Niagara 4 for a wide range of business sizes, and we’re happy to answer all of your questions.
If you are unsure what version your system is running, call us and we can help you figure out what software version you’re on. If you’re using an open system, we’ll help you upgrade to the new Niagara 4 version.
We understand that a full migration of your BAS from one platform to another is intimidating, but our team is always up to the challenge. When we say “Hand it Off to Althoff,” we mean it: you can hand over your building automation control migration to us.
Talk to Althoff Industries, Inc. to learn more about your options for building control. Challenges accepted!