A Building Automation System (BAS) helps you keep your facility comfortable and safe by controlling the heating, ventilation, lighting, alarms, security, and more. An unsupported legacy system limits your ability to manage an environment the way you want as it lacks today’s finer controls and technological advancements. To do more with your current BAS, consider an upgrade.
Moving to an open BAS, you can integrate the Barber-Colman equipment you already have and still get the benefits of smart controls, faster network speeds, and advanced analytics. In short, upgrading gives you more options to manage your building effectively and energy-efficiently.
Benefits Of Upgrading Barber-Colman Building Automation System
A Barber-Colman BAS is a legacy network that can function as a standalone system or as an auxiliary system. Either way, relying on a legacy network’s archaic speed and analytics limits your options. Similarly, outdated equipment—such as Barber-Colman controllers—makes facility management a challenge. Because spare parts are difficult (or impossible) to come by, eventually, the equipment won’t even communicate with the network.
A modern, open building automation system allows you to use equipment from multiple manufacturers. This upgrade also lets you optimize your management strategy with powerful analytics on the system’s front end.
Boost your level of equipment control with increased network capacity- Replace unsupported components to ensure future reliability
- Maximize energy savings with modern, customizable analytics
- Fully integrate your building automation with equipment from multiple manufacturers
Boost your level of equipment control with increased network capacityBarber-Colman Upgrade Options & Integrations
For many years, Barber-Colman’s Network 8000 (or N8K) was a reliable, functional BAS. Compared to today’s modern systems, however, the N8K is sluggish and cumbersome. As a legacy system, it is unsupported, as are the Barber-Colman controllers that communicate between the equipment and the network. Upgrading a Barber-Colman BAS to an open system gives you access to the latest building analytics, and it also means you won’t have to rely on obsolete technology.
Tridium is an open BAS, which means it works with equipment and controls from various manufacturers. The Tridium JACE controller can communicate with both the Barber-Colman Application Specific Device (ASD) and the Barber-Colman Global Control Module (GCM). An upgrade swaps the outdated Network 8000 interface with Tridium’s Niagara framework, and this switch allows facility managers to view/control building equipment from a convenient web-based portal rather than a fixed workstation.
The Barber-Colman ASD and GCM can also be upgraded using Distech’s EC-BOS controller. Like Tridium, Distech is an open BAS, which uses a front-end system called EC-NET—upgrading a Barber-Colman BAS to Distech lets you take advantage of Distech’s robust suite of analytics so that you can maximize performance and energy savings.
Barber-Colman Products We Can Upgrade:
- SIGNAL Graphical User Interface
- InVue user interface
- MicroZone II Area Controllers
Why Upgrade a Building Automation System?
Signs It’s Time To Upgrade Your Barber-Colman Building Control System
Keeping an aging BAS running is an exercise in frustration, as spare parts become more and more scarce. A legacy system like Barber-Colman is challenging to maintain, and it also lacks the intelligent control a modern system provides.
When you notice your automation system is slowing down, your equipment performance is degrading, or your analytics aren’t meeting your needs, it’s time to consider a BAS upgrade.
Poor Performance
The older your BAS gets, the more performance issues you’ll encounter. As a facility manager, a part of your job is to manage the overall efficiency of your building. With an outdated BAS, you may notice energy efficiency plateauing—or even decreasing. An upgraded BAS will give you precise control of your building’s systems along with the analytics needed to improve overall performance.
Increased Operational Needs
As your building evolves, grows, and changes, your BAS must adapt so it can provide the comfort and energy efficiency your tenants need.
A legacy Barber-Colman system has limited options for managing new building systems. Upgrading allows you to integrate different brands of equipment and gives you access to advanced software to tailor your building management solutions.
Obsolete Programming Language
Much like obsolete equipment, a BAS that uses an old programming language minimizes your choices. When your system is outdated, qualified technicians are frustrating to find, and, without an update, the latest advancements in facility management technology are outside of your reach.
System Memory Issues
To manage your facility effectively, you need to ensure your BAS has enough memory to keep up with reporting and control demands. A system with insufficient capacity will report errors and fail to handle valuable system add-ons. To manage your building with more success, consider updating.
Outdated Manufacturer
At MACC, we’re not affiliated with any single manufacturer, which means we can give you objective advice when it comes to BAS upgrades. We work with each client to determine the best facility solutions for their needs, and we’re committed to following up on our installations.
When your BAS manufacturer isn’t providing the support you want, we’d be glad to deliver the superior expertise you deserve.
Contact Us Today For Your Barber-Colman Upgrade
A Building Automation System should give a facility manager the control to maximize equipment performance and energy efficiency while keeping tenants comfortable and safe.
At MACC, we have experience upgrading a wide range of legacy BAS brands to open systems such as Tridium and J2 Innovations. As an authorized provider and installer of Barber-Colman, we help clients protect their investment and get the most out of their current BAS.
As we’re not tied to any one manufacturer, we offer objective advice when it comes to updating, upgrading, or replacing a BAS—ensuring you get the solution that works for you. If maintaining your BAS is increasingly frustrating, and its capabilities aren’t meeting your needs, it’s time to consider an upgrade.
Call MACC to find out how we work with you, applying modern BAS solutions alongside your Barber-Colman investment.
