Belimo devices can be found in a wide range of building applications across the globe – silently and reliably helping to improve occupant comfort and reduce energy consumption through HVAC system optimization. In recent years, advancements in IoT and digitalization have allowed these devices to become “smarter” by generating valuable data that can be used by building owners and managers to continuously improve system performance. Several Belimo devices available today have built-in capabilities that enable this data to be pushed to the Belimo Cloud where it can be stored and viewed by technicians and personnel tasked with managing building systems. Some examples of these devices include those with Ethernet interfaces, like the Energy Valve and -IP actuators. They also include devices with NFC communication capabilities, like the 6-way Electronic Pressure Independent Valve (ePIV), PR actuators, and the new line of airflow control actuators.
Once data is in the cloud, the question then becomes how it can be used to generate value for the device end-user. A building owner or manager might have data from hundreds of Belimo devices sitting on our secure cloud servers, but hasn't yet found a way to put this data to beneficial use. Belimo realizes the best people suited to extract value from this data are innovators in the automation and analytics space. Rather than build our suite of tools, we have developed a world-class API to allow developers to create custom systems and services that will enable them to extract maximum value from their data. The Belimo Cloud developer space provides documentation, examples, and support. We currently support two different developers that have built connectors to extremely popular ecosystems: SkySpark® and NodeRed.
The SkySpark connector is available on StackHub and is published and supported by Fantom Factory. If you are a SkySpark developer or user and your buildings have cloud-connected Energy Valves, you owe it to yourself to check this out. Historical and real-time data collected in the Belimo Cloud can effortlessly integrate with your Folio database. You can even push optimize setpoints based on your algorithms back down into a device, using the Belimo Cloud as a secure conduit. This free add-on to SkySpark is available at https://stackhub.org/package/afBelimoCloudExt. You can find a detailed description and quick start guide at https://www.belimo.com/en_US/iot/developers/skysparkexample.html