Analog Devices (ADI) and Honeywell are using digital technologies to upgrade building networks without replacing existing wiring, reducing costs, waste, and downtime for building management systems.

Analog Devices (ADI) and Honeywell announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at CES 2024 to explore digital transformation by upgrading existing wiring in commercial buildings with digital connectivity technologies instead of replacing them, thereby reducing costs, waste and downtime.

This strategic partnership will see the new technology first applied to building management systems.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), many commercial buildings in the United States are older and less efficient, many of them built before 2000. Additionally, as enterprises use networking technologies to transmit ever-increasing amounts of data, the demand for cloud storage and processing speeds is rapidly increasing.

Digitizing building management systems allows managers to make real-time decisions to reduce energy consumption and upgrade the building’s network performance and security to the latest Internet Protocol networks without incurring significant costs or remodeling.

“ADI and Honeywell have worked together for more than a decade to drive next-generation innovation,” said Martin Cotter, senior vice president, Industrial and Multimarket, Analog Devices, and president, ADI EMEA. “We are excited to expand this next phase of our collaboration by extending these ADI technologies beyond factory automation into Honeywell’s building management systems to help customers reduce energy consumption in their buildings to save costs, improve resiliency and achieve their carbon reduction goals.”

“Honeywell is transforming building management systems to help building owners solve today’s biggest challenges,” said Suresh Venkatarayalu, chief technology officer at Honeywell. “Our collaboration with ADI enables building owners to upgrade and improve cabling without significant up-front investment, and with reduced human and environmental impacts.”

Honeywell plans to adopt ADI's Single Pair Ethernet (T1L) and Software Configurable Input/Output (SWIO) solutions for its building management system.

ADI's single-pair Ethernet enables long-distance Ethernet connections by reusing a building's existing wiring, reducing installation time, costs, and waste.

Single pair Ethernet complements existing Ethernet connections in building management systems, providing improved connectivity from the edge to the cloud, eliminating data islands and enabling more efficient asset utilization.

ADI solutions also enable Honeywell to reduce product complexity by building a single version of a product that can meet diverse requirements, enabling more future-proof control and automation as buildings are remodeled or requirements change.

These features help customers install products faster, reduce inventory needs, and make changes easier and more economical.