Having reviewed other building automation controls solutions from Delta Controls, Automated Logic, Alerton, and KMC Controls, in this article we do a deep dive and product review of the building control solution from Lynxspring.
Company Overview
Lynxspring is a prominent company specializing in building automation controls. With a rich history spanning over two decades, Lynxspring has established itself as a leader in the industry, consistently providing innovative solutions to meet the evolving market needs.
The company’s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is evident in its extensive product range and exceptional services.
Founded in 2001, Lynxspring has built a solid reputation for its expertise in building automation and energy management systems.
The company’s team of skilled professionals brings together years of experience and knowledge to deliver cutting-edge solutions that optimize energy efficiency, enhance operational performance, and improve occupant comfort. One of the key strengths of Lynxspring lies in its comprehensive suite of offerings.
They provide end-to-end solutions that cover all aspects of building automation controls. From hardware components like controllers, sensors, and meters to software applications for monitoring, analytics, and integration with other systems, Lynxspring offers a complete package to meet diverse customer requirements.
The company’s flagship product line includes the JENEsys® Edge™ Controllers, the backbone of their building automation controls known for their robustness, scalability, and flexibility.
With powerful processing capabilities and advanced networking capabilities like IP connectivity and wireless communication options, they enable seamless integration with various devices and systems within a building. To ensure seamless installation and operation of their products, Lynxspring also provides comprehensive training programs for technicians and system integrators.
These programs cover various aspects, including product knowledge, installation procedures, programming techniques, troubleshooting methodologies, and best practices for building system optimization.
Furthermore, Lynxspring maintains strong partnerships with leading manufacturers in the industry to offer customers an extensive portfolio of compatible products that seamlessly integrate with their building automation controls.
This collaborative approach ensures that customers can access an ecosystem of tried-and-tested devices that work harmoniously together. Lynxspring stands out as a reputable and reliable company in the building automation controls industry.
With a commitment to excellence, comprehensive offerings, and strong collaborative partnerships, they provide customers with innovative solutions that enhance energy efficiency, operational performance, indoor air quality, and overall occupant comfort. Whether for commercial buildings, K-12, Hospitals, Universities, government facilities, or multi-location retail clients, Lynxspring’s products and services continue to set the benchmark for the industry.
Solutions
Lynxspring offers a range of comprehensive solutions for building automation controls that cater to various industries and applications designed to streamline operations, enhance energy efficiency, and improve overall comfort and security within commercial buildings.
Let’s explore some of their key offerings:
Building Automation Controls System (BAS):
At the heart of Lynxspring’s solutions is their advanced Building Automation Control System (BAS).
This centralized platform enables facility managers to monitor and control various building systems from a single interface. The BAS integrates HVAC, lighting control, access control, fire safety, and other critical systems for seamless operation.
It provides real-time data analytics, allowing users to identify trends, optimize performance, and make informed decisions for energy management.
Energy Management:
Lynxspring understands the significance of energy management in today’s environmentally conscious world. Their solutions include robust energy management features that enable organizations to reduce consumption while maximizing efficiency.
With Lynxspring’s intelligent algorithms and automated controls, building operators can easily track energy usage patterns, identify potential areas of improvement, implement demand response strategies, and ultimately achieve cost savings.
Remote Monitoring and Maintenance:
In an increasingly remote working environment, remotely monitoring and maintaining building systems is crucial. Lynxspring offers cutting-edge remote monitoring capabilities that empower facility managers with unprecedented control over their assets from anywhere in the world via secure web-based interfaces or mobile applications, ensuring timely identification of issues or anomalies within the system while enabling prompt resolution through remote diagnostics or adjustments.
Integration Capabilities:
The interoperability of Lynxspring’s solutions truly sets them apart from competitors in the market. They embrace open protocols such as BACnet®, Modbus®, LonWorks®, and Haystack Tagging to seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure or third-party systems used by customers across diverse industries—eliminating compatibility concerns or vendor lock-in scenarios.
This flexibility allows organizations to leverage their current investments while expanding the capabilities and functionality of their building automation controls. Lynxspring offers a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to meet the specific needs of various industries and applications.
Their Building Automation System provides centralized control, real-time data analytics, and energy management features to enhance operational efficiency. The remote monitoring capabilities ensure constant vigilance and prompt maintenance from anywhere worldwide.
Their focus on integration capabilities also enables seamless compatibility with existing infrastructure or third-party systems. Overall, Lynxspring’s solutions provide organizations with the tools to optimize building performance, reduce energy consumption, and improve occupant comfort and safety.
Products:
Lynxspring offers an extensive range of cutting-edge building automation controls that cater to various needs and requirements. Their product line showcases a commitment to innovation, quality, and reliability.
Let’s delve into some of the notable products offered by Lynxspring:
Jenesys
JENEsys®, powered by the Niagara Framework®, is an open Building Operating System that streamlines all areas of the building’s environment – operations (HVAC, lighting, security), maintenance management, energy management, and facility usage and technology management and addresses these challenges by delivering a proven solution for interoperability and efficiency whether it is a small or large institution or campus environment.
JENEsys Edge
JENEsys Edge® is a portfolio of Niagara programmable and application-specific IP controllers and accompanying extension modules enabling IP connectivity, integration, interoperability, data access and control at the edge. The portfolio is ideal for any building and facility, including small to mid-sized facilities, multi-site environments, plant and equipment control such as air handling units, rooftop units, boilers, fan coil units, heat pumps, and more, and IoT applications requiring smart, edge technology.
ONYXX
Onyxx® is an embedded edge platform consisting of a family of modular, open hardware, bridges, and gateways supporting multiple devices across key market segments, edge-to-enterprise, and Cloud applications.
ONYXX LX
Onyxx LX™ is a modular, scalable portfolio of BACnet-enabled configurable ASC controllers, extension modules, and digital room sensors that deliver powerful control, connectivity, and visualization for buildings and facilities. They natively support the BACnet protocol straight out of the box and are BTL-certified across the portfolio.
E2E
E2E is Lynxspring’s IDL Cloud data management, visualization, and data storage platform that optimizes the operation and management of buildings within an enterprise and multi-site building environment portfolio. E2E seamlessly combines edge device-level connectivity, middleware integration, and Cloud-based data curation, tagging, normalization, exchange, and a central storage repository.
Ancillary Products and Applications
Ancillary Products & Applications In addition to Lynxspring’s comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions that have been company-developed, they offer a variety of ancillary products, accessories, and applications that are designed and tested to meet the demands of today’s environments. These include actuators, sensors, thermostats, VFDs, VAVs, meters, drivers, valves, power supplies, enclosures, touchscreen displays, sensors, and analytic and graphic applications such as SkySpark and Reflow.
Lynxspring Professional Services and Technical Support
Lynxspring’s combined support, technical, and professional services teams are highly experienced in supporting projects of all types and sizes globally, including financial, government, retail, commercial office buildings, critical facilities, and others. Their award-winning Technical Support team provides technical expertise and assistance for all the solutions and applications they offer. They have an extensive collection of knowledge, experience, and skills.
Training
Lynxspring provides complete training and support to all the technology, products, and solutions they offer, including Niagara certification, where they have been a Certified Accredited Niagara Training Center since 2007.
Project Haystack
Project Haystack Lynxspring is a founding member and a practitioner of Project Haystack, the open-source initiative defining a standardized way to interpret data that flows from building equipment and building automation systems.
Lynxspring and the Niagara Framework
The Niagara Framework is a powerful platform for operating and managing buildings and facilities. It provides a flexible and scalable infrastructure for connecting and integrating diverse equipment, devices, systems, and protocols into a unified framework. It is the most used platform within the built environment.
Lynxspring’s main product offerings are based and built on the Niagara Framework. Lynxspring is an authorized Tridium OEM and reseller of the Niagara Framework®.
They were one of Tridium’s very first partners and one of the original adopters and supporters of the Niagara Framework technology and JACE® controllers.
Over the years, they have been a constant contributor to the evolution of Niagara from R2 to AX to N4. (As an example, a JACE has 34 IO because Lynxspring had a customer that required it, and they worked with Tridium to make it part of a JACE’s standard feature set).
Today, Lynxspring is one of the largest providers of Niagara. They employ knowledgeable, experienced Niagara people, including in-house Niagara-certified technical and support teams, a fully staffed and experienced professional services team of Niagara software developers, application engineers, and project managers.
All their Niagara branded offerings (JENEsys®, JENEsys Edge®) utilize an open (NiCS) access licensing procedure, enabling these devices to be connected to and managed by any Niagara-based tools or systems without the need to modify the license.
Extending the Reach and Value of Niagara
In 2017, Lynxspring—under agreement with Tridium—extended Niagara’s functionality and reach by porting it onto an open hardware platform that was not a JACE but developed and manufactured by Lynxspring. As a result, they designed and brought to market JENEsys Edge®, a Niagara-based IP portfolio of programmable controllers that extends the defacto platform standard and its value to the building operating edge making Niagara ideal now for any building and facility including small to mid-sized facilities, multi-site environments; plant and equipment control such as air handling units, rooftop units, boilers, fan coil units, heat pumps, VAV, and more.
In addition, the development of JENEsys Edge has led the way to the industry’s first Niagara IP VAV controller, conforming to ASHRAE’s G36 Guidelines as well as the industry’s first Niagara IP Horizontal architecture and network topology, which enables faster, easier integration, and the addition of new devices easily.
Made in the USA, Controllers with the JENEsys Edge portfolio are on the GSA schedule and are eligible for accreditation under the federal Risk Management Framework (RMF).
Recent Additions
Onyxx LX
The company brought to market Onyxx® LX™, a product portfolio of BACnet® MS/TP, configurable controllers, smart thermostats, and digital room sensors, including built-in configuration tools, pre-built graphics, scheduling, and an accompanying user interface. Onyxx LX products adapt their control logic to meet the requirements of most terminal HVAC equipment, such as variable air volume systems, heat pumps, rooftop units, fan coil units, and small air handling units.
Lynxspring introduced the JENEsys® NSX, a new Niagara 4 Workstation & Automaton Supervisory Platform combining next-generation features and enhanced IT security that ensure ease of access while adhering to the highest security standards.
They expanded the Lynxspring E2E, their Cloud-based, independent data layer (IDL) and visualization platform for the collection, standardization, and exchange of building operational data from disparate systems into one data layer, allowing users to control systems through a single source of transparency and actionable insight.
Reviews:
“Lynxspring’s solutions have allowed us to work through any system type and installation process easily and effectively. The product and service consultation they provide helps our staff, customers, and third parties collectively achieve the desired outcomes. They are always prepared to add, adjust, and extend the abilities of their gateway to meet our customer needs. We have been working with Lynxspring for over eight years now and are happy to consider them as our future strategic partner given the tremendous value they bring to this relationship.”
“We have been a Lynxspring partner for over ten years now. We appreciate Lynxspring, their technical capabilities, and products, but most of all, the great, long-term relationship. Great products, great support, great partners!”
“Lynxspring provides us with a larger tool set and more flexibility. As a result, we have been better able to focus on retrofit and service opportunities. Also, we no longer “lose to Niagara” on bids for campus and government contracts thanks to Lynxspring’s JENEsys Edge Niagara-based controllers. We can now compete for those jobs.”
“We love the JENEsys Edge products and are dropping them into more and more projects through our great and growing partner network. When combined with our automated eBMS/HVAC application for Niagara 4, it is the killer app for controls, delivering the highest quality control strategy, graphics, histories, and more in one-fourth the time it takes for the traditional approach”.
“Lynxspring’s Technical Support] was very helpful in getting our issue resolved. We compounded a problem, and the whole team jumped in to get us back up and running on a VERY time-sensitive job. [Lynxspring] stayed engaged all the way from figuring out what our problem was to fixing it and what to do in the future. Can’t thank them enough”!
CONCLUSION
Lynxspring has established itself as a leading and trusted provider of smart building control solutions and services. With its 20-plus-year history, its drive for innovative technology and products, its knowledgeable, dedicated people, and inventive thinking, Lynxspring is not only making buildings and equipment smarter but is one of our industry’s leaders.
Through its end-to-end approach and robust enterprise-to-edge portfolio, the company offers technologies and solutions that support users in extracting insight, value, and outcomes from operational and workplace data. By providing technology, education, training, and marketing support, the company enables its partners and customers to take control of technology and make informed decisions.
In addition to its standardized enterprise building operation solution and automation control framework, Lynxspring provides connectivity, integration, interoperability, data sharing, and visibility for building systems and equipment.
On a personal note, I know Terry Swope, Marc Petock, and the rest of the team at Lynxspring, including many of the people in their dealer network. I have found them to be good, honest people. You can count on Lynxspring to deliver quality products, services, and outcomes, making Lynxspring a solid choice for a building automation controls solution.
Additional Resources:
How to Select a Building Automation Control System in 2023: Avoid Common Mistakes
The Future of Healthy Buildings: CO2 and Indoor Air Quality Monitoring
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