Birmingham City Council’s 1 Lancaster Circus building features a Schneider Electric intelligent BMS
Being able to extrapolate and analyse energy use data allows a building’s inhabitants to better
understand, reconfigure and improve their site’s energy usage and costs
Installation and maintenance There is a wide range of solutions available for buildings of all sizes. However, regardless of where a BMS or BEMS is being installed, it is important not to overcomplicate the system. ‘It’s imperative that contractors consider the size of the
estate or type of building that the system is being used in,’ advises Steve Harris, UK and Ireland sales director at Schneider Electric Buildings. ‘For example, a dynamic building, where its use will change over its lifecycle, needs products that are flexible and scalable. In addition, solutions must be adaptable so that the BMS isn’t limited in its development, and the use of the building is not restricted in the future.’
BMS and BEMS are not ‘fit and forget’ technologies
and they can only work to their full potential if correctly maintained. Steve Browning, marketing manager at Trend Controls, explains: ‘When a system is first commissioned, it is configured around an existing building layout and occupancy patterns. These can change over time and new layouts, repartitioning, and the addition or moving of equipment can lead to some areas being too warm or too cold – all of which has a massive effect on the way it operates. Therefore, if set points are not adjusted to compensate for these changes, it could easily lead to a BEMS that doesn’t do its job properly.’
Council facts
Schneider Electric has installed an intelligent BMS in Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) 1 Lancaster Circus property. The five-storey office block houses around 2,000 employees at any one time, working across various council services.
Schneider Electric, in conjunction with ECA member Dodd Group, completed a £550,000 total system overhaul, installing a brand new, energy- efficient, Andover Continuum BMS to control the building’s HVAC systems.
The new BMS allows the operating manager full control of the HVAC systems on every storey of the building. There are centralised plant rooms on the roof and in the basement areas containing the main heating, cooling and ventilation plant. The open- plan spaces are cooled by more than 70 chilled beams per floor, which are controlled in zones by the Continuum system, and the meeting rooms are cooled and heated by fan coil units (FCUs). Schneider Electric’s web based Energy Remote Monitoring (ERM) system is installed across a number of sites in the BCC estate, providing an aM&T system that provides the client with meter data and readings on a day+1 basis. Chris Bennett of Schneider Electric comments:
‘We were able to tailor the system to suit the needs of 1 Lancaster Circus, and the building environment is now far superior to what it was prior to modification, with the new system creating a light and fresh atmosphere.’
32 ECA Today July 2012
Check mate It is also crucial to regularly check the system hardware and components. Temperature sensors can deteriorate and fall outside their calibration accuracy, or simply become broken or damaged, while control dampers and valves can fail to function correctly due to age or wear. The other most common problems occur with temperature dead bands and the use of software that is out of date. Gary Dowsett, general manager and sales director for
ENER-G Controls, warns: ‘Ultimately, failure to address problems means that a BEMS no longer serves its intended purpose and is relegated to acting as a glorified time clock to start/stop the energy systems. Obviously, this means
Features and benefits
The key advantages of BMS and BEMS are: n Reduced energy costs and lower carbon emissions; n Good control of internal comfort conditions resulting in increased staff productivity; n Effective monitoring and targeting of energy consumption, which can be carried out centrally or remotely; n A graphical representation of plant operating conditions; n Improved plant reliability, performance and life expectancy; n Simple operation, with routine and repetitive functions programmed for automatic response; n Early detection of problems; n Flexible time scheduling of plant operation to meet site changes such as holidays; and n Better management through automatic alarm reporting, historical records and maintenance programmes.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72