Technology
can take hold in an enclosed environment, particularly respiratory illnesses. Poor ventilation can increase the concentration of airborne pathogens, leading to higher infection rates among both residents and staff. A BMS which automatically controls ventilation levels, along with air filtration systems and regular cleaning, can all help to significantly reduce airborne contaminants and improve overall hygiene.
Scalable solutions
BMS and controllers are scalable right down to units which have only a small number of input and output connections but still deliver powerful control solutions. One of the few benefits of the current high energy costs is that it has brought a focus for everybody on how energy savings can be made. This feeds into the concept of the smart building and helps to foster the realisation that it is not confined to huge skyscrapers but is also relevant to the many smaller facilities, including care homes, that make up a significant proportion of the total building stock.
So, what controls need to be put in place
to effectively manage and automate a care home’s indoor environment? As with any building, there are different levels of control available, from basic entry-level systems through which management is based on room demand right through to systems which effectively automate the whole building operation – heating, lighting, air conditioning, cooling, shade control, and door and window technology. These can all be networked to communicate with each other to enable central control through intelligent BMS.
Energy efficiency has been (and still 28
Digital transformation is one of the main drivers in the development of smart buildings
is) a key driver for BMS. The BACS Energy Performance Classes in the EN ISO 52120- 1 standard provide a guideline for the strategies which can be adopted through a demand/control based system. It ranges from the inefficiencies of Class D through to the highest performance represented by Class A. By raising a building’s performance from Class C to Class A, for example, energy savings of up to 30 per cent can be achieved just by improving the design and implementation of a control system.
Energy efficiency versus wellbeing One of the major advances made in improving the energy efficiency of buildings has, however, actually worked against their performance in terms of occupant wellbeing. Older buildings were typically well ventilated whereas new buildings are designed to be practically airtight. While this certainly improves energy optimisation, a consequence is that fresh air is no longer getting into buildings. The air quality in a building can therefore suffer, with more CO2
an increase in pollutants. This has raised the profile of how control systems can be managed, not only to improve energy efficiency but also to deliver better health for those that are using them.
There are essentially nine foundations to a healthy building: ventilation, air quality,
thermal comfort, moisture/humidity, dust/ pests, lighting and views, water quality, noise, and safety and security. In terms of monitoring and control,
firstly you need to be able to measure the values and then you need to be able to put controls in place. This is where effective BMS come in which are central to pursuing a green building certification (examples are Well V1, Reset, LBC, Fitwel and LEED). In its simplest form this can be just ventilation control, monitoring and adjusting temperature for example. The next stage is demand controlled ventilation (CO2
-based), which improves air quality
and saves energy. Even more effective is demand controlled ventilation with active filtering which introduces more fresh air by dynamically analysing the outside air conditions, creating accurate air pressure drop control, generating the same amount of air and filtering out PM2.5s but using less energy to do so.
, higher humidity and
Off-site monitoring and control With the shift towards a more holistic approach to managing a building in terms of its active contribution to the wellbeing of its users, so the need for connectivity of the sensors and control devices is becoming ever more important. Solutions are now available which allow daily building management tasks to be undertaken from one place via a cloud-based interface with no additional gateway or software. Alarm notifications for potential issues as well as graphics that visualise historical trends can provide meaningful insights into the building performance at any time, supporting the optimisation of building operations. This move towards cloud-based
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com July 2025
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