BSEE
The specificaon of ecient sensors as part of a smart building has never been more important than it is now. As a result of the connuing pandemic – and of course, the exisng focus on energy eciency in buildings – facilies managers and asset owners are finding their tasks have doubled even though their duty to quickly respond to a building’s performance has remained unchanged. Stacey Lucas, commercial and markeng director at smart sensor supplier, Sontay highlights how building sensors and CO2 monitoring ensure the perfect environment for occupants can be achieved.
has enhanced the demand even further. Many members of the general public are now more attuned to aspects such as indoor air quality – an area that, arguably, pre-Covid was simply the stuff of building services engineers, sustainability consultants and the like. The appetite for solutions that guarantee occupant health and wellbeing is always going to become larger, especially in commercial spaces. These buildings need to be Covid-secure and ready for when UK workers steadily begin their return to their offices. Consequently, there must be the measures in place to ensure these environments are safe for all.
T
Enter the army of sensing devices
Building sensors installed as part of an efficient building management system (BMS), offer an ingeniously effective way of remotely monitoring indoor conditions. Measuring key criteria such as relative humidity, CO2 and air quality offers vital information on the likelihood of viral transmission in the indoor environment, which is encouraging given many employees will return to offices over the next year or so. These self-managing devices are constantly monitoring and updating information. If they detect any issues, they simply instruct the BMS to increase ventilation, for instance, to return an environment to its optimum conditions.
They help control a myriad of elements that contribute to a healthy indoor setting including temperature, which in relation to an office environment is found to be around 22°C. Relative humidity, if not managed correctly can make a room feel hotter or colder than the actual temperature reading. It can increase the likelihood of bacterial spread at lower levels. A sensor can help overcome these issues by monitoring humidity levels to ensure an ideal 50% reading is maintained. Furthermore, as sensors are
he need for buildings that assure occupant comfort and wellbeing has always been a priority; yet the
coronavirus pandemic
consistently providing up-to-date, real-time data on building performance, they ensure a space functions as efficiently as possible. Their usage could be a factor in driving environmental-initiatives, such as the UK government’s pledge for carbon-neutral status by 2050.
The CO2 sensor The COVID-19 pandemic has
focused a lot of attention on the amount of indoor space people should be allowed to share in order to maintain distance and prevent viral spread. As office workers begin to return to the workplace, sensors that measure CO2 levels will be highly beneficial.
A CO2 sensor provides a clear visual indication of when a workplace requires ventilation due to deterioration in the indoor air quality. When we exhale, we emit CO2, which if left unchecked in a busy office environment, can lead to headaches due to increased discomfort levels. A CO2 sensor with an LED traffic light-style display helps alleviate this issue. When showing green, the sensor is indicating that a room isn’t over-occupied and the risk to air quality is low. Should the sensor show amber, it’s a sign that windows require opening or fewer people need to be in the room to maintain the same healthy indoor environment. When the sensor turns red it is a call to action, as it indicates there is not enough ventilation in the room. At the amber and red stages, if a sensor is connected to a building
management system, it will activate relevant ventilation.
Excess CO2 levels as detected by a sensor can signify that a space is over-occupied. This reading may imply that people need to move to another space and also keep two metres apart. Not only do CO2 sensors activate relevant ventilation therefore, they serve as a visual indication of whether a space is of optimum safety and comfort for occupants.
Case study DAERA Sontay joined forces with system
integrator, Standard Control Systems to deliver a state-of-the-art building management system for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) new headquarters in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland. Hamilton Architects was appointed to design the new HQ, and followed the Government Office Specification and Workplace NI Design Informative in preparing layouts. The designs accounted for spatial arrangements in terms of circulation, allowances for services and infrastructure for expansion. The award-winning building is around 5,000m² and features some of the most innovative control techniques available. When it came to the BMS, there were some important factors that needed to be considered. Firstly, the system had to work with the natural ventilation within the building and secondly, it had to be an advanced and future-
26 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2021 Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Specification of CO2 monitoring critical for occupant wellbeing
proof solution. As a result, Standard Control Systems installed a Trend BMS with a number of Sontay sensors playing an integral role.
“This was an impressive project with ambitious goals when it came to the design and functionality of the BMS system,” comments William Quinn, Associate Director at Standard Controls Systems. “The environment and requirement to bring the outside inside through natural ventilation was key. As such we needed to be able to closely monitor the environmental conditions both inside and outside. We selected a range of Sontay sensors that could help us do that.” Standard Control Systems specified a variety of sensors including Sontay’s SC1000 CO2 Smart Communication Space Sensors. The Smart Communication Sensor range combines smart connectivity with intelligent sensing. The sensors are tailored to suit any application and offer complete environmental
sensing within a single unit. For added control, end-users can choose to have the collected data communicated through Modbus RTU or BACnet MS/TP. On this particular project, Standard Control Systems installed the BACnet CO2 smart sensors to monitor the internal conditions. The presence of these sensors will ensure the spaces occupants work in are always of optimum comfort.
Small but mighty, CO2 sensors are ensuring our places of work are safe, sustainable and comfortable. Their specification will grow as the UK workforce returns to office spaces over the next year or so. Smart sensors are like the extra pair of hands we thought we’d need; they look out for us when we’re in the office, and look out for the office when we’re at home. They are becoming ever more vital to the way we work now and most importantly, in the future.
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
