Trend BEMS integrates with PSBP monitoring system in new school
The rebuilding of the Cavendish Close Junior School in a Derby suburb under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) includes a building management system from Trend Control System to maximise energy efficiency and help create optimum comfort for pupils and staff. According to The Carbon Trust, reducing energy consumption could help the average secondary school save £21 500 a year in energy bills.
Main contractor Bowmer & Kirkland called in Integrated BMS of Newark, and a Trend Technology Centre, to configure a control solution.
The BEMS was configured to manage and control all the plant and building services. Trend’s IQeco controllers were delivered to site, integrated within mechanical heat-recovery units supplied by Nuaire, a Trend OEM. The units are seamless integrated into Trend’s BEMS, with all the advantages this offers for optimised energy use.
IQeco devices communicate with wall-mounted control units in classrooms to provide fan-speed control, setpoint adjustment and CO2 monitoring so that fresh air can be introduced when needed.
Instead of using TRVs on radiators, the IQeco is configured with an output to enable a PICV (pressure-independent control valve) to control the radiators via the BEMS — which has the advantage of being tamperproof.
The system can be designed to sequence heat recovery and ventilation on just one system, rather than having two systems operating in conflict. This also provides night-time cooling and optimum start/stop functionality.
Once the system was operational, B&K needed to ensure it met the criteria specified in the facilities output specification document, which was generated by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
Integrated BMS had to find a way for the BEMS to deliver information to a pre-defined benchmarking system and generate information about the operation of the building. This would enable the EFA to ascertain how efficient it is in relation to the original design criteria and compare it to other schools.
Jason Harper, managing director of Integrated BMS, explains that the company was asked to integrate the BEMS with iSERV cmb, which has a database and analysis platform operated by the University of Cumbria. Information is collated regularly and e-mailed to iSERV cmb, which analyses it to devise a benchmarking system. The system was successful and is now used by seven other schools.
Richard Daniels, environmental engineer with the EFA, said, ‘This is the first school we know where the contractor has been able to use the energy-monitoring system specified in the PSBP output specification to validate the commissioning of meters and to get a good picture of the energy end uses in the building as part of the post-occupancy evaluation.’
