1. BUILDING CONTROLS
Automatic savinas
A Northern Ireland hotel Is among a growing number of facilities to leverage the benefits of
Priva's Blue ID building automation solution. The simple to install easy-to-use system has helped
generate impressive electricity savings of £10.489 in Its first three months of operation
Located within the
historic walls of Derry,
Northern Ireland's
second largest citj',
die Maldron Hotel is a 90-
room facilit}' widi restaurant,
bar and grill, 300-delegate
conference theatre, banqueting
suite, mini gjm and sauna.
Like a growing number in its
industry, the hotel wanted to
update its existing boiler house
and AHU control panels to the
latest technolog)', a move that
would help drive considerable
energy efficiencies.
The hotel's owners engaged
the help of building serNices
consultant Beers Engineering
and M&E contractor Pipeline
Services Belfast to provide
the strateg}' and solution to
meet the project objectives.
First choice solution
Serang the bar and function
rooms, as well as the restaurant
and kitchen areas, the existing
control panels were manually
operated and outdated. To turn
the hotel's dsion mto reality,
ACS Controls, a specialist in the
configuration and installation
of energy management systems
were engaged to deliver
the controls strategy. The
building automation system of
choice at ACS is Priva's Blue
ID, an innovative, modular
solution that is quick and
easy to install and program.
ACS Controls has a proven
track record in identifying
competitive solutions to energ}^
management by looking at a
building tiirough the eyes of
the occupier and tailoring the
desired level of controls around
the end user's requirements.
The company deemed Maldron
Hotel Deny was ideal for Blue
All front office staff inaveaccess
to the controls and can easily
operate the heating, ventilation
and hot water
ID, which has been developed
in accordance with the 'best
fit' principle. Thanks to its
modularity, Priva Blue ID is
suitable for every application,
from a small hotel to a large
hospital, and from a university
complex to a data centre.
Priva Blue ID hardware
consists of a base on which
indiidual functional modules,
containing all mission-critical
components, can be installed.
The wiring takes place on
the base, which is robust
and insensitive to failures.
Easy access
ACS designed the front
end controls system with
'non-engineers' in mind,
making them simple to use
by all front-of-house staff.
In fact. Blue ID requires no
more than a computer with
an internet connection and
a standard browser. The
browser provides access to a
web ser'er in each controller
Although each controller has
its owTi IP address, access
to one controller provides
access to all others —
unlike other systems w^hich
require each controller to
be accessed indiidually.
The software provides a
complete oveniew of die
sj'stem's status, alloving users
to analyse the behaiour of
the buildmg. For example,
the effects of a particular
setting of indoor temperature
can be examined —as can
die relation between indoor
and outdoor temperature.
"The system was designed
in such a way that all front
office staff have access to die
controls and can easily operate
the heating, ventilation and
hot water," states Mike Gatt,
general manager at Maldron
Hotel Deny. "This allows
us to maintain operating
levels where required and,
importantiy, proides the
option to sitch off energy
to areas witiiin the hotel
when they are not needed.
Historically, diese areas
would have been served by
systems running excess to
requirement. Since installation,
we have seen significant
reductions in energ)' bills."
Following installation, the
first three months showed diat
electricity consumption at the
hotel had reduced by 76,007
kVh compared with the same
period in the preious year. In
financial terms, this equates
to a saing of £10,489.
"The new equipment
establishes best practice at
the hotel in terms of relating
energy' consumption to
occupancy and reliability of
supply," says Mr Gatt. "The
fact that this was achieved
with die project fiilly funded
by the Carbon Trust Interest
Free Loan Scheme is a
testament to the technology's
potential in terms of cost and
environmental savings."
Mr Gatt confirms tiiat the
hotel is on track to achieve
a project payback of less
than four years, with an
emironmental saing of
320 TC02e per annum.
"This is tremendous
performance given the level
of capital investment involv
and establishes a terrific
platform upon which the
business can trade for the
15 years," he concludes, te
priva.
44 June/July 2015 theenergysi;