17-WindowMaster Natural ventilation and smoke detection solutions News 300408

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WINDOWMASTER INSTALLS FIRST BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A new head office designed and built for the VKR Group near Copenhagen in Denmark is the first to incorporate a complete building management system designed and installed by WindowMaster.

WindowMaster, Europe's largest provider of natural ventilation and smoke detection solutions, has installed the web-based management system called NV VisualT to complement its NV AdvanceT control system.

The 5,000 m2 VKR building is environmentally friendly with low energy consumption and is constructed using sustainable building materials.

The yearly energy consumption of the building is calculated to be 58 kWh per m2, well below the latest Danish building codes which prescribe a maximum 97.5 kWh per m2. This has been achieved by implementing demand driven lighting, heating and ventilation systems using natural ventilation in combination with a thermal solar power plant situated on the roof of the building and a rain water recycling system.

The whole system is managed by WindowMaster's NV VisualT system. It enables the building's systems to be monitored and operated from a PC using a standard Internet Explorer web browser.

Information about the automatic control of the building's heating and ventilation systems is stored on a web server. More than 20,000 separate signals are included in the system. Actual values and historical data can be retrieved and set points changed.

Users can also connect to and manage the system remotely via a control virtual private network (VPN) connection to the visualisation system. In addition, spoken voice and SMS alarms can be transmitted to staff monitoring the building's systems.

Natural ventilation is provided by WindowMaster's ventilation system which interfaces with Windcatcher systems supplied by Monodraught - a sister company of WindowMaster. The Windcatchers are mounted on the roof of the building and capture prevailing wind travelling from any direction, then direct it through a controlled damper arrangement into rooms below.

An exterior weather station monitors external conditions, including wind direction and speed, temperature and rain fall. Changes in wind pressure on the facades are modelled and programmed into the computer control system where they are analysed along with readings taken from the weather station and sensors fitted internally that check temperature, CO2 and room occupancy. Windows around the building equipped with electric motors are then precisely controlled and positioned to keep air quality within rooms fresh and the temperature constant.

The communal areas such as meeting rooms and kitchen and staff rest areas incorporate a controlled natural ventilation system combined with mechanical ventilation. Air exchange rates are calculated based on actual room temperature and CO2 levels. Natural ventilation takes priority in order to keep energy consumption as low as possible. The building has 40 per cent lower CO2 emissions using natural ventilation than it would using a mechanical ventilation system alone.

Email: mikeh@smye-holland.com