Trend Control Systems - Museum Drives Down Energy Use And UPS
Protection For Collections
 Fitting
Trend variable speed drives on the air conditioning plant at the
Natural History Museum ’s Wandsworth storage facility has made it
possible to cut energy consumption at the site by over 30%..It has
also enabled much improved control of environmental conditions,
thereby aiding preservation of the large collections of specimens
that are held within the building. The high level of energy savings
has meant that the £100,000 spent on installing the drives and
making major changes to plant control strategy was recouped in just
16 months.
The Wandsworth site, which has a floor area of 13,500m 2 ,currently
provides storage for a variety of life and earth science
collections, including insects, animal skins and fossils. The
forty-year old building had previously been a stationery warehouse
and when the museum acquired it in the mid nineteen-nineties a major
refurbishment was carried out. This included the installation of
nine air-handling units to serve the individual stores, plus a Trend
building management system to control and monitor them and the
central boilers and chillers.
Unfortunately, the air handlers were oversized (the largest units
have 22kW and 18.5 kW fan motors)They are more suited to an office
building than an environment such as the Wandsworth store with its
very low staffing levels. And without speed control they used to run
flat out 24hrs a day. Also, owing to their design it was impossible
to control the fresh air intake; even with the dampers only slightly
open the power of the supply fans ensured that fresh air made up
some 20% of what the AHUs delivered to the space and this of course
had to be conditioned to the right temperature and humidity. To
achieve balance, a similar volume of conditioned air had to be
exhausted from the building, which was naturally highly wasteful of
energy.
It was also difficult to maintain stable conditions within the
stores, which meant the collections were put at risk. The
temperature has to be maintained below a certain level to prevent
pest infestation of the organic specimens.
Similarly, if the relative humidity gets too high, problems such as
mould growth or pyrite decay of fossil specimens may occur. Control
was especially problematic in the height of summer, when it was
often impossible to adequately cool and dehumidify the large volumes
of air being treated.
The only option in such cases was to turn the plant off. In a bid to
eliminate energy waste and provide the closely controlled
environment needed to protect the collections, the museum ’s Head of
Engineering Simon Tilleard devised a new operating strategy for the
AHUs ’
Trend IQ controllers. For the change in strategy to be implemented
it was necessary to fit variable speed drives on the supply and
extract fan motors of all nine air handlers. The drives, all of
which are from Trend ’s extensive NX range, were supplied and
installed by Energy Efficient Controls (EEC) Ltd, who also
reconfigured the controllers firmware.
Now, supply fan speed is controlled to maintain a slightly positive
pressure (2Pa) in the storage spaces. Crucially, the AHUs ’ export
ports have been permanently closed off; as a consequence the volume
of fresh air supplied is only what is needed to compensate for air
leakage through the building fabric and hold the differential
pressure. However, it is still more than enough for the few staff
working in the storage areas. If temperature and/or RH levels start
to go out of tolerance the recirculation dampers are modulated open,
causing supply fan speed to increase and more conditioned air to be
delivered to the space. Should this not restore conditions then the
extract fan is brought on to boost recirculation.
In practice the extract fans now hardly run at all, only really
being needed during the summer months. Most of the supply fans
generally operate at 30-50% of full speed, which owing to the cube
law relationship between motor speed and power consumption is
equivalent to an electricity saving of around 90% or more. Those
fans serving the smaller stores will often tick over at just 10% of
maximum.
There have also been appreciable power savings on the chillers, less
chilled water being needed for cooling and dehumidification owing to
the much lower fresh air volumes passing through the air handlers.
Since the latter ’s demand for hot water has fallen significantly as
well – both for heating in the winter and dehum in summer – there
has been a major reduction too in boiler gas consumption.
In the 12 months following the drives ’ installation, electricity
and gas usage fell by 30% (689 MWh)and 38% (754 MWh) respectively –
equivalent to a financial saving of £74,175.
The figures would have been even more impressive had it not been for
some 60 staff moving into the site ’s previously empty office area
at the start of this period. This meant that the offices had to be
heated (to 21 ºC, rather than 12 ºC) and also resulted in a
significant increase
in the building ’s lighting load. The storage areas are now
controlled to 15-17 ºC and 35-50% RH, all year round. Even during
last summer, when the outside air temperature reached 36 ºC,
conditions were always kept within these limits. In the past this
would have been completely unachievable.
According to Simon Tilleard: “Previously it was the air handling
units that posed the greatest risk to the collections. We knew the
solution lay in being able to limit fresh air volumes. The
particular way we have chosen to achieve this has not only resulted
in very stable control and allowed us to set strict environmental
conditions that are conducive to preservation, but has also led to a
substantial reduction in running costs.”
The Trend NX variable speed drives that are at the heart of the
solution connect directly to the BMS communications network, also
linked to which are the IQ controllers that automatically regulate
their output.
Because they are connected to the network, the drives can all be
managed and monitored from the BMS ’s supervisor, rather than this
having to be done through their local displays. This makes life a
lot easier for the site ’s maintenance technician. Up to 30
variables can be monitored, including motor status, speed, power,
current, torque and hours run.
Simon Tilleard is able to remotely access the Wandsworth system and
drives via the Natural History Museum ’s intranet. He is based at
the museum ’s main site in South Kensington, which also features a
Trend BMS. Much of this very large system was supplied and
engineered by EEC.
Email:
energysavings6@trendcontrols.com
Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams Architectual design, development and planning
News 250208
Derwent CCTV Infrared numberplate capture solutions News 250208
The Heat Project Grant assistance loft cavity wall insulation News 250208
Townsend Timber Timber buildings and structures News 250208
Ecobuild 2008 Sustainable design construction the built environment News
250208
HygroMatik Commercial air humidifier systems News 250208
SAS International Ceiling Systems ceiling panels tiles News 250208
Metalex
Roofing Metal Roofing News 250208
CMS Vibrations Anti-vibration and structural isolation News 250208
Ward Insulated Panels Metal Roof Cladding Systems News 250208
Chartered Institute of Building Building Control and Standards News 250208
Hamptons International Portfolio UK and international property solutions News
250208
ISG Jackson Construction Services Specialists New Builds News 250208
GVA Grimley
Property consultants News 250208
Actionair Dampers Actuators Controls Fan Coils News 260208
Polyflor Sports Surfaces Safety Flooring News 260208
AmbiRad
Radiant tube heating systems News 260208
Levolux Solar Shading External Louvres News 270208
Kingspan Off-Site Timber Frame Systems Engineered Flooring News 270208
Kronospan Wood
based panels News 270208
Raven Audley Court Providers of retirement communites News 270208
Bachy Soletanche Geotechnical Specialists Structural Retaining Walls News
270208
Wallgate ltd Toilet washroom systems secure environments News 270208
ISG Jackson Construction Services Specialists New Builds News 270208
Modern Building Services Journal for Building Services industry News 270208
Firstlight Energy Solar heating systems News 270208
Marshall-Tufflex Cable management product News 270208
Knauf Drywall Plasterboards Plasters Drylining Wall Linings News 270208
Ardex Screeds Renders Ceramic Adhesives Grouts News 270208
Underwood Carpenter Project and Construction Management Company News 270208
Excel Fibre Technology Fibre products construction road quarrying industries
News 270208
Eurofox Engineering Rainscreen cladding support systems News 270208
University Partnerships Programme Development university student residential
accommodation News 270208
Comar Architectural Aluminium Systems Curtain Walling Metal Cladding Facades
News 030308
CIOB
Building Control and Standards News 030308
Andrews Water Heaters Boilers Water Heaters Water Heaters News 030308
Potterton Commercial Boilers Water Heaters Boilers Packaged News 030308
Cistermiser Hydraulic Flush Control Valve News 030308
Tyco Thermal Controls Heat Tracing Specialty Heating News 030308
Hilldrith Interiors Granit Kitchen Top Corian Kitchen Top News 030308
ISG Construction Services Specialists New Builds News 030308
Kawneer Curtain Wall Systems Door systems News 030308
Wavin Plastics Rainwater Disposal Roof Floor Linear Drainage News 030308
Smoke Control Services Smoke control Ventilation solutions News 030308
Floorstyle
08 Trade Flooring Show News 030308
LSI Architects Architecture planing and development News 030308
Smoke Control Services Smoke control Ventilation solutions News 030308-2
Crouch Butler Architects planning and design News 030308
Saint-Gobain Isover Thermal Insulation Acoustic Insulation News 030308
SSQ Roofing Slates
Tiles News 030308
Smoke Control Services Smoke control Ventilation solutions News 030308-3
Marshall-Tufflex Rainwater Disposal Roof Floor Linear Drainage News 040308
Actionair Dampers Actuators Controls Fan Coils News 040308
Carrier Air Conditioning Systems Chilled Beams Splits News 050308
Faithful+Gould Quantity surveying services News 050308
Britannia Kitchen Extract Ceilings Canopies News 050308
Portakabin Modular building supplier News 050308
Ward Insulated Panels Metal Roof Cladding Systems News 050308
HLW London Architects interiors furniture product designers News 050308
Hanson Building Products Blocks Thermal Loadbearing Brick Cladding News 050307
Hanson Blocks Thermal Loadbearing Brick Cladding News 050308
Polyflor Sports Surfaces Safety Flooring News 050308
Kier Homes
Residential Developers News 050308
Timeless Tube Specialist profile tube handrails News 050308
Marley Eternit Roofing Clay Tiles Concerete Tiles Slates News 050308
T.I. Dynamic Facades Internal cladding materials News 050308
BLUCHER Rainwater Drainage disposal gullies gratings News 050308
Space Airconditioning Air Conditioning Systems Chilled Beams Splits News
060308
Lumitron Lighting Designer Supplier Manufacturer of Luminaires News 060308
Trend Control Systems BMS Motor Control Centres Digital News 060308
HKR Architects International architecture and design News 060308
Viessmann Geothermal Solar Heating Boilers Packaged News 070308
Kier Homes
Residential Developers News 070308
Screwfix Lighting Workwear Plumbing Security Abrasives News 070308
4urban Property Development Renovation News 070308
Carrier Air Conditioning Air Conditioning Systems Chilled Beams Splits News
070308
Chubb CCTV Access
Control News 070308
Faithful+Gould Construction and development News 070308
Trend Control Systems Dampers Actuators Controls News 070308
Trend Control Systems Dampers Actuators Controls News 070308-2
Arundel Jones Associates LLP Registered in England and Wales No.
OC330189
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME 17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
email
copyright all rights reserved
News Categories : BMS Motor Control Centres
Digital Facilities Management
Dampers Actuators Controls
Invertor Drives Controls Motors
Variable Speed Drives
|
BMS
Motor Control Centres Digital Facilities Management 
