A new €25 million primary care centre (PCC) in Mallow, County Cork, which is set to open in January 2010 features natural ventilation and an automated window control system from WindowMaster.

The new 30,000 sq ft contemporary primary care facility amalgamates three existing town centre GP practices into one building. It also integrates accommodation for the Health Services Executive including primary care clinical support services, administration and staff facilities.

Design consultancy and project management services on the project were provided by PM Group and architects Devereux, which is part of the PM Group. The centre is set to offer a comprehensive array of services and is the first and the largest of 200 similar centres planned under the Irish government’s Health Strategy.

WindowMaster is supplying the window control system for the natural ventilation solution which includes 120 motors controlling the windows in 94 different zones throughout the centre. Six of the zones have controlling fans but the rest of the installation uses purely natural ventilation.

Peter Connolly, regional sales manager for WindowMaster in Ireland, explained: “The Mallow Primary Care Centre was developed and constructed by Castlelands  Construction and John Sisk & Son Ltd (www.sisk.ie). WindowMaster was selected because we were able to provide a versatile automatic window and control system.

“There is a vast variety of uses for the areas we are controlling within the centre including GP offices, treatment rooms, meeting rooms and wards. Each had a specific set of challenges that needed to be addressed in the design.

“We were able to supply and install the complete system including the actuators, the power supplies and the interfaces to ensure that it met the design criteria set down by the engineers, RN Murphy ”

WindowMaster, Europe’s largest provider of natural comfort and smoke ventilation solutions, was also chosen to provide the window automation system for Mallow PCC because of its ability to provide a complete installation, in particular the central computer control system. In addition, the installation includes motors, window actuators, various sensors and a weather station.

The control system understands and knows how the wind speed and direction on all façades will influence the airflow through the windows on each level and location in the façade. WindowMaster determines the Cp values (pressure coefficients) individually for each window by calculating the relevant air pressures from different wind speeds and directions.

WindowMaster carries out computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations for 16 wind directions for the specific building and its surroundings. Based on the calculations the Cp values are determined and programmed into the control system, which enables the precise control of the individual windows resulting in an optimal indoor climate. Therefore, each zone must operate independently of the others according to the specific external conditions relevant to those windows and the internal environment.

In addition, WindowMaster’s NV Advance™ window automation system is the only system in Europe that intelligently monitors windows to prevent entrapment as an integrated function of the motor and control system.

If an object becomes trapped in a window and prevents it from closing the amount of current drawn by the motor instantly increases. This is detected by the microprocessor which immediately reverses the motor to release the window, therefore reducing the possibility of serious injury.

The system can be retrofitted on many existing windows as well as being installed on new buildings. It can operate on a broad range of window types, including top and bottom opening, sliding and parallel opening. The system can also be used on windows for heat and smoke ventilation.

Email: johnh@smye-holland.com