The Energyst - Maldron Hotel - July 2015
- 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and function rooms, as well as the restaurant and kitchen areas, the existing control panels were manually operated and outdated.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;