SE Controls delivers comfort and safety for new hospital building

SE controls, smoke ventilation, ventilation
A combined smoke and natural ventilation solution has been created for this new hospital building by SE Controls.

A combined smoke and natural-ventilation system from SE Controls is helping to create a comfortable and safe environment for patients, visitors and staff at Salford Royal Hospital’s new £90 million Hope Building. The 5-storey building houses a new A&E department, as well as providing 242 beds, emergency assessment unit and critical care facilities.

SE Controls developed the fire-engineered solution for smoke and natural ventilation around the original fire specification and worked closely with the consultants to create an effective and reliable system that maximises comfort, safety and energy efficiency by linking to the BMS and separate fire-alarm system.

The smoke and natural ventilation system is split into two zones to maximise control over temperature and ventilation needs in the concourse and atrium areas by using louvres, roof vents and atrium vents controlled by the BMS.

In normal operation, local sensors supply information about changing temperatures to the BMS, which manages the proportional opening and closing of vents and louvres to control temperatures and ensure the building has a constant flow of fresh air.

The system closes vents in the event of high winds or rain.

The fire-alarm system can over-ride the BMS to open vents and louvres fully to create a smoke-free escape route and access for fire services.

To minimise false alarms, an alarm from a manual call point or single smoke detector requires a confirmation signal from the aspirator monitoring system. If the aspiration system detects a fault, no confirmation signal is required to activate the smoke ventilation if triggered manually or by a smoke detector.

Fail-safe back-up is provided by a monitored battery system and a further supply from the hospital’s secondary power system.

For more information on this story, click here: Jan 2012, 135
Related links:
Related articles:



modbs tv logo

New Sustainability Director for Wates Group

Wates Group, a family-owned development, building and property maintenance company, has appointed Cressida Curtis as its new Group Sustainability Director.

Domus Ventilation appoints new contractor sales managers

Ventilation systems manufacturer Domus Ventilation has announced the arrival of three new Contractor Sales Managers.