BG installs BMS for Wakefield Town Hall
Heating control and comfort levels have been improved following the installation by BG Energy Solutions of a Trend BMS as part of a major upgraded project at Wakefield Town Hall. It was fitted during a 2-year shutdown for refurbishment work. A PC-based front end has facilitated better ease of use and reduced maintenance.
The iconic Grade 1 listed building dates back to 1880 and was designed by architect Edward Collcutt who also designed The Savoy and the Palace Theatre in London. The previous heating system was based on Victorian cast-iron radiators and around 85 storage heaters.
Michael Clements, assistant chief executive for resource and governance with Wakefield Council, explained, ‘The storage heaters were simply not adequate and didn’t give off much heat, so staff would frequently complain about being cold. The building has high ceilings, which makes it difficult to heat.’
Without a BMS to control heating, it would often get too hot in the summer.
Wakefield Council undertook an extensive overhaul of the electrical and heating systems.
BG Energy Solutions installed a new Trend BMS and Titan wireless space-temperature sensors to control the heating plant. Trend BMS technology was already used on the rest of the Wakefield Council estate, so it was preferred for the town-hall project.
It was discovered that the Victorian radiators could be refurbished and made to work with the new system. This was not a requirement of the building being listed, but still an important factor in helping to retain the character of the building.
The Trend controls for the BMS were located in a traditional boiler house on the site. Some 10 Titan wireless sensors were integrated with the system, using the BACnet protocol. There is a motor control centre in the basement boiler room, with Trend IQ3 web-enabled controllers, which provided a flexible way of interfacing with the third-party systems.
Any PC on the site can access the specially designed graphics pages for each of the heating zones and boilers. As part of the graphical display, floor plans can be viewed.
