Cut control installation costs by a third
April 1st 2005

A review of the building controls system at Jackson House in Ipswich enabled the system to be upgraded and extended and, by specifying PRIVA technology, has also cut the installation cost by a third.

Jackson House had previously been the CEGB's nuclear power training centre.

Now it provides office accommodation for Jackson’s staff and a tenant, Suffolk County Council. Electricity is the only energy source available which, without good control, has the potential to be expensive to operate.

The existing building controls were a mix of discrete controllers, predominantly controlling the air handing units, and two standalone outstations controlling the electrode boilers and chillers.Alan York, Jackson’s Mechanical and Electrical Design Manager,was looking to replace the discrete control system as several of the controllers had failed and spares were no longer available.He consulted his PRIVA Partner to discuss his requirements.

“The client already knew that he had to replace the discrete controllers and was thinking along the lines of a networked building management system (BMS) solution which would use the existing outstations,”said PRIVA Partner Roger Coote.“He had appreciated that this would allow him an easier route to achieving his ultimate goals of introducing Internet technology to the controls’communications, improving energy management and future-proofing the BMS.However, the costs involved far exceeded Jackson’s budget.” A PRIVA BMS was proposed as it would deliver all the features that were required. Leaving the existing field wiring and field peripherals (sensors, valves, dp switches, etc) in situ, a PRIVA HX8E replaced the obsolete system. A special feature of the Compri HX is that it was designed from the outset to support TCP/IP as standard and has an inbuilt Web browser.

“Had the client gone down the original route, the cost of the controls wiring would have been around a third of the total job.

Instead, by installing the PRIVA system we were able to eliminate this cost to the client.”

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