As part of our free
energy assessment, we often inspect existing Building Automation Systems.
Regardless if the Building Automation System was installed during the
construction of the building or if the System was installed as a retrofit, there
are often areas that are either not controlled or not controlled very well. In
many cases, the existing Building Automation System can be upgraded via the
implementation of additional Variable Frequency Drives and leak/flood
detection.
Provident Energy utilizes a Siemens Apogee Building Automation System that can be remotely accessed via the internet. Most Building Automation Systems are owned by the Condominium Corporation and they are free to choose any Energy Management company to monitor their system. The take-over should not involve a full re-installation of the Building Automation System. For any System, the main control panels can be replaced and in most cases the existing wiring, sensors and conduits can be re-used (the initial wiring is generally the most costly and labour intensive step).
As mentioned earlier, we
find many existing Systems leave room for improvement. For example, the Domestic Hot Water System
may have a flat temperature set-point for the entire day and night. Or, the
make-up air handling units may have VFDs that fluctuate only between 85% and
95%, 24 hours per day – whereas these units could be slowed down during
non-peak hours. Provident Energy can implement additional control algorithms
for existing Building Automation Systems and we can usually enhance overall
energy savings by 4%-7%.
Another important feature
of Provident Energy’s Building Automation System is our Monitoring
Service. Your building’s system will be
monitored 24/7 offsite by Provident Energy’s team of highly skilled technicians
for both critical systems alarms and overall system optimization. This ensures
that any issues that may arise within the buildings critical components will be
diagnosed by technicians and relayed back to the site staff. Early diagnosis of
such issues helps to prolong the life of your critical components, and also
helps to ensure that the residents comfort isn’t compromised in the
process.
