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SymmetrE BMS for Cape Town's Sanlam Centre

A Cape Town shopping mall is the first site in South Africa to install Honeywell's new SymmetrE building management system (BMS). The 20-year-old Sanlam Centre in Voortrekker Road, Parow, Cape Town has recently had a face lift and partial refurbishment which has included replacement of the existing BMS in conjunction with the mechanical upgrade to the existing airconditioning system. The new system will monitor and control heating, ventilation and airconditioning for 61 000 m² of retail space throughout the two storey centre.

Intelligent workstation and open architecture

"Honeywell's new SymmetrE redefines expectations from heating, ventilation and airconditioning monitoring and control. The system comprises an intelligent workstation with all the tools you need to view and control your system from one point, it is also a truly open system permitting complete integration with other third party subsystems with no complication," said Tim Timmins, Honeywell's Advanced Solutions business manager.

SSD Controls, Honeywell's Technology Partner for the Cape Region and Namibia won the tender and project managed the installation in conjunction with consultants Nico van Rensburg Arthur Morris & Partners and Peter Hill of Mechanical Cooling who installed the plant.

No inconvenience to retailers or shoppers

It was very important that the project proceeded as smoothly as possible with minimal inconvenience to both retailers and shoppers. "The retrofit was planned carefully to minimise disruption to the shopping centre which was able to function normally with little inconvenience throughout the project," said Rod van der Westhuizen of SSD. "We liaised closely with both mechanical contractors and the client in order to ensure a smooth transition."

Project scope

The brief from the client was to provide a complete control system based on the latest technology that allows the building manager total control from a single workstation. In addition, the system must be reliable, support open protocols and provide considerable energy saving benefits.

The BMS workstation is located in the centre management offices and provides the building manager with a window into the entire operating system - either in text or graphic form. From this station the manager will be able to access all information relating to programmed start schedules, stop schedules and alarm messaging. He will be also able to provide special events time scheduling for AHU operation, provide tenants with history of plant performance and generally control the entire HVAC system.

Apart from the installation and configuration of the SymmetrE BMS, the scope of the project also included retrofitting 17 air handling units (AHU), three chilled water plants, monitoring power factor correction equipment and monitoring and controlling maximum demand and KVA. All AHUs are fitted with dampers and actuators to provide economy cycle control in order to save energy.

Honeywell variable speed drives, ranging in size from 1,5 kW to 55 kW, were fitted to supply and return air fans and chilled water pumps.

Honeywell Excel 50 LonMark controllers are used in all the AHU and chiller applications. Existing control panels were retained, however the new controls were fitted to new backplates and pre wired. This enabled the existing system to continue controlling until a sequenced swap-out was undertaken, again to minimise disruption to the tenants.

Temperature sensors are fitted in various shops throughout the shopping centre to provide feedback and enable supply air reset features. Pressure relief dampers are controlled in branch ducts to regulate static pressure in conjunction with the variable air volume system.

Comprehensive reprogramming of chilled water control and sequencing chillers will improve chiller performance and provide further energy savings.

Honeywell Technology Partner, SSD, provides service and energy management to many large institutions and key buildings in Cape Town. The company specialises in implementing and achieving energy savings through correct application and management of building management systems.

Advanced Solutions is part of the Honeywell Security Group providing complete solutions - standalone or fully integrated - for the key facility management requirements of one or more buildings. Systems can incorporate access control, security, surveillance, heating, lighting control, ventilation and airconditioning and life safety systems including fire detection and prevention.

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