VEXO/BSS pathway

Pathway to net zero starts with VEXO/BSS

Ireland set a roadmap ambition to deliver a carbon emissions target reduction of 51% between 2018 and 2030, and to net zero by 2050 – matching EU emissions targets. That process is already underway but immediate steps to help achieve that ambition are now required.

Heating and hot water generation account for over half of the energy use within a commercial building (CIBSE Guide M 2014). So restoring water quality, monitoring and optimising controls, and the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) supports a holistic net zero roadmap. The VEXO X-POT®, available from BSS Ireland, is specifically designed to help achieve that.

VEXO has collaborated exclusively with BSS Dublin for many years and the partnership includes the delivery of CIBSEaccredited CPDs. They have successfully tendered for, and won, major projects throughout the country across many industry sectors, including hospitals, universities, data centres, primary care, industrial, schools and colleges. BSS Dublin Branch provides technical know-how and stock availability, supported by the BSS Magna Park Central Distribution Centre in the UK.

The VEXO ‘X-POT®’ provides an all-in-one closed system water conditioning device that can be simply retrofitted or installed during plantroom refurbishments. There is no need for conventional products such as air and dirt separators, dosing pots, in-line magnetic filters and side stream filters. With the energy savings data and technical support acknowledged by BSRIA, the X-POT® ensures water treatment additives perform to their intent, and that system flow rates are maintained.

To further support system operating efficiency, VEXO launched its novel approach to BMS controls in May 2021 with the introduction of VEXO S-BMS®. This is a smart “out of the box” interactive control system, suited to small and medium sized commercial heating/hot water generation, and primary technology upgrades on a wide range of applications. These include nursing homes, sheltered housing, schools, offices, hotels, factories/industrial units, remote boiler houses, retail, small/medium sports pavilions, and many other commercial heating and hot water schemes.

VEXO S-BMS bridges the gap where fixed logic or manufacturers’ controls seem to be the only option due to budget constraints. No controls engineers are required, while the unit is electrician and user-friendly and delivers interactive and dynamic 24/7 remote access. It makes for system optimisation at your fingertips, avoiding unnecessary callouts and getting buildings “heat pump ready”.

VEXO’s POT® and S-BMS® augmented solution, supported by BSS Dublin, provides a gateway to zero carbon technology.

Contact: BSS P&L Dublin. T: 01 416 5100; E:1930.sales@bssgroup.com; www.bssindustrial.co.uk/bssireland

The system VEXO twin-stage magnetic and non-magnetic cartridge filtration which catches metallic debris. VEXO X-POT Compact from BSS P&L Dublin.

The digital revolution –Spotlight on ‘Intelligent Buildings’

The real estate industry is genuinely on the cusp of a digital revolution with regard to intelligent buildings and the use of building space. It is now up to those directly involved in the construction sector to embrace and drive these new concepts and digital skills, so that intelligent building design becomes the norm, leading to a sustainable and healthy future.

Increasingly, the tools and

systems available to design, construct and operate buildings are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent. As a result, the impacts on the development and maintenance of buildings are evolving as they are designed to capture and interpret massive amounts of data.

In this first of a series of articles, two leading practitioners within the “intelligent (smart) building” industry – Brian Coogan, Ethos Digital and Stephen Weir, Hereworks – provide a brief overview of what’s needed to design an intelligent building. They also explain how the new roles of Digital Building Consultant (Ethos Digital) and Master System Integrator (Hereworks) complement each other.

Unlocking buildings’ intelligence

The path towards achieving an Intelligent building is paved with specific actionable design interventions that enable digital work-flows to function within a safe, technology-enabled, high-performance built environment. Across the disciplines of MEP engineering and contracting, key forces are coming together to drive the next wave of digital workflows within the built environment – namely users, intelligent systems and intelligent concepts. At the very core of these workflows is the philosophy of creating a truly human-centric environment for the end-user.

Designing intelligent outcomes

Intelligent buildings don’t just come from one decision made at the beginning of a project but rather are the result of continuous decisions made over time by the various teams responsible for the project. However, the practicalities in and around delivering an intelligent building (via an enhanced technology foundation) begin at the design stage.

Here, the role of the Digital Building Consultant (DBC), through thoughtful UX design and meaningful integrations (backed up by data that is reliable, informative and useful), enables the building to come alive. As a result, this design delivers sustainable, wellness, operational and productivity outcomes.

Enhanced technology foundation

Computerised digital workflows span all aspects of the building facility management and operational support systems through to user interfaces and experiences. Holding it all together is a highlyconnected technology foundation that is layered on top of the traditional MEP systems. This technology foundation enables users, facilities and businesses to work together more effectively, using technologies such as cloud applications, IoT, analytical tools, middleware, mobile applications, etc to interrogate the building’s outputs and thus optimise it.

For example, BMS, energy monitoring, security and lighting control systems all have their own level of smart capabilities. However, it is the convergence of these to a single data repository that allows for the intelligent elements of a building’s optimisation to utilise and integrate workplace insight apps. Doing so not only enables potential issues to be diagnosed and eliminated early, but it also leads on to better building management and operations with enhanced user experience and comfort levels for occupants.

Convergence beyond traditional MEP systems

While traditional MEP systems form the core components of the overall building operating systems (BOS), it is also necessary to incorporate data from ICT and

Brian Coogan, Ethos Digital Stephen Weir, Hereworks

workplace technologies such as wayfinding solutions, room and desk-booking apps, catering, outside environment, traffic management and occupancy monitoring systems. In fact, anything with a defined output should be on-boarded to the cloud so that its metrics can be quantified and intelligent automations utilised for the client’s benefit.

The key is that all this information can be interrogated and used by optimisation tools to identify building usage trends when, say, the weather is cold or warm, or perhaps on a Friday prior to a bank holiday. By interrogating this information via analytical, machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) applications, we can implement better use of a space, automatically optimise energy trends, and ensure a healthy working environment.

Collaborative design process

Recognising that the “intelligent buildings” industry is comparatively new, an early collaborative design process enables the DBC design team to

Increasingly, the tools and systems available to design, construct and operate buildings are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent.

leverage the knowledge and experience of the Master System Integrator (MSI) from the contracting side. Early collaboration between the DBC with a nominated MSI is recommended. Ideally, the MSI should be nominated prior to the GC or MEP contractor being appointed. This allows them to collaborate and action several of their contracted deliverables and obligations such as device qualification, naming schema, base build, fitout connectivity, etc.

Implementing intelligent outcomes

The MSI brings together a diverse set of technical skills from network and software development to MEP and project management expertise. Across the project, the MSI is responsible for structuring the building data into a single standardised schema while managing and/or implementing the required designed-for system integrations.

Further responsibilities are multi-fold and range from exporting the relevant building, workplace technologies and ICT data to the cloud, to deploying and implementing systems such as fault detection and diagnostic tools (FDD), dashboards and space analytic sensors. It is the outputs from these systems which provide the specific insights for delivering building systems optimisation and enhanced user experiences by the DBC, MEP, FM and MSI teams. • In the next article Brian and Stephen will delve further into the practical implementation and what they have learned acting as DBC and MSI for successful delivery of truly intelligent buildings.

What happens next to the elephant is inevitable …

building services

engineering

… however, what’s about to happen in the building services engineering sector is much harder to predict. Thankfully, Building Services Engineering can help you do that with a wealth of news, feature articles, expert opinions and detailed product information.