ABEC – Improved Comfort and Efficiency with New Trend BeMS Upgrade

3 Rivergate, a large commercial office in the Temple Quay area in the centre of Bristol, is benefiting from lower energy bills and increased occupancy comfort thanks to a new building energy management system (BeMS), recommended, designed and installed by ABEC.

ABEC have maintained the impressive 3 Rivergate building since 2016. As part of our proactive approach to ‘lifecycle planning’ we created a BMS migration strategy prioritising Trend controller upgrades. With budget the primary focus we devised a plan and programme prioritising ‘criticality’ of BEMS and HVAC plant allowing for a staged upgrade plan over the coming years.

The project involved upgrading Trend controls in the main rooftop plantroom, controlling the main HVAC plant and fan coil unit controllers on the ground and first floors. Due to budgetary constraints the remaining floors are to be upgraded in the next 1-2 years. With this in mind part of our project remit was to retain obsolete IQL controllers replaced as part of the project for critical stock where there is currently very little or no stock.

This has proved to be a real cost effective solution to an ongoing issue and nullified future risk to occupancy comfort in our customer’s BMS and building operation. The programme was extremely challenging due to the building being fully operational during weekdays and weekends. We completed all works at pre agreed ‘work slots’ during weekends.

Weekly programme meetings with the customer and the contract team ensured completion of high priority areas first and little or no disruption to the building or occupants. A live building presents various challenges to a BMS project team. Specialist access equipment was required to work above the desks to access controllers in the ceiling above.

It was essential to have an experienced install team running network cables to ensure this was done in a speedy and efficient manner. The need to maintain the operation of the main HVAC plant whilst controllers were replaced and ensuring the workspace remained fully operational for occupants required careful planning and a significant amount of offsite work prior to physical installation, to reduce the installation time and any subsequent downtime.

The upgrade also included a full functionality check where any issues were raised and reported. Control loops were checked and adjusted where necessary to ensure the new software and operation was energy efficient.