July/August 2020

Focus on: HVAC Energy, the Environment & Water July/August 2020 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 35 With BAS, energy management is easier, making your building more efficient as you fine tune the use of lights, HVAC, and other equipment to reduce costs, with the savings achieved flowing straight to your bottom line. BAS can also help facility managers get LEED certification or a Living Building Challenge (LBC) 3.1 certification, both stringent sets of requirements that can be easier to meet with data and automation on your side. Real time and historical data Using BAS means you have access to real-time data that gives you the ability to know - in an instant - what the temperature, humidity, or air quality is in your facility through easy dashboard technology. All of this is available from a mobile phone or tablet as well. Control of the internal climate gives you control over both the growth of crops as well as the prevention of crop damage through disease. Good supervisory software has the ability to store media as well as data points. For mushroom farming, as with other crops, photos can be taken and stored to monitor growth remotely. This gives farmers remote access to how their products are doing so that they can change ventilation rates and ultimately optimize growing conditions without having to disturb the environment by entering the facility. To create a climate for growth, integrated control logic can effect temperature, humidity and airflow. Improving the supply chain BAS delivers more than automation, it delivers data. Data can help provide food manufacturers with end-to-end traceability into the supply chain so that profiles and predictive models can be built. Also, defects and issues can be detected earlier in the supply chain. Detecting problems early-on and pinpointing where in the supply chain they occurred can reduce the total number of problematic goods that entered the market and can also help identify the root cause of any issues. Maintenance Having automatic control of equipment and access to its data can help recognize the need for maintenance actions so that untimely failures do not impact production. Real-time data and smart alarms help diagnose problems immediately. Applications like equipment summaries can help visualize a wide range of related data and identify abnormalities. There are various remote diagnosis tools but anything that enables remote access to a building’s automation and IoT systems in an easy, secure, open, and scalable way without the need to set-up a VPN is a must. Harnessing data for future growth Finally, building data provided through BAS software can help the managers plan for future projects or expansion. Food manufacturers rely on fine-tuned, repeatable processes in order to maintain quality, efficiency, and food safety. Through the use of sensors and alarms monitored by a BAS, a facility or plant manager could have better control of their environment and deeper insights into their valuable data. *Chris Irwin is vice president sales EMEA & VP global marketing at J2 Innovations SAVE UP TO 90% COMPARED TO AIR CONDITIONING www.ecocooling.co.uk sales@ecocooling.co.uk VENTILATION BASED EVAPORATIVE COOLING SPOT COOLING FOR PEOPLE & PROCESSES ENERGY EFFICIENT NO REFRIGERANTS OR RECIRCULATION ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ BOOK A FREE SITE VISIT Humidity control expertise... Steam Humidifiers Dehumidifiers Adiabatic Humidifiers ...to create the ideal environment. • Design & support • Equipment to suit all applications • Full technical back up • Adds value to projects • FREE site survey & consultation 01372 571200 www.humiditysolutions.co.uk Service & Maintenance