ABOUT THE CUSTOMER
The Austin Public Library is located at 323 4th Ave. NE in Austin, Minnesota. The present facility opened its doors in 1996 and currently houses over 80,000 volumes. The library serves the surrounding city and Mower county area made up of approximately 30,000 residents. The library is a member of SELCO (Southeastern Libraries Cooperating), which provides library services to public and school libraries in the southeastern Minnesota region.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
The customer’s project was a plan and spec project requiring boiler replacement and building automation system upgrades.
The controls were listed as alternate to achieve a complete user friendly cost effective reliable system for the customer. The existing building automation system was installed when the building was constructed and was based on a Metasys® generation 1 Companion panel utilizing a computer with a VT100 terminal emulator as the user interface. It was state of the art at the time that it was installed but is now way beyond obsolescence. The customer needed much better visualization and monitoring capabilities to better control the building environment for both improved comfort for employees and visitors and proper protection of the library collections.
SOLUTION
Replacing all existing Johnson N2 system controls would have been cost prohibitive to the project. So, the decision was made to integrate 28 existing Johnson Metasys® N2 VAV controllers with the S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router and replace existing air handler unit controllers with Delta BACnet controllers connected to the new Delta ORCAview graphical front end.
The ORCAview front end software was hosted on a Windows 10 PC for user friendly environment providing visualization and control of complete system.
Delta DSC 1212e and DAC 1212 BACnet controllers were deployed for air handlers, boilers, and chiller.
Prior to starting the integration task, the existing system was investigated to find out what equipment was not working and any necessary repairs were made to guarantee the best end result for the customer. Field Server integration technology was considered for this project, but in the end, Hanson opted to use the S4 technology because of the size and complexity of the project.
Prior to doing the on-site work, David Hanson attended a two day S4 Boot Camp training. During the training he learned how to install, configure, monitor and trouble shoot the system. As he completed this project he stated, “The S4 Boot Camp was very helpful and I recommend this training to others.”
Customer Outcomes
When the project was completed, the customer was able to visualize and manage the complete HVAC system with the ORCAview graphical user interface and control automation system. The legacy Metasys® VAV controllers are presented as if they were BACnet devices in the user interface. Building alarms for boilers and air handlers can be emailed or texted to on-call personnel. Remote access to techs to provide immediate help for customer or mechanical contractors.
The controls solution supports the new HVAC mechanical systems and, at the same time, prepares the building for transitioning from the legacy Metasys® components to a pure BACnet environment. A normal maintenance budget should be adequate if remaining Johnson N2 device failures occur. No comfort complaints have been reported by library visitors or employees, making this project a complete success.
ABOUT HANSON CONTROLS
Hanson Controls is privately owned and operated by David and Susan Hanson. The company prides itself on the quality of their installations and ongoing service of custom fit automation equipment. Customers received a user friendly efficient system, which is one of the guiding principles of Hanson Controls. David commented “We have worked with many different digital controls systems which gives us a broad view of how the same objective can be accomplished by many different approaches”
For further information contact David Hanson at 507-254-6819 Hanson Controls hansoncontrols@acegroup.cc
ABOUT THE S4 GROUP
The S4 Group provides cutting-edge enabling technology that transforms building automation systems (BAS) into enterprise solutions. S4 Open Appliances attach to legacy proprietary BAS, extending systems’ lifespans and greatly enhancing their value to building owners. The S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router facilitates the convergence between legacy Metasys® installations and standards-based BACnet building automation controls technology.
For more information on The S4 products and capabilities contact Steve Jones at 801-621-1970 or sejones@thes4group.com