Cardiff Council Select BSC as BEMS Contractor

Cardiff Council Once Again Select BSC as Their Chosen BEMS Contractor

We are proud to announce that for a third term, BSC is Cardiff Council’s first choice for the supply and maintenance of their Automated Building Solutions.

Cardiff Council is helping to lead the way in their provision of Building Management and is committed to making a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2018. Intelligent heating controls have already been installed in over 70 buildings across the County with significant savings already confirmed by Cardiff Council’s Energy Department.

Cardiff Council first appointed BSC in 2008 to work as its partner and assist in the specification of an effective building energy management system which could be rolled out across its site portfolio. Cardiff Council developed a refurbishment project across its portfolio of 90 sites which include a number of schools and council offices. The project was designed to create a sustainable solution for the future. At the heart of the project was the need for an effective BEMS installed at each site, which would help drive energy savings and provide a quick payback period when compared to more costly improvements.

In the first instance, BSC undertook a staged programme to replace the existing building controls across the Council’s sites. The systems were replaced with Siemens DESIGO BEMS. The specified BEMS had a number of requirements it had to meet:

• Firstly, it had to be easy to operate for both on-site school staff and members of the council’s energy team. As the DESIGO system uses a PXM20 interface unit and web browser, it can be easily operated on site, but remote operation is also straightforward. The information is presented in a clear, graphical format, which can be viewed on a standard computer, so is easy to use with minimal technical knowledge or expertise.
• Secondly, the existing infrastructure at the sites had to be retained as much as possible to minimise additional costs. The DESIGO BEMS allowed Building Services Controls to retain existing control panels, wiring, valves, actuators and IT networks across the sites, reducing any additional costs incurred and minimising disruption.
• Finally, the fact the system can remotely monitor alarms, temperature, operating hours and holiday periods, was crucial. This means time spent by the council’s team travelling between sites to monitor systems is reduced and any potential energy waste at any site can be identified and acted on immediately from the Councils’ headquarters. In fact, it is estimated there has been a 17% reduction in on-site visits, equating to many hundreds of miles, since the introduction of the Siemens DESIGO BEMS across Cardiff Council’s sites.

BSC’s Service & Maintenance Team has further enhanced the relationship with Cardiff Council as we are now able to provide tailored maintenance packages, specific to the Council’s needs, 24/7 reactive service provision from a team of experienced BEMS Engineers and a dedicated Client Helpdesk for all support needs.