Commissioning time has been reduced at Blackburn Hospital with the BACnet communications protocol.

Commissioning of the m&e services at the new Blackburn Hospital was completed significantly faster due to the use of the BACnet communications protocol.

With the first patients due to be treated this August, m&e contractor Haden Young's specialist controls subcontractor TAC Satchwell recommended the BACnet approach for the smooth running of the project. This is one of the first instances of the protocol being applied to control the m&e services in a major UK building.

Over 100 ABB hvac drives are used to control motors for air handling units and water pumps throughout the hospital. The ABB hvac drive has a fully incorporated or ‘native' BACnet capability. This means that it does not have to be adapted using add-on software gateways.

"BACnet makes the units easier to commission," explains Haden Young project manager Neil Lawless. "It saves the control specialists from having to spend time inputting gateways to talk to the equipment. Instead of taking two to three hours to set up a drive conventionally, drives equipped with BACnet are ready in around 15 minutes,"

The £125 million hospital was built under the Private Finance Initiative. It will replace outdated facilities at the Victorian era Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor