HVAC and plumbing – in this field, there are countless service providers offering planning, implementation and maintenance services. However, whenever these services are required in lab facilities, the number of qualified service providers decreases rapidly. And when it comes to equipping individual systems in an existing facility with state-of-the-art technology, coordinating them and meeting highly specialized requirements, the number of qualified providers drops to a very modest figure. Infraserv Höchst is one such specialized service provider: As the site operator of a 4.6-km² industrial park with about 120 production plants and roughly 800 buildings, including many research and lab facilities, the industrial-service provider has extensive know-how and experience in this special market segment. Infraserv's facility-management and building-automation experts can offer innovative solutions tailored to individual requirements, no matter complex they might be.
For example, during a recent rehabilitation of a roughly 30-year-old laboratory facility at Industriepark Höchst, Infraserv Höchst was faced with the challenge of coordinating the HVAC systems and integrating them into one functional system. “The most difficult task was coordinating the ventilation systems for large laboratory areas and adjacent offices so that the lower air pressure in the lab areas prevented air from escaping to the offices,” said Roland Schwab, Project Manager of Infraserv Höchst’s IT Services business unit. There always had to be positive air pressure in the office areas, a factor that had to be considered for the room-air balance. Plus, the room temperature needed to be controlled primarily with the supply air for the labs and offices. Individual room-temperature control was permitted only in the offices, with heating elements and individual room controls. Any contradictory control conditions – for example, ventilation while heating – have to be ruled out.
Precise room-air balance in the laboratories
"The biggest technical challenge was the room-air balance in the laboratories,” said Roland Schwab. “Because no groups or zones had been created for technical reasons, the exhaust airstreams in the entire lab area had to be recorded so that the supply airstreams could be directed accordingly.” Not an easy task for laboratories measuring 120 to 250 square meters.
During the realization, the Infraserv experts selected a LON bus solution because the individual room controls, the laboratory fume hoods and the variable volumetric flow-rate controllers for the supply air could be equipped with LON-enabled controls. “That way, we could coordinate the different HVAC systems and incorporate them into an integrated solution,” said Roland Schwab. The LON bus (LON stands for local operating network) is designed for such complex solutions and offers the greatest selection of components from different manufacturers due to its high level of standardization. As a result, it was possible to program the room-air balance with suitable LON devices and to individually set the parameters of the variable volumetric flow-rate controllers for the supply air.
Individual solutions with standardized components
The compact individual LON room controllers also made it possible to meet the stated requirements of the future user. The room temperature in the offices can be set individually by the user and, depending on the setting, the necessary temperature change is effected by turning on the heater or by increasing or decreasing the supply air stream. “Through programming, we met all the requirements concerning the air-conditioning of individual rooms with standard LON components,” said Roland Schwab.
Important to the customer: The project was completed on schedule and within the agreed-upon budget. Laboratory operations are running optimally, and the employees are extremely happy with the situation. Despite the complex technology, there is only one controller in the offices for adjusting the temperature – everything else is controlled automatically.
During this measure, the groundwork was laid for connecting the building-automation systems to Infraserv Höchst's Building-Control Center at a later time. The centralized control center covers the building systems of some 30 buildings and monitors them around the clock, ensuring short response times when needed. If, for example, cooling systems fail in laboratory buildings, a qualified service team must be on site immediately, even on Sundays and holidays – Infraserv Höchst delivers this comprehensive service, too.
Contact:
Infraserv Höchst
Phone ++49 69/305-6767
Fax: ++49 69/305-82877
E-Mail:
kundenservice@infraserv.com
www.infraserv.com
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