Customer application 1 July 2020
Brilliant Example of Intelligent Building Automation

Can the different demands by building users be handled with one concept for room automation? The planners proved the hypothesis during the construction of the Energy, Education, and Entertainment Center (EEZ) in Aurich. With a network of WAGO controllers, it was possible to bundle the myriad building automation tasks in one system.

The futuristic design and glittering facade make it clear from a distance that the Energy, Education, and Entertainment Center (EEZ) in Aurich is something special. With its combination of exhibitions and scholastic and practical education, the EEZ is a beacon of light for modern learning. The building automation in the EEZ can be considered as a case in point: Although many different user demands converge here, the center follows a consistent and cleanly implemented overall concept.

This succeeds only because all participants in planning and construction sat down together at the beginning of the process and brought the project forward together – integrated planning at its finest. The operators now profit from the fact that the employees in building technology have compete system access everywhere, regardless of their location in the building. The automation presents itself as a unified whole; even the panels on the decentrally distributed controllers are identical.

Overview of WAGO Technology Used:

A building like this calls for networked planning from the very start.

Lutz Lüßen, Project Manager at Hermes Systeme GmbH – the company responsible for automating EEZ

Smart Energy Management

Air conditioning is one example of the substantial challenges during automation of the EEZ. Areas where people assemble need to be treated differently than lecture, seminar, or office spaces. Thus, the volume of circulated air, its routing, and how much heating it requires become important factors for the municipal operators of the Aurich bathing facility. Referring to the energy management, Gerhard Boekhoff, Head of Properties and Building Management for the city of Aurich, states: “Our goal is to operate the building as economically as possible.” Knowing the precise energy flows and their associated operating costs is also necessary for separating publicly accessible areas, like the exhibition spaces, from rooms that are used or rented by companies and institutions. To fairly calculate utility bills, all data are measured for the media used, like ventilation, air conditioning, or heating.

Open Automation with WAGO Controllers

WAGO PFC200 Controllers are responsible for collecting and providing the data in the EEZ. In addition, they control the heating and cooling circuits, room temperature controls, and soldering station ventilation, as well as controlling the coolers and heat exchangers. The west wing of the EEZ is a concrete example of the automation network: Here, the controller comprises the central interface for a number of different sections of the building technology system. The intrusion alarm system responsible for this area is switched here. The data from the consumption measurement sensors flows into the I/O system through the M-bus via corresponding communication interfaces. An MP bus is installed as another information protocol, for controlling actuators, flaps, or control valves. The coolers and heat exchangers are linked through ETHERNET; the same applies to the control system formed by the WAGO controllers and the integration of panel PCs for operations and visualization. In total, eight building and functional areas are defined in the EEZ, with a WAGO controller as the keystone for each. Therefore, the WAGO control system communicates in many ways with the connected actuators or the technical aggregates used in the building technology.

Wireless Technology Enables Flexible Room Arrangement

Because the EEZ is primarily intended for changing exhibitions and events, wireless technology is used for room environmental controls. Since partition walls are used to change the configuration of the publicly accessible spaces depending on the exhibits, the different the items on display and requirements for guiding visitors, this necessitates wireless field devices with EnOcean communication. Lüßen underscores the primary advantages of movable field devices: “We never know how the spatial design requirements of future exhibits will be met or whether a permanently installed sensor might end up behind an advertising pillar or a partition wall.” To ensure the wireless sensors for temperature, humidity, CO2, etc., stay in contact with the WAGO controllers, a precise illumination layout with detection angles and ranges for the EnOcean wireless network was designed for the EEZ.

Intelligent Building Automation

Regardless of which subsystem ultimately works with which communication protocol or which tasks are performed in which building areas, thanks to the comprehensive programs on the function cards, all parts of the building automation system can be directly connected to the WAGO 750 I/O SYSTEM. The controllers bundle all accumulated data and form a network among themselves using TCP/IP. With the assistance of Hermes Systeme, this structure paves the way for remote maintenance access to the entire building control system via the central IT of the EEZ and a VPN tunnel.

In this project, a wide spectrum of interests, spatial requirements and investor preconceptions had to be accommodated and interlinked – a challenge that, with so many participants, is not always met to the satisfaction all involved. Today, the EEZ in Aurich is a textbook case for comprehensive and cleanly conceived implementation of building automation that also grants the necessary flexibility for ever-changing room arrangements.

Photos: Thorsten Sienk

WAGO Products in EZZ Aurich

Item no.: 750-881

Controller ETHERNET ; 3rd Generation

Item no.: 750-600

End Module

Item no.: 787-732

Power supply ; Eco ; 1-phase ; 24 VDC output voltage ; 10 A output current ; DC-OK ...

Item no.: 852-111

Industrial-ECO-Switch ; 5-port 100Base-TX ; black

Item no.: 750-1504

16-channel digital output ; 24 VDC ; 0.5 A

Item no.: 750-530/006-000

8-channel digital output ; 24 VDC ; 0.5 A

Item no.: 788-304/001-000

Relay module ; Nominal input voltage: 24 VDC ; 1 changeover contact ; Limiting ...

Item no.: 789-810

Manual operation module ; 4 digital outputs ; 1,50 mm²

Item no.: 750-459

4-channel analog input ; 0 ... 10 VDC ; Single-ended

Item no.: 750-464/040-000

2/4-channel analog input ; Resistance measurement ; Adjustable ; Extreme

Item no.: 750-455/040-000

4-channel analog input ; 4 … 20 mA ; Single-ended ; Extreme

Item no.: 750-559/040-000

4-channel analog output ; 0 ... 10 VDC ; Extreme

Item no.: 750-555

4-channel analog output ; 4 … 20 mA

Developing Smart Buildings with WAGO

Digitalization and networking create opportunities, but also challenges. A smart building must provide occupants and operators with an optimal environment and be able to adapt flexibly to their needs at all times. WAGO provides the best products and solutions to meet these requirements.

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