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Customer application 26 January 2018
A Beacon for Eastern Westphalia

The new building for the Minden campus of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences is a pioneering project for two reasons: It integrates cutting-edge energy and automation technology and is also a prime example of integrated interdisciplinary construction. Through close collaboration, the planners and building system installers were able to achieve their quality and cost targets perfectly.

Constructing a building is not always a smooth process. A construction site often involves a lot of different specialized planners and tradesmen, and communication and coordination among them is not always optimal.

One reason for these difficulties is the rules for tendering bids, since the individual construction services are usually assigned throughout the course of a project. Thus, some companies only arrive on site once others have already left, making collaboration between the different trades more difficult. The Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, as the owner-occupant, and Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW (BLB NRW), a property management and construction company, took a new approach in the construction of the university building on the Minden campus. “In contrast to previous approaches, we met with all the planners at the same time to create a common base for optimal solutions,” explains Oliver Wetter, Dean of the Minden campus. The cooperation paid off: After 22 months of construction, BLB NRW completed the new building on schedule and within the 14 million euro budget – no small achievement for a construction project of this magnitude.

Intelligent Planning

Achieving the right quality at the right cost was not easy, since the University of Applied Sciences wanted a smart building with sophisticated energy and automation technology. The Minden campus has traditionally focused on engineering, including a master’s program in “Integrated Construction.”

It brings architects, civil engineers and project managers together in one place to give students a solid manufacturer-independent foundation in functional planning. Therefore, BLB NRW designed a four-story “meeting center” with offices, work spaces, a library and a cafeteria, which also functions as an example for research and teaching thanks to its state-of-the-art energy systems and intelligent building technology. The lighting, energy generation and distribution, air-conditioning and sun protection are controlled and monitored automatically by building automation that extends across different building systems, from individual pieces of equipment up to complete room automation. The idea is for the students to analyze the energy data directly via network communication interface to learn how these intelligent building automation systems function and how to program them. “This allows them to further increase the utility of the building through their research,” explains Wetter.

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An Energy Efficiency Class A Building

To date, there are few buildings of this type in Germany. The Minden campus is currently one of two university buildings in the country that meet the strict requirements of energy efficiency class A. According to the 2014 German Energy Saving Ordinance, this means that no more than 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity and heat can be consumed per square meter per year. As a comparison, the consumption in public buildings is usually around twice as much – they only achieve efficiency class C.

The reason is that investments in room automation are necessary in order to achieve the consumption values required for class A. However, public-sector budgets are not sufficient for this, since they are based on standards from 2012. For the campus project, the University of Applied Sciences bore the costs of the intelligent building automation, a total of 113,000 euros. “We were able to convince the executive committee of the university that the higher efficiency class would benefit research and teaching,” says Wetter.

The key argument was that, although automation may have higher initial costs, the investment will more than pay for itself through operating cost savings over the lifetime of the building. To increase energy savings, the building includes a well-insulated structural shell, recovers waste heat from the servers in the computer lab and supplements it with energy from a geothermal system. The latter’s probes draw heat from the earth and pass it to a heat pump; this in turn raises the temperature above the low level that the geothermic system provides in order to heat the building. Exploiting the reversible nature of the heat pump operation, the library, cafeteria, foyer, meeting areas and workshop are cooled by the underfloor heating system and radiant ceiling panels – and the energy extracted in the process is used for regeneration of the field of geothermal probes.

A second heat pump is incorporated into the combined storage for the server cooling/geothermic system and is also used for the combined heating system. A condensing gas boiler is available for providing hot water and for peak loads. Cooling peaks are handled by two chillers. In addition, free cooling is integrated into the combined cooling system. All the system technology is designed to minimize primary energy consumption.

Open Communication through BACnet

BACnet/IP Controllers from the WAGO I/O SYSTEM 750 play a central role in the equipment and room automation. A total of 21 of these systems were installed in the new building. Seven controllers form the classic information nodes for heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration, and 14 units handle the automation functions for the individual floors. All the control units are linked in an ETHERNET network.

BACnet provides a standardized open-source data communication protocol, which enables data communication between devices from different manufacturers according to the detailed specifications of the construction planning, as long as these devices also support the BACnet standard. As controllers for the instrumentation, control and automation technology, WAGO’s technology ensures that the central systems – like the heat pumps and geothermal system – function perfectly and work together with the ventilation system to maintain the desired temperature at all times.

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WAGO Room and Building Automation

Room automation includes the lighting, sun shades and room temperature regulation. Carbon dioxide air quality controllers are also used in the student labs and classrooms. Feedback signals from the window contacts are detected and processed in the automation program. In order to capture all the signals at the room level, Hermos AG, from Mistelgau, Germany, used the modular structure of the WAGO I/O SYSTEM and special modules for the DALI, KNX and SMI sub-bus systems. The different room functions are activated via KNX room operating panels.

According to the specifications in the system integration sheets, all the equipment and room automation information, as well as additional monitoring functions for all building systems, is linked to a BACnet management service level, allowing the building automation to be monitored and adjusted at all times. With their help, it is possible to record and analyze the building’s energy data, modify the setpoints or occupancy times and visualize all the values and states, such as temperatures, operating messages and faults from all systems, as both a forecast and a review using time-lapse.




Trained WAGO experts closely examined the building technology in Minden as part of an eu.bac certification process. The audits provide transparency and give operators comprehensive information about the automation technology used in their buildings. The systematic assessment helps them adhesive targeted reductions in energy consumption and operating costs over the entire lifecycle. To this end, the eu.bac system certification for buildings sets new standards. In previous certification programs, building technology was barely considered; the eu.bac approach closed this gap in 2013.

The method is based on scientifically tested data of the relevant DIN EN 15232 European standard. The audits can only be conducted by recognized experts who are trained and certified according to the specifications of the European Building Automation and Controls Association.

The Minden project thus functions as a beacon in many respects. It not only is a model for integrated construction involving many different building systems, but also demonstrates how the energy efficiency of the new Minden campus building can be permanently improved thanks to state-of-the-art building automation and assessment methods. The “eu.bac system” certificate verifies that the technology and automation in the campus building are designed to be sustainable and energy-efficient for optimum comfort. Trained WAGO experts closely examined the building technology in Minden as part of the eu.bac certification process.

Text: Jörg Gruner | WAGO Photo: Andreas Secci, Robert B. Fishman | vor-ort-foto.de

The WAGO I/O SYSTEM 750:

  • Fieldbus-independent

  • Flexible use

  • Tested and approved worldwide

  • More than 500 modules available, including functional safety and Ex i

  • Optional pluggable connections for the 753 Series

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