A CC-Link networking system is providing building automation for the latest luxury accommodation development in Rio de Janeiro
With its twin towers resetting the state of the art for building automation, the recently completed Bernini Buildings have sent a buzz through Rio property circles. Ambiance-setting fountains and water gardens, plus a swimming pool and sauna are all controlled as an integral part of the automation system, as are air conditioning and ventilation, lighting, security and access, and myriad other functions.
With such highly serviced buildings, specialists were brought in at the outset to make sure all the systems were properly designed, installed and commissioned: this role fell to Cetem Automacao Industrial, a local company rooted as much in industrial as building automation.
Because of the high level of automation and the large physical size of the 15-storey buildings there was a danger that their automation systems would become complex, unwieldy and therefore ultimately unreliable. So Cetem suggested that instead of using a conventional building control system, industrial automation technology, including CC-Link fieldbus communications, was installed. This would be cheaper, more reliable, more flexible for the inevitable future changes, easier to install and commission.
The data highway
Fieldbus is a wiring scheme that connects every water pump, ventilation fan, aircon unit, light, door closure etc. in a 'ring main' or 'data highway' circuit: a small computer then controls which signals are coming from or going to which device. The conventional alternative is to wire every device individually back to a central computer. But this requires a larger computer and in an installation the size of the Bernini Buildings uses so much cabling that wiring looms become enormous and difficult to fit discretely into service ducts.
Although the two towers are not identical, the architecture of the control systems is the same for each. Both consist of a Mitsubishi FX controller, along with a CC-Link Network Master. Each CC-Link network consists of four stations all connected and controlled from the single FX controller control station located on the first floor. Two of these stations control general purpose public lighting, another station controls the water pumps, and the fourth station controls fans for air circulation. The use of these automatic controls provide proper operation of building systems with less personnel, thus resulting in reduced costs.
This CC-Link networking not only reduces electrical wiring installation costs, it also provides increased system and building diagnostics that provide important data for the maintenance staff to improve the overall maintenance and safety of the entire facility. Operator interface panels —again industrial machine control information panels from Mitsubishi — display real-time information on the various systems being controlled.
Function dedication
CC-Link is used to split the control systems into distinct sections, each one dedicated to a particular function. The water control section includes the swimming pool, fountains, water landscaping, whirlpool, and reflecting pools, managing water levels, flow rates and filtration standards. There is also an energy-saving and water conserving function which monitors pumps and motors to make sure they are running optimally. The water section also controls the sauna, ensuring ideal settings for comfortable use without excessive energy consumption.
Meanwhile, air quality and climate control is accomplished through circulating fresh air and maintaining air flow in the public common areas including hallways, ground floor meeting rooms and offices. The control panel for the air handling fan is on the seventh floor and is connected via the CC-Link network to the FX Master on the 1st floor.
An I/O Block with CC-Link compatibility operates the fan and receives control signals from the 1st floor FX Master. The use of the CC-Link network, requiring only a single communication cable to connect the fan to the control on different floors of the facility, saved many man-hours during the installation of the building automation system and simplified commissioning.
Lighting automation
The lighting control system manages lighting in public common areas — the hallways, ground floor meeting rooms and offices, parking garage, pool lighting, lighting in and around the reflecting pools and fountains as well as outdoor pathway lighting. This system, connected via CC-Link networking, provides an extra level of safety by automatically providing sufficient light for security monitoring without personnel having to turn lights on or off.
This method of lighting control also provides for increased energy savings by only providing lighting when necessary. When natural lighting is sufficiently bright, artificial lighting is turned off.
Such system design efficiencies that are inherent in CC-Link fieldbus architectures have enabled these highly-serviced luxury apartment towers to have a level of automation that would be otherwise difficult to achieve.
With today’s automation systems requiring an effective, integrated control system, CC-Link provides the necessary multi-vendor communication backbone. It is suitable for machine, cell or process control in industries ranging from semiconductors to food and beverage, automotive to pharmaceuticals and material handling, as well as building automation.
