SE Controls - Smoke and Natural Ventilation Control Systems

Ordnance Survey

The Building

Ordnance Survey, Great Britain’s national mapping agency began work on their new Southampton head office in April 2009. Located alongside the busy M271 the building, designed by Broadway Malyan will be a flagship corporate building for all who visit the area. Southampton has been the home of the agency for over 160 years and their existing offices in Maybush was opened by the Queen in 1969.

The Challenge

The challenge for SE Controls was to design and commission a natural ventilation system to ensure the most comfortable environment for the internal occupants. The system had to work in conjunction with other low energy systems, including a ground-sourced heat-pump system, rainwater harvesting and recycling composter to create a green sustainable building.

The Design

The products SE Controls supplied and commissioned for the natural ventilation system, were 480 No. TGCO 24 30 ED chain actuators and 105 No. OS2 control panels, which were linked to a building management system (BMS). The TGCO 24 30 ED chain actuatorsopened top hung windows and work with the ‘chimney’ funnels expelling rising hot air, whilst allowing fresh air to be drawn in. The OS2 control panels, were wired into one of three LON Networks which then were attached to the BMS system.

SE Controls’ adaptive natural ventilation system operates with the heating, lighting and cooling requirements of the building, to ensure a collaborative and efficient solution is delivered. The TGCO 24 30 ED chain actuators and OS2 control panels are linked to the CO2 and temperature sensors offering a silent operation with minimal maintenance, automatically opening windows at the correct opening distance to ensure maximum ventilation for the buildings occupants.

Greg Tumilty, Senior Manager at the Ordnance Survey headquarters comments, “The facilities offered by the new building are impressive. Staff now have the perfect place to work and hold meetings in a light, and well ventilated space, it’s a far cry from our old offices, and too early to tell if the systems are running at their optimum capability at the moment, but we are gathering ongoing information from the BMS which we can adjust to maintain and improve efficiencies in the future. We are all proud to be working in one of Southampton's’ most impressive and sustainable buildings”

Smoke Ventilation, Natural Ventilation and Window Automation