ABS Engineering recently completed a Building Management System installation at St. Catherines Nursing Home in Newcastle West County Limerick. This replaced an older system which had been in place for over ten years.

A decision was made to replace the older system as it was lacking in a few areas, the most critical of which was remote monitoring and control. Staff had to enter the plant room and key in a code to gain access to the temperature controls.

ABS upgraded the existing controllers to the EasyIO FS32 controller which was then networked back to the main IT hub. As a result of our new installation, staff can now log in from any workstation and set parameters to adjust their heating environment as required.

Annemarie from St Catherine’s said “We are delighted with our new control system. It makes it so much easier for us to have immediate access at the touch of a button”.

ABS Engineering has remote access also thus reducing maintenance cost on call outs with the availability of 24-hour service. Remote access really is a game-changer as it enables a faster reaction time in a cost-effective manner.

Regular temperature readings are now recorded automatically throughout St Catherines and this data is then available for analysis to determine where further savings and optimisations can be made. None of this was possible previously. The data can be analysed in real-time and it is also downloaded for later reference.

The system now incorporates remote notification of plant alarms including fire alarm, gas detection or boiler failure.

During the upgrade process, ABS has also optimised the system. Thanks to the flexibility of the EasyIO controller the entire complex was split into separate heating zones. The operator now has the ability to view the system graphics from any pc with live weather widgets embedded in the system.

Prior to installation of our new BMS system, there was excess energy being wasted within the building. Studies suggest that energy consumption can be reduced by as much as 15% if room users optimize their energy behavior. A building management system is a great option for nursing homes. When utilizing BMS systems, a nursing home can maximize energy efficiency by turning off lighting and reducing heating and cooling in areas that are not being utilised all at the touch of a button.

With ABS Engineerings experience in energy reduction projects, St Catherines now has full scalability of their energy costs throughout the building whilst residents enjoy a comfortable indoor climate.