McMaster University teams up with ABB Canada’s mfg.
by CM Staff
Carmichael Engineering Ltd., a Canadian systems integrator, worked closely with ABB Canada’s employees and smart building platform, ABB Cylon®.
McMaster University released the details around a case study where they announced that they were using technology to better control and manage its legacy thermal systems and create smarter buildings. Carmichael Engineering Ltd., a Canadian systems integrator, worked closely with ABB Canada’s employees and smart building platform, ABB Cylon®, to improve energy efficiency, enhance user adaptability, and leverage innovative technologies in locations across campus.
McMaster University wanted to upgrade many of its buildings to a flexible control platform to ensure better efficiency and building management, while simplifying control of elements such as air quality, temperature, and carbon emissions. McMaster’s challenge lay in migrating legacy systems across campus, some with 1960s technology, and newly constructed digitally enabled smart buildings.
“To ensure interoperability, it was important to choose systems that can align with all environmental requirements and specificities,” explains Alvin Baldovino, Director of Engineering Operations at McMaster University.
The engineering team at Carmichael, which has been providing McMaster University mechanical and building automation services, turned to ABB’s HVAC building automation platform, ABB Cylon®, as it knew the platform’s flexibility was ideal for such a complex and extensive project. Robert Forest, Carmichael’s Manager of Projects and Digital Digital Controls, sums it up: “If you use your imagination and engineering skills, ABB solutions can be used well beyond their initial purpose. These solutions are highly versatile and can suit all environments, which yields innovation and significant value.”
Five of the University’s facilities are now either using or developing innovative smart building solutions with ABB hardware support for such a transition. Facilities include the McMaster Museum of Art; select campus laboratories, including a lab with the high-resolution electron microscope; and the under-construction McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery.
Transitioning to ABB controls has brought many benefits to the McMaster Museum of Art. With so many works of art inside the museum, maintaining precise air quality, humidity, and temperature levels is crucial for artwork preservation. Using ABB technology, sensors were integrated into the building automation system, and any deviation from set environmental parameters now sets off alarms.
McMaster University is home to one of the highest-resolution electron microscopes in the world. The microscope requires extremely tight tolerance for temperature and humidity. ABB Cylon® reportedly maintains the environment and allows users to monitor critical parameters precisely.
