Just two contracts have put Priva Building Intelligence in control of some 205,000m² of retail space in the Middle East: the Dalma Mall in Abu Dhabi with 150,000m² of leasable space and the Oasis Shopping Centre in Dubai at 55,700m². In both instances the controls contract was won by Optima International employing Priva control systems to manage the HVAC services in these enormous shopping malls.
The Dalma Mall development, due for completion in 2009, will include a multi screen cinema, food court, family entertainment centre, and many retail outlets including the high-end fashion brands. A Priva building management system (BMS) has been chosen because of its energy efficient control routines and its leading-edge technology which satisfies planned future expansion.
Seventeen fresh-air air handling units (AHUs) will supply tempered air to the building’s 38 recirculation AHUs and 77 common area fan coil units (FCUs). The FCUs will all be BMS controlled and monitored to ensure a perfect environment for staff and shoppers alike. Forming part of the BMS are Priva Comforte CX controllers specified for the management of the FCU and VAV units. Other building services within the BMS remit include panoramic lifts, escalators, UPS systems, generators, fuel systems, lighting, and fire and security systems, while utilities monitoring will be enabled via a Modbus interface.
At the new Oasis Shopping Centre some 70 AHUs and 500 FCUs are fed by two chiller plants. Integration of the chiller management system is via BACnet, together with Modbus connection to the variable speed drives (VSDs). Utilising both TCP/IP and MS/TP networks the plant communicates with the Priva TC Vision Supervisor providing remote access via a modem and the internet.
Priva’s TC Vision Supervisor forms part of each project enabling the operators to interrogate the system, receive alarms, view and alter all parameters, display and print reports, and fault diagnose. This powerful software supervisor utilises its inbuilt proven control algorithms that, on configuration, produce plant schematics and a full description of operation completely automatically, thereby substantially reducing system engineering time.