National Museum of Contemporary Art

INTEGRATED OVERALL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The new Museum of Contemporary Art is housed in the Fix brewing factory which was abandoned for decades, a remarkable industrial building in the centre of Athens. Its location is considered as its main advantage since it is located at a short distance from the historical and commercial centre of Athens. In particular, its proximity to the Acropolis archaeological site and the New Acropolis Museum favours the attraction of a large number of visitors to the capital, as well as the creation of a charming promenade, in which classical antiquity will cross paths with modern art.

The challenge was to supply a BΕMS system which could undertake the overall management and integration of all systems (Fire, Acces, CCTV, HVAC, etc.), which in such a modern building were many and demanding. At the same time, the BMS system had to take over the operation of the electric and mechanical installations of the building and to carry it out in the most energy-efficient way, in accordance to nowadays-best practices for energy saving.

THE SOLUTION

The system selected to undertake this difficult task is the HONEYWELL ARENA-EAGLE INTEGRATED SYSTEM, which is manufactured entirely in Germany and bases its operation on the latest technology BacNet building automation protocol.

The ARENA is a state-of-the-art SCADA software, which is based on the Niagara Framework, whose purpose is to replace the use of SQL database, resulting in the faster and more efficient management of large amounts of data. It is a web based application, and as a result is very easily accessible through a network or even a smartphone. Its key advantage, is the ability to integrate a large number of open protocols such as Modbus, LON, M-bus, KNX, etc., and many closed (proprietary) protocols, through the cooperation of Niagara with many third party manufacturers (DAIKIN, Carrier, Notifier, Mitsubishi, etc.).The software is complemented by the new Energy Analytics – ENERGY VISION platform, which receives data directly from the ARENA and undertakes the difficult task of analysing the energy through KPI’s and Normalization, as well as the Reporting.

EAGLE is the latest generation Honeywell controller, which, through its powerful processor, has the capacity to manage 600 Software or Hardware signals. It can read and also manage directly and without the use of intermediate gateways all known open building automation protocols, offering great stability and communication speed. EAGLE is freely programmable, and it can be freely extended as to the hardwired I/O signals via expansion cards (CLIOP), and it has the ability to read any sensor available in the market. Finally, in the event of loss of communication with the central software, it continues to operate and to send email updates without any problem (stand alone), while it continues to be accessible via its built-in web server.

THE RESULT

The installation of this system in the National Museum of Contemporary Art has resulted in the creation of a central control station with the ability to manage and supervise all the installations from a single point, thus minimizing the maintenance and operational costs of the building. At the same time, through the management of the VAV and of all the air conditioning systems (AHU, chillers, boilers), the optimum conditions of comfort are achieved in the various areas of the museum, in conjunction with the maximum energy saving and the protection of the exhibits. In addition, the integration of the systems allows systems interaction (desmoking in case of fire, operation scenarios in case of equipment failure).Finally, with the help of the energy software, unwanted consumptions are controlled and conclusions are drawn for the optimisation of the overall functioning of the installations.