The town of Gillam, on the Nelson River roughly 1,000 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, is home to about 1,000 residents. Many work for Manitoba Hydro, which has four dams in the area, three high-voltage direct-current line stations, and a few support groups. It’s also the home of Fox Lake Cree Nation, a First Nations Band. In 2009 Manitoba Hydro solicited a request for proposals to replace Gillam’s aging shopping center. The winning concept was an 7,432-square-meter (80,000 ft2) complex to be built in three phases that would combine retail, office space, community services, municipal offices, and housing. Only the first phase of the project was completed—a 2,322-square-meter (25,000 ft2) structure with retail on the first level and residential space on the second and third floors.
Authorized Dealer Tri-Star Automation installed a Reliable Controls building automation system during construction of phase one of the project.
The operator workstation, a MACH-ProWebSys controller, and a MACH-ProSys controller reside on a BACnet/IP network. The MACH-ProWebSys has a dedicated internet connection. A MACH-ProZone controller and 25 SPACE-Sensor EnOcean devices reside on a single BACnet MS/TP subnetwork.
Mechanically, each space in the building is served by one or more fan-coil units, each of which is equipped with controlled electric heaters. Cooling is provided by a central chiller plant and a distributed chilled water system. Two heat-recovery ventilators with electric heating coils and humidifiers supply fresh air. Humidity is controlled by onboard sensors in the SPACE-Sensor EnOcean devices.
This project was unique not only due to its remote location but also because the building’s soffits are used for sprinkler piping. The soffits are heated by fan-coil units in the crawlspace, and the building automation system controls their temperature to prevent freezing. Providing remote system access to facility managers was critical for this project.
Feb 2016
2,322 m2 (25,000 ft2)
2 MACH-ProPoint™ Input/Output
2 MACH-ProSys™
1 MACH-ProWebSys™
1 MACH-ProZone™
25 SPACE-Sensor™ EnOcean
