Project Profile: Sanibel Recreation Center

Sanibel is an island and city in Lee County, Florida. The 12-mile-long barrier island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, is a draw for tourists in search of beautiful beaches and opportunities to explore the region’s rich ecosystem. Sanibel Recreation Center offers aquatics, fitness and wellness activities, youth programs, tennis, special events, and certification courses such as first aid and babysitting.

Authorized Dealer United Mechanical installed a Reliable Controls building automation system during a retrofit of the rec center.

Before the renovation, building operators struggled to control the humidity and temperature in the gym. With the Reliable Controls system, United Mechanical resolved this issue and improved the facility’s energy consumption by 30 percent, or approximately $2,000 per month in electrical costs.

The system includes a MACH-ProWebCom controller connected via BACnet MS/TP to a MACH-Pro2 controller and two MACH-ProZone controllers. RC-RemoteAccess software provides a secure, flexible, BACnet Virtual Private Network for operators to access the building’s mechanical equipment, which includes a dual chiller plant with volume pumps and two chilled-water air-handling units for the gym.

United Mechanical updated existing constant-volume chilled-water air-handling units with variable frequency drives and devised a single-zone variable air volume control system.

The flexibility of Reliable Controls allowed United Mechanical to easily integrate new and existing electrical and mechanical equipment to provide Sanibel Recreation Center with an efficient, sustainable, energy-saving building automation system.