At the start of the winter of 2011/2012, Grischa, a four-star superior hotel, opened in the mountain resort of Davos, Switzerland. The highlight of the hotel is its luxurious interiors, amenities and eco-friendly design. In implementing this demanding construction project, Beckhoff's integrated building automation technology, chosen by the system partner, Liechtenstein's simconex, played a key role.
At the start of the winter of 2011/2012, Grischa, a four-star superior hotel, opened in the mountain resort of Davos, Switzerland. The highlight of the hotel is its luxurious interiors, amenities and eco-friendly design. On the one hand, hotel manager MauriceParree has been emphasizing sustainability and energy efficiency during the construction and operation of the hotel. On the other hand, international guests also have high expectations for the comfort of the hotel. In implementing this demanding construction project, Beckhoff's integrated building automation technology, chosen by the system partner, Liechtenstein's simconex, played a key role.
Davos is known for its winter alpine movements and its frequent venues for international events and conferences. Because the new plots in the Alps are very precious, the Grischa is built on the framework of two existing hotel buildings, and now the Grischa has 93 rooms and suites, five restaurants and several conference areas.
Integrated control technology: from HVAC to room automation
The Grischa Hotel consists of two parts that are connected as part of the project, each with its own heating, ventilation and environmental control system. The entire building automation system is implemented by simconexAG in Triesen, Liechtenstein. Simconex manager Markus Gimplinger explains this design: "We have implemented a new concept of building automation that meets the requirements and expectations of hotel management. The solution is based on Beckhoff building automation technology with outstanding openness and flexibility, no It is impossible for us to achieve the goals of the project.” simconex automates all building services, including HVAC, room automation and building management. A total of 19 embedded controllers were used: 10 CX9001, 5 CX1010 and 4 CX5010 units. Five CP6902 Beckhoff control panels are used to visualize the process of the control cabinet and control center. Another CP6607 Ethernet panel control unit is located on the ground floor.
The Grischa's building automation solution includes 3,000 physical data points and 4,600 virtual data points. The network connection for all parts of the building is based on Ethernet TCP/IP. Different fieldbus systems are used in the attached building facilities system.
The integrated application of the Beckhoff automation technology in Grischa for controlling all building services and for room automation naturally requires the system to be adapted to the respective standards of each building facility. The heating system is directly connected to the CX9001 and CX5010 embedded controllers via bus terminals. For ventilation, almost all building areas are equipped with Belimo actuators and flapper drives controlled by the MP-Bus protocol. When the Beckhoff KL6771 Bus Terminal is used as the MP-Bus Master Terminal Module, it can be adjusted up to 16 field devices: there is a large "light sculpture" in the reception area of the Grischa Hotel with 1,400 Murano glass drape The composition creates a unique atmosphere. The 2/7 meter light sculpture is controlled by the BeckhoffDMX terminal module EL6851, which enables dynamic display of light and color. Eight drives and eight sensors.
All fans are controlled by a frequency converter that is directly connected to the Beckhoff embedded controller via an analog output (0–10 VDC). All control processes (setpoints and actual speed values) are calculated on the controller. MarkusGimplinger said, "This control technology allows us to integrate all aspects of building services, even if special requirements arise in the future."
Other important components of the Grischa HVAC system are measurement points for electricity, water and electrical energy consumption. Although no energy management system has been applied yet, MarkusGimplinger points out that this is likely to expand in the future. After all, the Grischa Hotel has a 266m2 solar system, a heat pump and a heat recovery system that cover 50% to 60% of total heat demand. The energy consumption data measurement point is also connected to the bus terminal module I/O via M-Bus. The main meter data is read by the building management system via the ModbusTCP/IP bus system.
Central temperature and lighting control
At first glance, the room automation in the hotel room seems quite simple. In addition to the IT system, guests usually have the option to turn the lights on or off, although there are no operating panels for individual room control. The idea of the Grischa hotel is that the temperature of a single room should be centrally controlled by the reception. Room temperature sensors, underfloor heating and ventilation are installed in all rooms and are individually controllable via a central control system. Local control is also possible based on data shading devices from weather sensors installed in the main building. The suite uses different automation concepts. The suite uses an EIB/KNX control unit for individual room control with the option to call different lighting scenes. The suite has its own control cabinet, located in the side panel of the foyer.
Flexible room control technology
In conference rooms and restaurants where demand is high, lighting is controlled by the EIB/KNX room control unit and DALI technology. MarkusGimplinger explained that the room configuration can be customized to allow the Grischa hotel to provide venues for meetings of different sizes. MarkusGimplinger said: "The features here are in the details: for example, the position of the removable wall can be displayed on the touch panel. By tapping the finger, the partition wall can be marked as open or closed, so that the control of the individual room is It can be adjusted according to the space situation."
DMX technology is not only used for the impressive "light sculpture" in the hotel reception area, but also for controlling the lighting in all elevators. The EL6851DMX terminal module enables dynamic display of lights and colors.
Scalable control system ready for the future
The central control system runs on a traditional PC and covers all system configurations of the entire building automation concept. Only a few people have access to a password-encrypted system. MarkusGimplinger said: "All employees can view the system, but only when allowed to make changes to the system."
All control tasks can be visualized and initialized by the control system. Individual door control can be achieved by calling all gates, rooms and lighting through a list. The heating and ventilation system is also completely visual, which is self-evident. “Operators can view individual control tasks on the system screen,” says MarkusGimplinger. “For example, when viewing an illuminated area, status information for different colors indicates the status of the different components.”
Developer Goodfast BV Davos and the hotel manager were very happy with the results. Hotel manager and board chairman MauriceParree and simconex manager Gimplinger realized that the “wish list” for building automation remains open, so other measures can be implemented in the future.
