Automated
windows installation sliding windows
WindowMaster - Lets in fresh air in IceLands largest hotel
When you think of the climate in Iceland
you might expect open windows to be rare.
Yet Iceland's largest hotel has just installed a system from
WindowMaster, Europe's largest provider of natural ventilation
and smoke detection solutions, to automatically open bedroom and
meeting room windows when it is necessary to refresh the air in
the rooms.
The 314 bedroom Grand Hotel in Reykjavík has recently completed
construction of a new multi-storey tower containing guest and
conference rooms to cement its claim to be the largest hotel in
the country.
Guests checking into their rooms are provided with a manual
keypad to control several of the room's functions, including the
ventilation.
When sensors detect that the room is unoccupied, however, the
WindowMaster system opens the windows, normally keeping them
sufficiently open throughout the day to provide trickle
ventilation with enough air change to ensure the room is
thoroughly aired.
Once guests arrive in the room they can control the window
opening with their keypad but in bad weather the WindowMaster
system will override the manual control and close the windows.
The windows have a limited opening range in any event,
reflecting the fact that temperatures in Reykjavík rarely rise
above 12oC even in summer.
Despite the country's name, however, average temperatures in
Iceland dip only just below zero in the coldest winter months of
January and February. Strong winds and rain, however, are common
throughout the year, posing particular challenges for the
WindowMaster system which must respond to weather conditions
which can vary from calm and sunny to wet and windy - and then
back again - several times in a day.
An external WindowMaster weather station monitors the conditions
around the hotel, including wind direction and speed,
temperature and rain fall. Changes in wind pressure on the
facades are also monitored and fed into a computer model where
they are analysed along with readings taken from the weather
station and sensors fitted internally. Windows around the
building are then precisely controlled and positioned to keep
air quality within rooms fresh and the temperature constant.
All the windows can be controlled centrally from the hotel lobby
if necessary in a fire or other emergency.
The system is built on WindowMaster's NV AdvanceT window
automation platform. It is the only system in Europe that
intelligently monitors windows to prevent entrapment as an
integrated function of the motor and control system. It can
provide almost failsafe security against the possibility of
injury while windows are closing.
If an object, or hands or fingers, becomes trapped in a window
and prevents it from closing, the amount of current drawn by the
motor instantly increases. This is detected by the
microprocessor which immediately reverses the motor to release
the window, therefore preventing the possibility of serious
injury.
The system can be retrofitted on many existing windows as well
as being installed on new buildings. It can operate on a broad
range of window types, including top and bottom opening, sliding
and parallel opening. The system can also be used on windows for
heat and smoke ventilation.
Email:
geoffj@smye-holland.com