News & Events

[Lyon, France, 16 October 2019] – Distech Controls, an innovation leader connecting people with intelligent building solutions, has recently completed equipping St. Columba’s School with a smart and integrated building management system (BMS) to reduce energy costs, while providing a comfortable learning environment for pupils, teachers and staff.

Scotland-based system integrator, West Coast Controls, worked with Distech Controls to install the ECLYPSETM Connected BACnet/IP series, a modular and scalable platform that works across the entire school campus.

The Project 
St. Columba's School is a coeducational independent day school for pupils ages 3–18, located in Kilmacolm near Glasgow, Scotland. Consistently ranked within the top independent schools in the country, St. Columba School is recognised for its first-class education and academic excellence with an enrolment of 700 pupils. 

The School has recently completed the construction of a new building and West Coast Controls was tasked with renovating the heating system across the campus as well as ensuring the BMS was working at optimum capacity. The ECLYPSE platform installed by West Coast Controls created an integrated system that controls both the Air Source Heat Pumps and Boiler Plant to provide efficient heat generation. 

The Solution  
West Coast Controls installed six ECLYPSE Connected BACnet/IP controllers throughout the campus. The ECLYPSE consists of a control automation and connectivity server, power supplies, as well as I/O modules, which enables users to select the type and number of modules to meet their specifications. It is also embedded with ENVYSION, a web-based graphic design and visualisation interface, which provides a powerful user experience. The solution is a forward-thinking, connected building system designed to raise the experience of occupants – in this case, students and teaching staff.

“We decided to install the Distech Controls ECLYPSE controllers on this project for many reasons,” said Alan Macdonald, Director at West Coast Controls. “It is open to BACnet which allows the ECLYPSE to easily connect to the rest of the BMS. It is also a cost-effective solution that provides uniformity across the campus, which allowed us to remove other periphery control systems for ease of use and future-proofing future works/installs with an open protocol system. The ECLYPSE controllers are also easy to configure. This saves us time and the flexibility of the products meant we could satisfy the needs of the school.”

Smart buildings help drive reduced energy consumption, improve space utilization, and increase operations and facility management for buildings that implement these technology driven solutions (Forrester, Extend IoT Smart Building Solutions To Transform The Workplace, Look Beyond Efficiency For Opportunities To Enhance Worker Experience And Productivity, February 2018).

The result
At the school, West Coast Controls is monitoring the main electrical services to alert staff to outages that may cause the school issues. The ECLYPSE system with ENVYSION interface system is set up to send an email or contact through a mobile phone is an alarm is signalled and allows remote access for service and maintenance purposes.

“We are delighted with the completed project,” comments Alasdair McGregor, Facilities Manager at St. Columba’s School. "With the new BMS system in place, we can effectively monitor our energy usage and ensure the operation of the campus buildings is as efficient as possible.”

For more information about Distech Controls’ connected building solutions, please visit www.distech-controls.com. 

About Distech Controls

Distech Controls connects people with intelligent building solutions through our forward-thinking technologies and services.  We partner with customers to deliver innovative solutions that can provide better health, better spaces, and better efficiencies. Our passion for innovation, quality and sustainability guides our business, which serves multiple market segments through worldwide business divisions, service offices and a superior network of Authorised System Integrators and Distributors. Distech Controls, Inc. is a subsidiary of Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. For more information visit www.distech-controls.com

Distech Controls is a trademark of Distech Controls Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact