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[London, UK, 16 November 2020] – The new Wellington Place development in Leeds is a flagship project for sustainable design both in terms of the way it was constructed and the comfort of occupants. Distech Controls, an innovation leader in energy management solutions, has worked with local system integrator Linear Control Systems Ltd to create a sophisticated Building Energy Management System (BEMS) for two buildings at Wellington Place, that all place the comfort and wellbeing of occupants at the forefront of the design. 

The Wellington Place development is one of the largest construction projects taking place in Leeds City Centre. It is located on what was Leeds Central Station until it closed in 1967. Once the project is complete, Wellington Place will have an impressive 1.5 million sq ft of commercial, retail, leisure and residential space and developer MEPC says it will be one of the largest new city centre business quarters in Europe. There will also be a nod to the area’s industrial heritage with a central square focussed around the listed Railway Lifting Tower dating back to the 1850s. 
So far, four buildings on the site have been completed and are now being managed by CBRE. Distech Controls has worked with Linear Control Systems Ltd on buildings six and seven. These award-winning, high specification buildings all have similar designs and footprints and feature the latest Distech Controls solution. 

“The developers have very specific ideas about how they want the buildings to be constructed and the end results for occupants,” comments David Davenport, Managing Director at Linear Control Systems Ltd. “The entire site features a low carbon design alongside the latest technology to ensure the individual buildings are as efficient as possible. There’s also urban gardens, fitness and gym facilities as well as many restaurants. The aim was to build a development based around the people using it, providing a space for community and on-site facilities designed to promote wellbeing and success. Something we were able to help with when it came to the BEMS.”  

Each building features a four-pipe fan coil air conditioning system that is controlled by the Distech Controls ECB-PTU Series. This is a range of microprocessor-based programmable controllers designed to control powered terminal units such as fan coil units, heat pump units, and chilled beams. Each controller uses the BACnet® MS/TP LAN communication protocol and is BTL®-Listed as BACnet Application Specific Controllers (BASC) and WSP Certified. These controllers are optimised for ultra-low power consumption and can be operated as stand-alone units or as part of a networked system to suit any installation requirement.

What can be extremely useful on a project such as Wellington Place is that the ECB-PTU controllers can be used straight out of the box. They have factory preloaded applications, which allow users to operate standard PTU equipment with a proven energy efficient sequence of operation thereby eliminating the need for programming.
The ECB-PTU controllers also support Distech Controls’ EC-gfxProgram, which makes BEMS programming effortless by allowing users to visually assemble building blocks to create a custom control sequence for any HVAC, lighting, or building automation application. 

David continues, “the whole installation process was easy and went smoothly, which is something that cannot be underestimated on a development the size of Wellington Place. The Distech Controls controllers give us flexibility and provide us with the opportunity to go back and add to the system as the building evolves.” 

Now that the ECB-PTU’s have been installed, they can all be managed via an app meaning that it is extremely easy for the team to maintain the FCUs. The app allows them to monitor and control the units without having to go into the actual ceiling voids, saving time and reducing risk for the maintenance team.  

Wellington Place is an on-going project and Linear Control Systems Ltd is working on the BEMS for other buildings within the development, utilising Distech Controls products.  

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

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