Adding New Offices to an Existing HVAC System

Modular office partitions are convenient and widely deployed. But pulling wires through a modular wall is just not feasible. So how to integrate these new offices into your existing HVAC system? Wireless sensors offer the perfect solution.

Modular Office Partitions:                                                                                                                                         A Popular Choice for Expanding Office Space Makes Adding HVAC Components Challenging

Modular office partitions offer several advantages over regular, traditional construction. Quick to install, they are ideal for adding new individual offices when new staff is hired or when a business moves to a new building. It’s no surprise that more and more companies are turning to modular construction for an affordable way to add on offices without having to invest in intensive renovations. In many locations, they also offer financial advantages. But for all of their advantages, modular walls also have one drawback when it comes to integrating new offices with existing heating, cooling, and lighting systems. Made of synthetic materials, such as polystyrene, metal, and glass, they offer no place to run new wiring, presenting a challenge to technicians aiming to install HVAC or lighting sensors and controls.

Finding a Creative, Effective Solution with Wireless Technology

Joe Bolduc, project manager for Basix Automation in Portland, Maine, faced this challenge when installing temperature sensors in a large office campus. New staff had recently gotten offices made of modular construction, and facilities management wanted to allow for individualized temperature monitoring. Adding a temperature sensor to each new office would optimize the comfort of occupants, and give facilities staff a clear view of whether temperature controls were working correctly in all areas of the building. Yet the modular office walls offered no possibility for installing a conventional wired temperature sensor. The portable modular office walls were convenient to install, but made installation of HVAC sensors a challenge.

With no place to run wiring, wireless temperature sensors from Westford, Massachusetts-based Spinwave Systems, Inc. provided an ideal solution. The wireless sensors were mounted on the walls of each office near the door. The sensors communicate with Spinwave’s wireless interface modules, which are connected to existing VAV controls under the building’s drop-in ceilings. Integrating seamlessly with the building’s existing automation system, the sensors allow the new modular offices’ HVAC systems to be integrated with the building’s hard-wired sensing and control system.
 

Wireless Sensors Work with Existing Systems

Scaling up an existing HVAC system to accommodate new office configurations generally means adding new sensors and controls to an existing system. In many of these retrofits, wiring in new components is not feasible. But there’s no need to sacrifice the comfort of office occupants, and leave new offices without adequate temperature controls. Wireless components attach to any surface and can easily work with nearly any HVAC system that is currently installed in a building. “I found the products extremely easy to set up,” notes Bolduc, adding, “the sensors have any option we would need for different applications right on board.”

Several months into the installation, occupants of the new offices are as comfortable as their counterparts in non-modular offices. Thus, the integration of wireless sensors is seamless, both from the building automation standpoint and the standpoint of the end users who use the system every day.