Irish systems house

Irish systems house specifies SIP from Synapsys

One of Ireland’s leading systems houses chooses interfaces from Synapsys Solutions, UK leader in developing and supplying innovative communication interfaces for the built environment, to help improve monitoring, control and connectivity, in all sorts of applications and in all kinds of places.

Standard Control Systems (SCS) is one of the largest providers of integrated building energy management systems (BeMS/BMS) in Ireland, the UK and Europe, and trusts Synapsys’ SIP technology for integration and communication in a wide range of systems.

Sean O’Toole, director of SCS, says: “We’ve specified SIP systems for some years now, and have used them extensively on a number of projects. We find them especially useful in data centres and commercial buildings.”

Great flexibility, cost-effective hardware based platform

The SIP product range offers great flexibility, as the cost-effective hardware-based platform can be easily adapted for a variety of functions. The range includes BMS interfaces, OEM and plant controls, and also energy monitoring and power monitoring solutions.

A key feature of the products is the SIP Easy series of downloadable configuration files, available on the Synapsys SIP Integrator website to help with the installation and commissioning of systems. “The SIP system saves us considerable engineering and commissioning time, compared with alternatives we’ve used in the past,” says Sean. “Our engineers find the system very straightforward to use.”

SCS specified Synapsys’ SIP interfaces for an installation at the Ireland-based European HQ of a large multinational company, an extensive facility that accommodates over 3,000 staff. The building’s plant and equipment includes a variety of chillers, façade control systems, heat meters, dry air coolers, solar thermal water heating and aircon close control units – but as the systems use various BACnet, M-Bus and ModBus protocols, efficient integration with the onsite Trend BMS was proving a challenge. However, the protocol converting SIP technology now allows all systems to be easily interfaced to the BMS.

“The SIP platform provides a very easy solution for the integration of plant and equipment to a Trend BMS – the SIP device acts as a virtual Trend outstation controller,” says Sean.

“Also, we like the compact size of the SIP devices, which helps save space and gives us more flexibility over system design.” he adds.

Fast and efficient interfacing

Another key project for SCS was a complex installation with a very high input/output (I/O) count, which took place at the Belfast facility of a large aerospace manufacturer. The final I/O count reached around 7,500 points, due to the wide variety of plant and equipment that was integrated with the onsite Trend BMS. SCS selected Synapsys’ SIP ModBus interface for a fast and efficient interfacing solution, as it’s ideal for use with the Socomex ModBus meters in use at the site. The data gathered from around the estate is used for real-time performance displays on site, and is also exported for in-depth data analysis to identify where efficiencies can be made.

Data export made simple

A further SCS installation in Ireland serves a large manufacturing facility. The facility uses a Trend BMS, one function of which is to monitor and calculate energy usage, with readings being taken from a range of points around the site, including external air temperature and meters for electricity, LPG gas and steam. Using Synapsys’ SIP interfaces, SCS developed a system that would allow this data to be easily exported to the manufacturer’s US-based head office for detailed data analysis, to ensure compliance and to identify potential energy savings.

We work closely with the Synapsys team on many of our installations,” says Sean. “The engineers there are happy to help with bespoke solutions. We are now a certified Synapsys SIPpro partner, showing that we have completed in-depth training on SIP products, and that we are approved installers.