A Rotterdam hotel is using groundwater in a fire sprinkler system that has two Affinity variable frequency AC drives from Control Techniques at its heart.
The system, designed and installed at the Domina Inn by Quintess of Holland in conjunction with Control Techniques’ Rotterdam Drive Centre, is believed to be the first system of its type controlled by inverter drives and eliminates the need for a high-volume mains water supply or roof-mounted water tanks.
“We chose the Affinity range to power the pumps because of its ‘Fire’ mode,” explained Quintess’ general manager, Paul Caspers. “This gives us a guaranteed 150% of rated current with no trip during the emergency operation. One drive and pump is sufficient to provide maximum flow and the second pair gives 100% redundancy cover.”
The six-floor 200 room Domina Inn and Conference Centre, located between Rotterdam airport and the city centre features this unique sprinkler system that utilises groundwater pumped up from a sand layer 60 metres underground.
“We were asked to look into a system that is independent of the mains drinking water or the need for water tanks,” Caspers explains further. “Traditionally, the pumps would be started with Star/Delta starters, but, with the high starting torque required, we proposed the use of inverter drives.”
The Affinity AC drives are heavy-duty rated at 37 kW and are fitted with both RFI filters and PWM correction to provide a near perfect waveform, required by the unusual operating characteristics of the pump motors. The system provides a pressure of 8 bar at a maximum water flow of 125 cubic metres/hr, acceleration from start-up to maximum flow being achieved in under three seconds.
As standard drives have integrated network connectivity with Metasys N2, Modbus RTU and this building’s BACnet building management system, this provides communication with a PLC controlled fire control panel providing sprinkler control over 47 areas of the hotel. Via Ethernet, Quintess can access the drives at any time to check operational readiness, set parameters and monitor pump motor condition.
Control Techniques’ Affinity range of drives has been designed specifically for the HVAC market and building control, incorporating extensive market research from sister company, Emerson Climate Technologies. Affinity reflects the sector’s requirement for no scheduled maintenance, ease of integration with building management systems, remote access from anywhere in the world and quiet energy-saving operation.
Packed with special features as standard, Affinity incorporates an onboard controller with realtime clock, motor pre-heat, low-load detection, a sleep/wake mode and free software tools for installation and commissioning. At the Domina Inn, the system was installed and running within one day.
“This is Netherland’s first approved groundwater sprinkler installation with variable frequency inverter control,” said Caspers. “It would not have been possible without considerable input from Control Techniques,” he concluded.
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