Electrical Contracting News (ECN) June 2017 | Page 25

PROJECT
FOCUS
they have steel arms attached to a roller
which simply push the door open. This
leaves the stair doors on each level free for
everyday use by the building’s residents.
In the meantime, the roof mounted fan
skid at the top of the smoke shaft starts to
extract the smoke from the lobby via the
smoke shaft damper with replacement
air being pulled in from the stairwell AOV.
This prevents the lobby from becoming
smoke logged and also prevents any smoke
getting into the firefighting stairs, leaving
them clear for the firefighters to safely
enter the building and make their way to
the fire floor.
The student accommodation at
Camberwell consists of three cores in
total, each with its own arrangement: Core
1 has the 11-storey mechanical extract
system; Core 2 has a five-storey natural
smoke shaft system; and Core 3, which is
four storeys, has AOV windows in each of
the corridors with an AOV at the head of
the stairs.
All three systems are connected back
to a touch screen HMI panel adjacent to
the fire alarm panel. This will provide the
fire service with a central facility to operate
the entire building’s smoke control system
using the touch screen graphics to navigate
through the screens or the push buttons
positioned on the outside at the edge of the
panel if the operator is using a gloved hand.
A self-install system
As electrical contractors – such as Wheeler
Electrical – often have their own labour on
site already, it makes financial sense to use
the self-install mechanical smoke shaft
system for simple buildings, such as this
student accommodation.
Easivent offers a range of easy to select
and install standard AOV and smoke shaft
components that can be used in isolation or
in complete smoke shaft system projects.
It can provide brochures and datasheets to
help people install smoke shaft systems
and also offers a range of training courses,
allowing electrical contractors to learn
about and become knowledgeable in
this area and become part of Easivent’s
Approved Installer Network (terms and
conditions apply).
Michael Washbourne, Easivent’s product
manager, says, ‘Easivent got involved when
Wheeler Electrical asked us to provide a
quotation for the supply of the equipment
at tender stage. When Wheeler Electrical
won the project, Easivent assisted in the
choice of system and type of equipment to
use to help the self-install, for example the
AOV windows
on one of the
floors of Core 3 at
Camberwell College
of Arts’ new student
accommodation.
The roof mounted fan
skid and controls.
Fläkt Woods fan skid was chosen due to the
ease of installation. The skid is supplied
with a run and standby fan set which is
pre-wired into a control system on the skid
which obviously saves installation time on
the roof. You can also have the option of a
skid mounted automatic transfer switch so
the client can decide if they are supplying
a maintained 400V supply or a primary and
secondary 400V supply to the roof. The ATS
is also fitted with a maintenance bypass
facility to allow engineers to work on the
unit without disconnecting the essential
supply to the fan controls.
‘The mechanical installation time is
also reduced as the skid is supplied with
a pre-formed ductwork transformation
that connects the inlet to the fans to the
top of the smoke shaft. The builder’s work
drawings are provided with the tender
information pack so the client has plenty
of time to pre-form the mounting curb for
the ductwork.’
Michael adds, ‘The other advantage
is the fact that all the documentation
including the design specification,
technical submission, drawings and the
CFD report are already prepared and so
are available for the client at tender stage
which again speeds up the whole design
and selection process.’
smoke systems we knew that they had the
capability to get involved in the mechanical
smoke shaft system as it basically works
on the same principle, the only difference
being you have a run and standby fan
set at the top of the shaft and not a
mechanical vent.
‘It was an exciting project for us as it
was the first time we had used the skid
and controls; we had every confidence that
the equipment would be suitable and that
the installation would be top notch so it
was really rewarding to see the system all
installed and working correctly.’
One of the
lobby dampers.
Watertight seal
The quick ‘off-the-shelf’ supply of the
skid unit and roof vent at Camberwell
meant the build could be quickly sealed
watertight on the roof, smoothing over the
build process considerably.
Ed Wheeler, director of Wheeler
Electrical, comments, ‘We found
installing the smoke shaft system pretty
straightforward really – once you have
done one floor it’s all very repetitious. I
particularly liked the skid mounted fan – it
saved a lot of time and effort. Working with
Easivent was as always pretty easy.’
Michael concludes, ‘This was the first
self-install project utilising the new fan
skid arrangement, but as we had worked
with Wheeler Electrical before on natural
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