Encompassing a full city block and 2.5 million square feet of commercial office space, the Starrett-Lehigh, like many prewar buildings, is heated by steam.

Historically, when the heat in the city comes on, tenants are immediately forced to open windows in order to provide a comfortable climate. This scenario exists in buildings around the city that are overheated and unbalanced.

The situation is further compounded where one side of the building is always warmer, due to solar gain in the winter, while the other side remains colder throughout the heating season.

The delivery of heat around a building is typically identical and often provided without any indication as to the internal temperature of the space let alone the desired temperature setting of the occupant.

Today, the Starrett-Lehigh is not only a symbol of creativity but a model of innovation and efficiency.

Magnum Energy Solutions implemented wireless valve actuator controls to modulate the amount of steam available to a radiator based on a wireless, self-powered thermostat.

Occupants are visually presented with digital information about the current temperature and are able to simply adjust a dial on the device to select their desired comfort set point. The valve actuator opens and closes accordingly, allowing the exact amount of heat requested by the tenant to pass through, ensuring maximum comfort.

Referred to as the “Perfect Pair,” this innovative technology has been deployed in countless buildings in Europe already. Now, Magnum Energy Solutions is bringing this technology to overheated commercial office occupants and residential tenants in cities around the U.S.

Although the Perfect Pair can be deployed as a stand-alone solution, hence its name, critical building information can also be collected and reported back to a building automation system (BAS), which signals the building owner of any issues in real time. This is the case at the Starrett-Lehigh building.

A Tridium system, installed by Sentient Buildings at the Starrett-Lehigh, is primarily responsible for driving the wireless control system using data points like temperature, set point, and occupancy status. This information is wirelessly transmitted from the thermostat to a gateway (called the eBox) located in the vicinity. It is then transmitted over TCP/IP back to the Tridium system.

“Integration to a building automation system allows the building to be effectively balanced by knowing where in the building a call for heating is occurring,” said Cory Vanderpool, business development director at Magnum Energy Solutions. “Ultimately, this system reduces overheating, saves considerable energy, and increases the comfort level of the occupants.”

With wireless, cost-effective solutions for controlling radiators, building occupants and owners no longer need to suffer through heating seasons with unhappy tenants and outstanding utility bills.

The implementation of these controls can save around 20 percent on energy consumption and are often eligible for valuable utility incentives.

Publication date: 1/22/2018