SE Controls invests in the future with five key management appointments

International smoke and naturalventilation systems specialist, SE Controls, has made five key management appointments to reinforce and expand its capabilities in core parts the business, including ventilation systems control and maintenance, fire engineering, project management and business development.

The new members of the management team are all highly experienced in their respective disciplines, each having worked for well over 20 years at a senior level within the building, construction and control systems industries with a number of UK and international companies.

Three of the new appointments, David Furneau, Stuart Coote and Nelson Godinho join from natural and powered smoke ventilation company, Airvent, taking up new roles within SE Controls as Project Manager, Business Development Manager, and Fire Engineer, respectively.

In addition to his time at Airvent, David has a long career in smoke control and project management having also worked for Colt International and GEC, while Stuart’s successful career in sales and business development in the engineering, electronics and construction industries includes periods with Colt International, and SMC Pneumatics.

Prior to joining Airvent as a fire engineer consultant in 2008, Nelson was a contracts engineer for Alstom South Africa, where he was directly involved in the design and management of a range of smoke ventilation and control contracts. At SE Controls, his role is focused on maintaining design and legislative standards across the smoke ventilation systems range, as well as liaising with fire engineering consultancies and specialists on relevant projects.

Simon North joins SE Controls as Service and Maintenance Division Manager from Honeywell Building Solutions, where he was responsible for energy and cost efficient life safety and natural ventilation solutions, while Paul Hunt takes up his post as Supply & Distribution Manager from Securistyle, part of the Assa Abloy Group, having also previously worked for the Newman Tonks Group.

SE Controls’ Managing Director, Will Perkins, explained: “We are constantly developing and growing our business in all the sectors and countries in which we operate through the design and installation of excellent solutions delivered by outstanding people. With these five key appointments we have not only increased our skills and experience base, but also created an even stronger platform for further development in key aspects of our business from customer service and systems maintenance through to product design and market development. “

SE Controls specialises in the design, project management and installation of advanced smoke ventilation and natural ventilation solutions to meet the needs of architects, contractors, building services engineers and facilities managers worldwide. Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by visiting www.secontrols.com or calling

 +44 (0) 1543 443060.

Innovative natural ventilation from SE Controls helps keep pupils alert

A new £2 million science centre at Moreton Hall School in Oswestry, is using an advanced NVLogiQ naturalventilation monitoring and control solution from SE Controls to maintain classroom indoor air quality while providing a stimulating and comfortable environment for pupils.

Founded more than 100 years ago, Moreton Hall is one of the UK’s highest achieving independent schools, providing education for girls from age 3 to 18 and boys from 3 to 11, together with accommodation and facilities for boarding.

The new two-storey science building provides high quality teaching laboratories for the school’s junior science, GCSE and A level students and was designed by Shrewsbury based architects, Baart Harries Newall who were keen to ensure that the building’s indoor air quality was maintained within national standards and its energy consumption was minimised.

To achieve the designer’s objectives, SE Controls worked closely with the architects and main contractors, Jones Brothers Weston Rhyn, to develop an assisted natural ventilation solution. Using compact NVLogiQ room controllers linked to automatic opening windows and a low energy cross flow fan in each of the eight lab classrooms, the system manages ventilation as well as the operation of radiators to provide a fully integrated low energy system.

The NVLogiQ room controllers constantly monitor carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in each classroom alongside indoor air temperature and relative humidity, as well as outside temperature, wind and rain via external sensors. Each NVLogiQ unit also incorporates an integral data logger to allow the recording and analysis of all key aspects of the room environment.

The sophisticated monitoring and control algorithm used within the compact NVLogiQ system was developed in conjunction with Loughborough University’s School of Civil and Building Engineering to ensure indoor CO₂ levels and temperatures are precisely controlled while minimising building energy losses.

In addition to the eight NVLogiQ controllers and PSUs, 18 SECO N 24 40 400N twin chain compact actuators were also installed by SE Controls together with PIR finger trap sensors and all the appropriate cabling to control the automatic opening of windows and the small cross flow fans in each lab.

During normal operation, as CO₂ levels increase within each individual science lab, the NVLogiQ controller triggers SE Controls’ SECO N 24 40 compact chain actuators to begin the incremental opening of the windows to allow fresh air to enter the classroom. Simultaneously, small dampers located on the wall opposite the windows are signalled to open and the low energy fans start to draw air from the room to stimulate cross flow and aid ventilation.

Dr. Chris Iddon, SE Controls’ Design Manager, explained: “There are already a significant number of high quality studies that have identified a clear link between increased internal CO₂ levels and a reduction in the ability of students to learn and perform optimally.”

He added: “Post occupancy monitoring of the Moreton Hall classroom environment has shown excellent indoor air quality proving that the design is an example of how having a clearly defined, controlled and executed ventilation strategy can maintain a high quality and stimulating classroom environment for students. Using NVlogiQ enables excellent on demand ventilation whilst minimising heating energy demand.”  

SE Controls specialises in the design, project management and installation of advanced smoke ventilation and natural ventilation solutions to meet the needs of architects, contractors, building services engineers and facilities managers worldwide. Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by visiting www.secontrols.com or calling

 +44 (0) 1543 443060.

Innovative solution for natural ventilation in schools control launched by SE Controls

The need to maintain precise control over carbon dioxide (CO₂), temperature and energy consumption is essential to create quality learning environments in classrooms and educational buildings and SE Controls’ new compact NVLogiQ room controller provides an innovative solution to meet these demands.

NVLogiQ constantly monitors indoor air quality, temperature and humidity and uses innovative algorithms, developed in conjunction with Loughborough University’s Building Energy Research Group, to control the automatic operation of windows, vents and heating to improve learning and comfort while saving energy. A manual over-ride option is also incorporated to provide additional versatility and direct control.

Capable of being used as a stand-alone classroom controller or networked throughout schools and educational buildings, NVLogiQ’s also incorporates integrated data logging to allow detailed analysis against pre-defined design and performance criteria on both new build and school refurbishment projects.

This ability also presents a range of opportunities for consultants, contractors and facilities mangers to not only verify a school’s natural ventilation (NV) design and performance, but also to enable accurate ongoing system evaluation to be easily undertaken.

As NVLogiQ has a compact and unobtrusive, with a footprint of just 160mm x 105mm, it can be located close to desks and work areas, allowing the precise monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO₂), temperature and humidity to maintain good indoor air quality and comfort levels.

SE Controls’ Natural Ventilation Division Manager, Nick Hudleston, explained: “There are clear guidelines of the volume of fresh air to be introduced into school classrooms, lecture theatres and other educational facilities to ensure that learning is not impeded by high CO₂ levels as well as elevated temperatures. NVLogiQ provides a simple, compact and powerful method of monitoring these parameters and automatically controlling the natural ventilation system to maintain a productive learning environment.”

He added: “For consultants, contractors and those responsible for managing educational buildings, the data logging facility can be used for detailed ongoing analysis, allowing the NV strategy to be ‘tailored’ precisely to the needs of the students and teaching staff, while optimising energy efficiency and comfort.”

CO₂ temperature and relative humidity readings are continuously displayed on NVLogiQ’s integral LCD screen while a red, amber and green ‘traffic light’ display gives a constant indication of indoor air quality. A manual over-ride capability is also built in to the room controller, allowing staff to temporarily open or close windows, louvres or other ventilation devices.

NVLogiQ’s versatile and powerful control structure has been designed to enable it to be used in a range natural ventilation strategies including cross ventilation and single sided ventilation as well as managing passive ventilation and night purging.

“From the outset, we designed NVLogiQ to provide an unrivalled mix of features, control and precision to help take indoor air quality, comfort and energy management of natural ventilation systems in education to the next level,” continued Nick Hudleston. “The innovative operating algorithms, integral data logging and the unobtrusive design, enables it to address a range of NV control and educational building management requirements in a highly versatile package.”

SE Controls specialises in the design, project management and installation of advanced smoke ventilation and natural ventilation solutions to meet the needs of architects, contractors, building services engineers and facilities managers worldwide. Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by visiting www.secontrols.com or by calling +44 (0) 1543 443060.