SE Controls gets switched on with Bristol’s Electricity House contract

A key contract to provide an advanced smoke ventilation system to Crest Nicholson Homes’ redevelopment of Bristol’s iconic Electricity House building, has been awarded to leading smoke and natural ventilation systems company, SE Controls.

Originally designed by acclaimed architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s, the six-storey Grade II listed building is being converted into 85 luxury city centre apartments, while ensuring that many of the original design features are reinstated to enhance its art deco style.

Electricity House’s main atrium is at the heart of the SE Controls solution, as the smoke ventilation system is designed to vent smoke from the atrium in the event of a fire to ensure escape routes are kept clear.

To achieve this, SE Controls is designing, installing and commissioning the system, which comprises 37 SHEVTEC® automatically controlled louvres that are manufactured and tested in accordance with BS EN 12101: 2. The SHEVTEC® louvres also incorporate ‘fall protection’ to increase safety, as well as using IP rated external motors, which are essential to allow easy access for future maintenance.

In addition, 21 low level air inlet louvres and linear door actuators also form part of the system, all of which are controlled by a series of OS2 control panels with integral battery back up and fully compliant with the relevant sections of the BS EN 12010 standard.

Martin Oates, SE Controls’ Commercial Director, commented: “Electricity House is a landmark building designed by a giant of British architecture, so we’re naturally delighted to be involved in the project and look forward to its completion, which is scheduled for later this year.”

He added: “Smoke control and fire safety is not only a core part of our business, but also an area we’re very actively involved with via organisations such as the Smoke Control Association, FIRAS and British Standards, to ensure that design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance standards are constantly being maintained. Although this is important for the industry, the real benefit is for residents who rely on our systems for failsafe performance, if a fire should occur.”

Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by visiting www.secontrols.com or calling  +44 (0) 1543 443060.

‘Green’ natural ventilation from SE Controls at new King’s Cross Central development

The London Borough of Camden’s new multi-storey office and leisure complex within the 67 acre King’s Cross Central development, is using a highly energy efficient natural ventilation system from SE Controls to maintain a comfortable indoor environment while contributing to the building’s BREEAM outstanding rating.

Working with contractors, Kier Construction, as executive architects, Weedon developed the original design prepared by Bennett Associates for Camden Council’s new administrative HQ and customer services contact centre. Located at Five Pancras Square, the the 14-storey building not only provides 150,000 sq.ft of floor space but also incorporates a leisure centre, swimming pool, public library and café.

By using a combination of active and passive design features to obtain very low carbon emissions, such as low glazing ratios and energy efficient ventilation, the building achieves the highest standards of environmental sustainability for a major office building and is on course to reach the highest ever BREEAM score.

To maintain precise energy efficient control over the building’s indoor air quality and maintain a comfortable working environment, SE Controls supplied, installed and commissioned a natural ventilation system that fully automates and controls the opening of windows on the North and South elevations, as well as the main atrium space.

A total of 204 SCCO 24 30 concealed tandem and single chain actuators are installed on Schüco AWS 102 SK glazed projected top hung vents, which are controlled by 68 NVLogiQ 6Amp power supply units (PSUs) and actuated by the building’s central BMS, which also triggers window opening and closing for night purging.

Within the North atrium, SE Controls also installed 12 SECO N 24 40 twin chain actuators and a 30 Amp PSU panel, incorporating a maintenance key-switch and linked to the BMS, to provide additional control over ventilation, indoor air quality and building energy efficiency.

SE Controls’ Commercial Director, Martin Oates, explained: “With the continued move towards greater energy efficiency and sustainable building design, highly efficient natural ventilation systems, such as that incorporated within Five Pancras Square are delivering significant performance and running cost benefits to building owners, architect and occupants:

He added: “In addition, the level of flexibility and precise environmental control they provide via advanced sensors and actuation systems enables indoor air quality parameters, such as carbon dioxide and temperature levels to be managed highly efficiently, allowing a comfortable and stimulating environment for staff and visitors to be maintained.”

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.

Natural ventilation from SE Controls for award winning Hong Kong Science Park

Phases 3a and 3b of the extensive Hong Kong Science Park development, which won the Grand Award at the international ‘Green Building Awards’ in November 2014, are using more than 2000 window actuators from SE Controls to manage indoor air quality and provide natural ventilation to both of the new buildings.

Designed by architects, Simon Kwan & Associates and constructed by main contractor, Gammon Construction, the new buildings were conceived to be carbon neutral over their lifetime. To meet this goal a range of sustainable technologies and innovative energy saving solutions are incorporated, including a low energy hybrid natural ventilation system, where air conditioning is provided on a ‘pay for use’ basis to help reduce energy consumption.

As the 8 storey buildings use extensive glazed facades, they are orientate north-south to minimise solar gain and windows are automated using 1000 SE Controls SECO N 24 40 compact single chain actuators on each building, which are linked to the BMS and control the single sided, double opening natural ventilation system.

By using double opening window units with a high and low apertures incorporated in the design, warm air is vented through the top and cooler fresh air enters through the lower vent, which provides adequate ventilation to a room depth of 2.5 times the height of the window opening.

Manual opening of the windows is also incorporated into every floor, so that individual units can be opened or closed by the buildings’ occupants, when external weather conditions permit, to provide good indoor air quality and thermal comfort.

Frank Leung, Project Manager with SE Controls’ Asia Pacific operation in Hong Kong, explained: “Natural ventilation provides a highly energy efficient method of reducing costs and environmental impact. The innovative and holistic approach to sustainability that has been taken with the new Hong Kong Science Park buildings has shown what can be achieved with innovative systems and an integrated approach to energy management and carbon reductions and we’re delighted to have contributed to its award winning status.”

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.

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.

SE Controls provides safe environment at Holy Rosary School’s new entertainment hall

A new 1000 seat multi purpose entertainment and sports centre at Holy Rosary School in Johannesburg is using precision automatic window actuators and control systems from SE Controls, to provide effective smoke ventilation in the event of a fire.

Bishop Shanahan Hall is the latest addition to the Catholic day school, which was founded in 1940 and provides private primary and high school education for girls from Grade R to 12 in a range of subjects including languages, mathematics and sciences.

Designed by Dual Design Architects and built by JTSON Construction, the extensive new hall was conceived as a multi-use building that could stage, formal events, indoor sports, competitions, student dances and entertainment, as the school had outgrown its existing facilities, which could no longer accommodate large audience functions.

While Bishop Shanahan Hall provides the highest standard of staging and equipment for events, safety for students, performers and the audience is also at the core of the building’s design, particularly if a fire should occur. The smoke ventilation solution formed part of the rationale behind the overall fire system design, which was prepared by Building Code Consultants (BCC).

To ensure the various escape routes are kept smoke free and assist evacuation, windows in the building are automatically actuated by SE Controls’ compact SECO N 24 40 - 800mm stroke chain actuators, which are fire safety tested to the internationally recognised EN12101-2: Annex G standard.

In addition to the 12 SECO N 24 40 actuators, supplied by SE Controls’ South African operation, which has offices in Durban and Johannesburg, specialist contractor Robertson Ventilation Industries (RVI), installed and commissioned four manual control point (MCP) fireman’s override switches together with 2 x OS2 Type 23 controls panels to control the MCPs and actuators while also linking them to the school’s fire safety system.

Russell Cramb of SE Controls Africa explained: “In addition to providing an effective smoke control solution, our actuators were also specified for this project as the architects wanted them to be almost silent and virtually invisible. To comply with this, each SECO N 24 40 unit was powder coated to match the window frame colour, while the low profile design of the actuator body enabled them to be sill mounted to keep them out of sight.”

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.