Case
Perfect temperature and domestic hot water achieved in school building thanks to Grundfos pumps and management systems
A primary school in the city of Gessate expressed the need to improve the control and efficiency of its heating and hot water production systems. Prompt intervention carried out using Grundfos devices made it possible to achieve the comfort desired by students and users of the building, as well as a significant improvement in terms of energy savings.
- BUSINESS SECTOR: Education
- LOCATION: Armando Diaz Primary School, ICS Alda Faipò – Viale Europa 2, Gessate (Milan)
- CLIENT: Municipality of Gessate (Milan)
- SYSTEM DESIGN: Studio Emme, Per. Ind. Enzo Mapelli – Via G. Oberdan 36, Cambiago (Milan)
- SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION: Elleterm Energy Srl – Vimercate (Monza and Brianza)
The situation
Armando Diaz Primary School, a building located in Viale Europa in Gessate (Milan) in an area of about 4,500 m2, is a structure split into two different buildings, where one of them – which has two floors – adjoins a large hall used as a dining hall. The original structure dates back to 1958, but the school’s first expansion took place in 1980 when a corridor was built to connect the old buildings and the new block, consisting of a secretarial office, four classrooms and two open areas, a multipurpose classroom and a gym. In 1995 the old kitchen was removed (later transformed into a canteen and toilets) and the cooking centre was built, adapted to prepare about 600 meals. In 2004 a new classroom block was built as the number of students increased, expanding the building with four additional classrooms and an open area. Four years later the dining hall was extended, a new block of five classrooms was built and the adjacent building – previously used as a crèche – was renovated to be used for offices of the Educational Directorate of the new institute, which included the primary school, middle school and nursery. As a result, this is a structure built at different periods and times, currently accommodating 20 classes and over 400 children who, until recently, complained of temperatures being far from ideal inside the classrooms and problems with the supply and use of hot water, an inconvenience noticed mainly in the changing rooms and shower facilities. For this reason, in early 2021 the Municipality of Gessate launched a public tender for the integration of the school's old thermo-hydraulic distribution system with new production and control devices in the HVAC system, aimed at boosting the system’s efficiency and thus improving the day-to-day experience and quality of life of students, school staff and sports associations that used the gym for their activities.
The solution
The public tender for the construction of the system was awarded to Elleterm Energy Srl in Vimercate (Monza and Brianza), which followed the design produced by Studio Emme in Cambiago (Milan). Elleterm Energy helped renovate the new HVAC system. The project has seen the installation of two boilers, seven twin Grundfos MAGNA3 D circulators for heating and a Grundfos ALPHA1 20-60 N circulator for domestic hot water recirculation. The uniqueness of this project was the possibility of applying a BMS (Building Management System) to the existing distribution system, which has been cleaned, inspected and become more efficient. “Through the BACnet programming protocol, we integrated the Grundfos pumps into our BMS system, the control system for the entire installation,” explains Edoardo Crispiatico, a partner at Elleterm Energy Srl. “In a standard control system the pump is intended to be a passive object whereas, in this case, it interfaces directly with the system itself: the control unit reports to the pump and the pump responds, using a real specific language. Compared to a traditional control system, this is a more complex and certainly more discerning system, applicable only if the pumps are equipped with special levels of intelligence.” The heating section of the HVAC system that supplies the school has been divided into several circuits. This was made possible using a special panel not only on site, but also remotely to control temperatures and start-up times area by area, thereby improving the system’s overall energy efficiency. Six of the seven MAGNA3 D pumps provide heating for the new areas, canteen, old classrooms, corridor circuit, management and gym circuit. The seventh twin pump operates as a primary circuit, controlling the plate heat exchanger where the heat is exchanged and DHW production takes place, with a recirculation that works thanks to the ALPHA1 20-60 N circulator. Not far from the HVAC system, inside a rainwater lifting and recovery station, two Grundfos Unilift AP50B-50-08-1 wastewater pumps have been installed and connected to a control unit that interfaced with the BMS system, which means that this part of the system can be monitored remotely. “It took us about four months to implement the HVAC system and install the boilers and all the pumps,” says Massimiliano Pistoia from the technical office at Elleterm Energy Srl. “However, it took 2-3 weeks to finish adjusting the pumps and start up the system. We carried out additional operations outside the initial contract, including the redevelopment and installation of new fans, radiators and fan coils in the gym, the inspection of the ceiling unit heaters and the renovation of the changing rooms and showers. We are very satisfied with the final result.”
The result
Thanks to the new devices installed, the management of the system has improved significantly. Today, cascade boilers are self-managed, distribution systems are coordinated automatically by inverters, each circuit and sector is adjustable individually – both in terms of times and temperatures – and monitoring and control also take place remotely, both at the municipal headquarters and by the system’s maintenance technician. “Our main goal was to achieve remote management,” says Emanuela Riva, Technical Surveyor at the Municipality of Gessate, “because timetable changes occur frequently in schools. Previously, we had problems related to areas of the building that were colder, or that did not heat up, along with the sudden absence of hot water in the showers. Now everything has been resolved and the students and others who attend this educational institute enjoy greater comfort, not to mention that the system will also allow us to achieve energy savings.”
Grundfos products installed
- 7 MAGNA3D twin circulators for heating
- 1 ALPHA1 20-60 N circulator for the hot water circuit
- 2 Unilift AP50B-50-08-1 pumps for the rainwater lifting station
Advantages of the Grundfos system:
- Pump management via BMS with the BACnet protocol
- Comfort of students and users of the building
- Lower consumption and better performance
- Energy saving
We have been relying on Grundfos for a few years now, and we think it is one of the best high-end brands in terms of circulation, pumping and pressurisation devices, without forgetting the integrated electronics of the pumps, which interfaces particularly well with the control systems. Apart from preferring Grundfos for its efficiency and high quality materials compared to several other competitors, we had the opportunity to test how much the intelligence of the pumps is above average thanks to the BACnet protocol: the circulators are not passive, but can “think” and communicate directly with the BMS system. This smart management produces greater system efficiency. The system now works perfectly and we are able to easily monitor it remotely, both via smartphone and PC. We can receive any system alarms from our headquarters and evaluate whether it is appropriate to intervene, including remotely. Compared to competitor brands, these pumps guarantee lower consumption and better performance levels. We have been far-sighted by choosing Grundfos, hoping we will collaborate again in future projects.