Comfort Issues
The French spend more than 80% of their time in enclosed public spaces.*
In high-traffic public spaces such as shopping malls, health and comfort concerns are very real. Once the number of people exceeds a certain threshold, oxygen levels drop and carbon dioxide levels rise, leading to health issues such as headaches and difficulty breathing…
French and European laws regarding thermal regulation and indoor air quality in Public Access Building – Public Access Buildings – and in particular Decree No. 2012-14 of January 5, 2012, concerning the evaluation of ventilation systems and the measurement of pollutants carried out as part of indoor air quality monitoring in certain Public Access Building, require the installation of systems that ensure users breathe healthy air.
Shopping centers are directly affected. In France alone, they saw a 0.9% increase in foot traffic last year **, reaching up to 50,000 visitors per day at the Centre Commercial des Arcades in Noisy-le-Grand (and 16 million visitors per year).
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Monitoring of CO2 levels and real-time control at the Arcades shopping center (93)
Project Background
The Air Neuf ventilation project at the Arcades shopping center in Noisy-le-Grand was initiated by Klepierre, the center’s operator and Europe’s leading specialist in shopping centers, with a portfolio of 155 properties.
The website maintenance contract has been awarded to the company C4E, a company based in the Paris region that has specialized for nearly 40 years in the design of Centralized Technical Management and Building Management Systems ( GTC / BMS).***
C4E has been involved in several renovation projects at the site and, for the past decade, has been working with a partner electrician on the project to replace the center’s central building management system (CBMS).
The renovation projects include managing the site’s hot water supply (control of heat pumps), managing technical alarms for temperature and contact issues (site safety), and regulating the site’s fresh air supply (management of the center’s ten air handling units).
Implementation of the fresh air regulation project
Since early 2019, C4E and Enless Wireless have been collaborating on this latest project, which involves the installation of 30 temperature, humidity, and ambient CO2 transmitters designed to remotely measure, at frequent intervals—set to every ten minutes—the CO2 levels at various points on the site.
The system, deployed using a private 169 MHz Wireless M-Bus radio communication protocol, enables the collection of ppm data via Enless Wireless ambient transmitters, which transmit the data to the Enless Wireless Modbus receiver connected via a wired connection to the shopping center’s control system. The on-site controller retrieves the information from the receiver into its Modbus table and adjusts the control system accordingly. In the event of a rise in CO2 levels, the control system seeks to bring in fresh air from outside and controls the site’s air handling units.
The CO2 data collected is tracked in real time by a multi-user monitoring software program developed by C4E. The operations team on site can thus access the information and monitor changes in real time, enabling them to respond quickly and issue commands to the PLC.
Review and Outlook
In the past, only the temperature was controlled at the shopping center, in conjunction with the HVAC system. With the implementation of a remote CO2 monitoring system across various areas of the site, Les Arcades shopping center has brought its operations into compliance with current indoor air quality (IAQ) regulations . The center’s manager says he is satisfied with how the system is performing.
Aliréza BARARI, CEO of C4E, says: “We are satisfied with Enless Wireless products; the ranges are good, and the installed systems are working perfectly. We have a good working relationship with the Enless team.”
Additional Enless Wireless ambient transmitters are scheduled to be installed at the site in the near future to complete the site’s infrastructure and ensure comprehensive coverage of the areas to be monitored. C4E also notes that other projects to equip shopping centers with similar systems are in the works.
*** Learn more about C4E:
As an automation specialist with expertise in thermal control (HVAC engineering and systems), C4E has been designing and maintaining Centralized Technical Management and Building Management Systems ( BMS) for nearly 40 years. C4E specializes in the installation (programming and commissioning) of all types of industrial control systems for the commercial sector, including Schneider, Trend, WIT, Siemens, and Lacroix Sofrel—for which it is an authorized installer.
For more information, visit the C4E website.
* Source: Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition
** Source: National Association of Certified Public Accountants
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