The UK’s leading pet supply shop has seen huge energy savings across its entire retail network while maintaining perfect animal welfare standards at all times.
In all of Pets at Home’s 450 locations, energy-efficient control systems for the air conditioning (AC) have been installed. Each system was created by Wantage, Oxon-based energy management specialists Ignite Energy, using a standard template based on HMS Networks’ Intesis gateway, and implemented by integration solutions provider Consyst.
Air conditioning equipment from Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, and other manufacturers is used in Pets at Home locations. Regardless of the manufacturer, Consyst has used Intesis gateways to obtain real-time information from AC units and control operations.
“The Intesis gateway is powered by the AC unit, allowing for simple installation,” says Consyst Director Lior Golani. The integrator may easily reproduce the configuration across different units and sites by reading predetermined information from the gateways, which saves a lot of time during commissioning.”
Consyst was able to install each system fast and efficiently thanks to its simplicity. In fact, Pets at Home’s entire branch network was modernised in less than 18 months, causing minimal disruption to usual operations.
Once operational, the gateway sends critical information to a central controller on a regular basis, such as operating status and problem codes. The fact that each store’s system incorporates various temperature sensors and controls ensures that stringent pet welfare standards can be maintained at all times was a critical consideration.
“Monitoring and managing the temperature in each store has greatly cut energy use while also ensuring optimal welfare conditions for the dogs,” Lior explains.
Pets at Home now has a network of energy-efficient stores, and Ignite and Consyst are continuing to collaborate with them to develop new projects and ensure that energy is managed efficiently at all levels.
HMS’s Intesis gateways solutions make it possible to connect existing devices and equipment from virtually any manufacturer, regardless of protocol or network technology. This means that even the most complicated building automation projects can be combined into a single unified system.
It has a variety of protocol translators and AC interfaces and can interact using open standards or customised protocols. As a result, design, installation, and commissioning are straightforward, and operation is stable and reliable.
HMS makes gateways for all main building automation protocols, including ASCII, BACnet, KNX, M-bus, and Modbus, in addition to DALI.
