Windows-based SCADA stress-tested in Ottawa
The weather in Ottawa, the seat of Canada`s federal government, poses many challenges to the owners and operators of commercial buildings in this beautiful and historic region. By far the largest of these landlords is the Canadian federal government with an excess of 600 buildings in the National Capital Region (NCR). Given the extremes of the climate, and the proximity of many of the federal buildings to each other, Canada decided many years ago to develop a system of central heating and cooling plants (CHCPs) distributed throughout the NCR. Today these plants provide steam and chilled water to approximately 125 of the more prominent buildings within the federal government`s portfolio. This infrastructure enables Utilities Management Services/Public Works and Government Services/Public Works and Government Services Canada (UMS/PWGSC) to operate much like a district heating and cooling association, resulting in significant economies of scale to the building tenants and ultimately Canadian taxpayers. UMS realized in the mid-1980s that the pneumatic control technology used in the CHCPs was nearing the end of its life expectancy, so they began to investigate distributed control system (DCS) technology. Based in part on an attractive projected rate of return on investment, UMS decided to upgrade one of the CHCPs as a test case. A DCS was installed at the Tunney`s Pasture CHCP in the late-1980s, and from the beginning it delivered significant improvements in operating efficiency. The DCS did not meet management`s expectations in one area: the information system`s ability to provide timely access to accurate production and consumption information. The authors take a brief look at the problems encountered with the custom data acquisition and reporting system installed at Tunney`s Pasture. They share their experience and insights from the key decision points in the replacement of this custom environment with an innovative, supervisory control and data acquisition package.
- OSTI ID:
- 443465
- Journal Information:
- InTech, Vol. 42, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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