Severn cuts energy consumption at the NEC

An automated control system designed and installed by Severn Controls based on a SCADA approach now controls power supplies to all the NEC exhibition centre stands.

The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is the UK's most successful exhibition venue.

It has 21 flexible, flat-floored, interconnected halls totalling 200,000m2.

Until recently, providing power to the tens of thousands of stands built every year was a complicated and labour-intensive process involving thousands of metres of temporary cables being installed by an army of electricians.

This exercise also added time to the build-up and breakdown of an exhibition.

An automated control system designed and installed by Severn Controls has changed this.

Severn Controls proposed controlling the entire power supply via a SCADA system, using bespoke software to provide greater flexibility and automate more functions.

A SCADA simulation demonstrated how Plug and Play would enable operators to control all panels, sockets and meters and switch power on and off, allocate single or three-phase current, limit supplies and monitor power consumption.

Severn Controls was awarded a GBP2m contract to fully automate the power supply to seventeen of the NEC halls.

Plug and Play complies with European safety standards and provides electrical mains to exhibition organisers and exhibitors at no extra cost.

Setting up manually could take up to two weeks before carpets could be laid and contractors could build stands.

Before exhibitions opened, contractors entered subways under the halls, put in fuses and turned on power to the stands.

Power then remained on during the exhibition until services were isolated at the end of each day.

Energy was wasted due to the time taken for electricians to return to the subways and isolate the supplies.

When the exhibition closed, contractors disconnected cables and put them into storage, ready for the next exhibition.

Using PLC and SCADA packages, Severn Controls created a fully automated system and a bespoke booking/configuration utility, written as a vb.net web application (SQL 2005 Database).

The entire NEC is now pre-wired.

Sixty-five electrical distribution panels are installed within the subways and nearly 4000, 63A sockets permanently fixed in the various ducts.

Sockets are hardwired back to the distribution panels and their locations accurately marked on the SCADA screens.

Pulling points in the floor enable extension leads to connect the electrical supply to power points on stands.

The new system is more flexible than the old one because fixed sockets are easier to locate and faults are easier to find and rectify.

The system makes it easier and quicker to identify power supply problems, even on individual stands.

Now, even before an exhibitor can contact a helpdesk, the operator knows what the problem is and is making arrangements to remedy it.

If there is a problem with an MCB or RCD, an engineer will still need to visit the stand to ensure that it is safe to return the power.

The Severn Controls system has 65 panels, which can each supply 30 circuits.

Each circuit has two sockets, adding up to 1950 circuits and 3900 sockets.

Every panel and circuit also has a power meter so the system boasts more than 2000 power meters mapping the energy usage of the site.

Every circuit has a timer that can be set to turn on and off at predetermined times before a show opens and closes, meaning energy cannot be wasted.

The automated Severn Controls system will save time, enabling NEC to stage more exhibitions and increase its profit per square metre.

The cost of labour and hiring cables is also reduced.

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