Intelligent office sets the standard
The Kyoto
Agreement on climate change provided one of the guiding architectural
principles for Omron's new high tech headquarters building, which
has just opened in that city to house its 1000 central services
staff
In the heart
of Kyoto, Japan, Omron's new headquarters building was developed
to provide a shining example of what can be achieved with control
technology and intelligent building systems. Bristling with 21st
Century technology, the building incorporates many environmentally
friendly facilities and uses numerous Omron products in its control
and security systems.
Environmentally
friendly
At the centre
of the control system for this environmentally friendly building
is a gas powered co-generation system. This will reduce carbon dioxide,
the critical greenhouse gas, emissions through recovery and reuse
of waste heat.
In order to
optimise electrical power consumption for cooling, an ice generator-based
cooling system has been installed. The effect of this is to reduce
peak time electricity consumption, using instead low-cost night-time
electricity to create the ice that will be used through the next
day.
Omron's building
uses rainwater and water from a nearby well for cooling. This reduces
the consumption of mains water that has been treated to standards
for human consumption. The many plants, including fully-grown trees,
which abound in the new building, are all irrigated using wastewater
from the air conditioning systems.
Power consumption
is reduced considerably by the use of inverters in the air conditioning
systems, and low energy light is used throughout. Sensors are used
to detect the presence or absence of people in every part of the
building; rooms that are likely to remain unoccupied for a period
are automatically powered down.
A biodegrading
waste disposer produces organic fertiliser from dining room waste
for nearby tea farms. Similarly a shredder classifies paper waste
for recycling, while PCs and other IT equipment encourage 'paperless'
administrative procedures.
Control
Systems
Not surprisingly,
Omron has used its own control products and systems extensively
throughout the building. These include the PLCs, variable speed
drives, sensors and relays, wireless fan coil controllers and modem-based
systems for central control of vending machines. Also featured is
a parking system with automatic number plate recognition, Face Key
- Omron's facial image recognition system - and automated card gates.
In fact even the food in the staff restaurant is labelled with radio
frequency identification (RFID) tags for automatic billing and reordering.
- Omron
e122@industrialnetworking.co.uk
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