CASE STUDY: St Peter’s Court, Nottingham
- 25% saving in gas
- Quick and easy to fit
- Cost-effective and simple to use
Ecostat demonstrates Prefects unique understanding of energy control for the student accommodation market. The fresh thinking, innovative design and engineering bring with it many new features and benefits.
Ecostat is quick, simple and inexpensive to install and easy to use. A single coded handset program’s individual wall units with on and pre-set run times, minimum/maximum temperature and temperature boost times. Occupants are able to make adjustments within pre-determined parameters. But ultimate control is with the energy manager as heat is only used when needed.
Comfort mode keeps rooms at a predetermined temperature while guests require heat. When a room is known to be empty for a short period or when a guest is in bed, Standby mode reduces the temperature. In Frost mode the temperature drops significantly when a room is unoccupied for a longer period.
There are 2 Ecostat models – the Touch has buttons enabling the occupant to activate the boost feature while the buttons on the Touch Adjust afford the occupant incremental control within the boost feature.
Both these models have options for an integrated PIR – detecting activity in the room and selecting the correct mode – and The Auto-On option – which activates two timed events to occur daily.
For larger installations, units can be set to preferred timings/temperatures at the time of manufacture (factory pre-set), ensuring continuity and reducing commissioning time on site.
St Peter’s Court in Nottingham, a site operated by Unite Students, the UK’s leading student accommodation provider, has recently had a re-fit of 291 bedrooms and 46 lounges and kitchens with the Ecostat Touch Adjust (5003e) model.
This, along with other energy-saving measures means that a total reduction in the use of gas at the site is predicted to be in excess of 25% based on the trials that took place.
Gareth Chaplin, Energy & Environment Technical Solutions Manager at Unite, explained ‘Our previous experience of the reliability, functionality and ease of use of Prefects room controls meant that Ecostat was the obvious choice when looking at a replacement’.
He added ‘The Ecostat is much improved with many more features across the range and a better choice of models, all of them easier and more intuitive to use. Although this wasn’t a one-for-one, like-for-like change due to the configuration of thermostats and sensors etc., the installation was relatively straightforward’.
Ecostat can be installed on electrical or wet systems fuelled by any energy source, Gareth continues ‘Most of our sites are electrically powered but St Peters is run on gas and that doesn’t pose any issues with Ecostat. We are also trialling the Ecostat Touch Adjust with PIR sensors for 6 months or so with the potential of using those at other sites’.
Ecostat really is a ‘set it and forget it’ product, once the unit is installed, it just runs to the times and temperatures allocated, enabling guests to boost the temperature when required, but it doesn’t allow a thermostat to be left on a high setting constantly, wasting energy.
Gareth concludes ‘Ecostat does exactly what I expect it to do, it’s reliable, easy to use and cost-effective’.
