Zehnder: More comfort and energy savings with Priva Blue ID

Zehnder is a product specialist and supplier of ventilation systems and heating. The company works in the Netherlands, based in an office building with factory hall and warehouse in Zwolle. Zehnder needed a new building management system for the entire building. Unica, which maintains all the installations at Zehnde, called in specialists Regel Partners from Meppel. Together, they went in search of a new solution.

Complaints about the cooling

"The existing building management system was outdated," says Arend Poepe, account manager at Regel Partners. "It was clear that Zehnder needed a new system. The Technical Department could only view the system with a display for the control cabinet. There were complaints about the cooling units in the offices. For some reason, they could not be turned off, which meant they were on 24/7. Together with Zehnder and Unica, we analysed the entire system and found Priva Blue ID to be the best solution."

Total insight

"Priva is easy to use, an important condition for Zehnder. In principle, anyone can work with Priva, which is easy to operate. In addition, the Technical Department now has total insight into the installation, also remotely, enabling them to monitor the operation much better. They can easily retrieve graphics from the system, which show them where adjustments are required. This also makes it possible to take important steps in energy savings.”

Smooth process

The implementation of the project was a challenge, because Zehnder obviously wanted to minimise any disruption from the work. The work in the factory hall and the office needed to continue uninterrupted. Regel Partners has not received any complaints, so Arend Poepe concludes that everything went well. 

"We completed the conversion on normal production days, although we couldn't disturb production or the office employees. The very pleasant collaboration with Zehnder and Unica helped make this a success. The conversion proceeded very smoothly and it's obviously always nice when we succeed."

New Priva sensors

However, halfway through the project, Regel Partners did encounter an unexpected problem. The existing sensors weren't reliable enough.  Arend Poepe: "Priva is renowned for the ability to connect almost every type of sensor, but this was a very special German sensor. I wasn't sure whether this would work. We decided to explain the problem to Priva, who suggested using the new Priva sensors. Good control starts with good measurement, so it was better to tackle this immediately."

Extra service

Arjan Bolhuis (Priva): "We recently introduced our own sensors to our assortment. That was mainly because abroad, it's already very usual to deliver both the computer and the sensors. Although our software can read any type of sensor, we now also deliver sensors with an excellent price-quality ratio. That's an extra service we want to offer to our clients. "Great resultArend Poepe: "The new Priva sensors measure much more accurately. The old sensors in the Zehnder building gave rougher measurements, so temperatures varied. You could then adjust that in the software, but it's still an amateurish solution. Now, everything is much better controlled."

"It was great that Priva was able to help us with ideas. I've worked with Priva for 30 years, and that's been my experience too. They are always easy to work with. You tackle it together and you want to resolve it together too. Everyone does their best, and in this project too, that produced a good result.”