Wireless BACnet technology simplifies installation and saves money in luxurious New Jersey building

By connecting the rooftop units (RTUs) to the building automation and control system (BACS), the owner of the 18 Park apartment building in New Jersey can now offer a perfect, demand controlled indoor climate for its tenants. By using LumenRadio’s wireless BACnet technology, installation was completed in hours instead of days, saving both time and money.

18 Park Avenue in New Jersey City is a 306,000 square foot, newly constructed apartment building consisting of 422 luxury apartments offering unparalleled amenities, sophisticated design, robust events programming, and breathtaking views. The building also includes 34,000 square feet of classroom and recreational space, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a footprint covering an area of 78,000 square feet.

On the rooftop there are six air handling units located 150 feet apart which supply the tenants with fresh air. By connecting these units and the BACS, not only can the building owner offer a demand controlled indoor climate, but can also move from a locally controlled device – where changes needed to be made physically on the roof – to remote control via the BACS.

Interference free installation

The mechanical contractor KF Mechanical and the building automation expert Broudy Precision were tasked with connecting these six units to a controller located in the mechanical room. Due to the presence of cellular antennas on the roof, avoiding all wireless interference was a must. The choice of using LumenRadio’s patented wireless BACnet technology ensures there will never be wireless interference regardless of the cellular signals and wireless traffic.

KF Mechanical installed one LumenRadio W-BACnet DIN rail unit in the mechanical room and one W-BACnet unit on each RTU spread across the rooftop. Once installed, communication was established seamlessly, and the cellular signals were never interrupted.

Efficient installation

By choosing LumenRadio’s wireless W-BACnet product, the installation only required seven devices and one installer. If cables had been used, installation could have taken up to a week – with the wireless BACnet solution, communication was established in less than three hours. Due to the time and labor saving, the project was completed for a fraction of what a wired solution would have cost.

KF Mechanical and Broudy Precision were very pleased with the project, particularly with the speed of installation and the reliability of the products. Frank Witmer, Director of Engineering at Broudy Precision says:

”LumenRadio’s W-BACnet solution saves time and cost in our customers’ projects – especially when it comes to modernization and retrofit projects in existing buildings. It works and it solves a real problem.”