Province Lighting/Automation/Switching is responsible for the highly efficient Building Management System (BMS) in operation at the refurbished Cape Town Station, the hub of the Metrorail Western Cape commuter rail network situated in the city's CBD.

Province Lighting/Automation/Switching started work on Cape Town Station in October 2008, when the tender for main contractor for the Phase 1 was awarded to Boshard Construction, and Target Projects was appointed as the project manager and principal agent for the project.

Province Lighting/Automation/Switching's work entailed the installation of its high-tech BMS at the Station. The BMS maximises energy efficiency and ensures that the facility in which it is installed functions smoothly and efficiently.

"Our BMS is now in operation throughout the entire Station, which comprises five interconnected buildings. These house the main concourse, the station square and the train platforms," says Jurgen Chemelli, MD of Province Lighting/Automation/Switching.

The BMS makes use of three protocols:

• DALI, which monitors and controls the lighting, including lamp life. 500 DALI slave sensors control the lighting to ensure daylight saving; there are no light switches.
• BACNET, which monitors and controls the HVAC, switching off the air-conditioning when a room is uninhabited.
• TCP/IP, which facilitates system communication.

Due to its protocol diversity, the BMS can connect to and integrate with a diverse number of products, devices and services and more can be added as required. The solution is suitable for a range of infrastructures, from stations and airports, to offices, commercial buildings and houses. The system can be tailor-made and customised to suit the requirements of each customer.

Province Lighting/Automation/Switching: +27 21 464 4661