Milestone installation by Prefect Controls

Tom McAndrew, Project Manager at Prefect Controls, has witnessed an auspicious event this month: The installation of a milestone control unit on the Irus Portal.

Irus is a building energy management system designed specifically for multi-occupancy dwellings, ensuring energy can’t be used unnecessarily. It controls heat input to individual rooms.

There are now 50,000 control units at 101 sites. These include university campuses, PBSA providers, and hotels. Currently the largest single site is UWE with over 3,000 controls. The campus in Bristol saw a saving close to 900,000kWh in the year following the initial installation.

The number of interconnecting devices that seamlessly integrate to monitor and control has also expanded, boosting the power of the Irus Portal.

SMART Tank, the only pre-plumbed, pre-wired hot-water cylinder with on-board controls was launched earlier this year. It provides monitoring of consumption, temperature, and wastage of both energy and water as never seen before. PipeSense measures water temperature within pipes at point of use. But also monitors room and pipe temperature, identifying water wastage through dripping taps or leaking toilet cisterns. HobSensus is helping to keep residents safe in kitchens. It ensures electric hobs cannot be left on if the person preparing food is distracted and leaves the hob unattended. When integrated with Irus, greater functionality can be unlocked.

Tom comments, “Being part of the drive to decarbonisation, and helping accommodation providers on their journey to reach net zero targets, is very fulfilling. With Irus and our local controls, we calculate that around 10% of the UKs student accommodation estate is now controlled by a Prefect product.”