ED Modular and EllisDon

ED Modular and EllisDon

At A Glance

TECHNOLOGY
PoE (Power over Ethernet) and DC Power distribution, Digital Twin Software, Wireless sensors (IEQ and Occupancy), Wireless RF mesh network for IoT devices, wireless light switches
CONNECTED DEVICES
LED lighting, HVAC - fan coil unit and 6-way valve, Motorized roller shades (Somfy Sonesse 30 DCT), Keyless entry (Camden Controls Electric Door Strike)
CENCE PRODUCTS
DC Power Distribution Hardware, Cence Switches, Sensors, the Cence app (digital twin software)
CLIENT
ED Modular, a division of Ellis Don that specializes in prefab and modular construction
SPACE
Relocatable Prefabricated Residential Module
LOCATION
Hamilton, Ontario
DEPLOYED IN
March 2021
SAVINGS SUMMARY
CapEx: roughly 50%, OpEx: roughly 30%
ED Modular and EllisDon

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About the Client

ED Modular is revolutionizing building construction by creating individual blocks, that stack on top of each other like LEGO to create a full building.
  • ED Modular is Ellis Don's prefabrication and modular division, with a 300,000 sq/ft facility located in Hamilton, Ontario.
  • They make steel-ribbed offices and other building blocks that revolutionize that way buildings are constructed; making it easier for war torn countries, for example, to rebuild.
  • ED Modular is an innovative company, that was looking for an innovative electrical system to match their products, and the sustainability goals of their company.

ED Modular Vice President Xavier Toby said this about the new ED Modular plant in 2020:

"The [ED modular] plant will be the biggest modular building facility in Canada...It is really about bringing a new technology and a new building method to the industry" - Xavier Toby
ED Modular and EllisDon

The Challenge

A large part of ED Modular's innovation efforts include ensuring that the power systems for their buildings are able to reduce energy consumption for occupants, and installation costs for ED Modular. This is key to reducing the cost of producing modules, and reducing the cost of operating them in the field.

ED Modular partnered with us, here at Cence, to provide a superior, more energy efficient, and less expensive electrical system for their relocatable prefabricated/modular residential suites.

The Solution

At Cence, we decided that implementing our full Digital Current™ system (Cence HVDC) would be the best solution to fulfill EllisDon’s request for a more energy efficient and less expensive electrical system.

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The technology and Cence products we used to achieve ED Modular's results include:
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The combination of these technologies creates a centralized, intelligent automation system for all connected devices, such as lighting and HVAC.

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Devices Connected to the Cence System:
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By integrating these devices with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) sensors, occupancy sensors, and our digital twin software, we enabled ED Modular to monitor, control and automate electrical loads based on real-time sensor data. This allows ED Modular to optimize energy consumption, as well as occupant comfort.

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Deployment Photos

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The Results

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Target specific rooms with full, data-backed, control over lighting and HVAC systems.

Data collected from occupancy sensors and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) sensors allows ED Modular to control lighting and HVAC based on room occupancy, temperature inconsistencies, air quality, lighting inline with circadian rhythms, natural daylight in a space and more.

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Lifetime of LED light fixtures lasts about 4x longer; extended to 100,000 hours.

This is an inherent benefit of DC power distribution, and if you'd like to learn more about why, we've written an entire blog post on the topic: LEDs don't last as long as advertised, here's why.

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Financial Results

50% Capital Expenditure Savings
  • A standard Power over Ethernet (PoE) system would’ve been roughly 50% more expensive than our hybrid PoE solution.
  • Our system does not require conduit or mechanical protection for wires on low-voltage runs.
  • Unlike with traditional PoE, we were able to use normal LED lights, and no expensive ethernet switch is required.
30% Savings on Operational Costs
  • Roughly 30% reduction in energy consumption across lighting and HVAC.
  • LED light fixture lifetime extended to 100,000 hours (inherent benefit of DC power distribution), this reduces maintenance costs.
  • Savings from Daylight Harvesting (enabled by our IEQ sensors)

All in all, since the implementation of our system, ED Modular has been able to save energy costs, reduce emissions, improve occupant comfort, and decrease the frequency LED fixtures need to be replaced.

the Cence Power team, Bolis, Sagar, Will and Bill

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