To organise their planning processes in construction and plant engineering more economically, electrical planners, building automation specialists and switchgear manufacturers need efficient digital tools and processes that enable integrated engineering across all sectors. System technology that brings more flexibility and speed to the project is also needed to establish switchgear and IT infrastructures. At the Light + Building trade show in Frankfurt (3 to 8 March), Eplan and Rittal will be showing how they support all those involved in a project – including wholesalers in the individual building technology tasks that make up the process, from planning and construction to later operation.
Even when planning and constructing a building, everyone involved must have access to the digital planning data. Regardless of whether they be architects, engineers, planning offices or construction companies, everyone benefits from working with reliable data based on the digital twin. This data is also decisive in the subsequent operation of the building when it comes down to networking and controlling a variety of components and integrating them into the energy system. At the Light + Building in Frankfurt, Rittal and Eplan will be making it clear how they are making the implementation of the process steps more efficient for all those involved in the project. Whether electrical planners, building automation planners, control and switchgear manufacturers or other trades, everybody benefits from clear data consistency.
BIM (Building Information Modelling) was taken into account
In Building Information Modelling (BIM), as an integrated model-based process in planning buildings and structures, the cross-sector 3D building model stands at the centre as an information source and is continuously enriched with data during the project. A BIM model can be used to increase cross-sector collaboration because, after all, the model contains valuable information on the structure of a property, including the building and, for example, the entire interconnected heating system. Eplan uses this information to map the structure and provide the components. This gives companies the best possible benefit for highly efficient processes; at Light & Building, experts from Rittal and Eplan are happy to engage in dialogue with stakeholders.
“Planners Point”: A meeting place for engineering offices and specialist planners
Special attention will be paid to supporting engineering offices and specialist planners at the joint Rittal and Eplan booth. At the “Planners Point,” stakeholders can find out which added value the two companies’ solutions offer for planning Building Services Engineering (BSE) and IT infrastructures.
Upping the tempo: Projects fully preconfigured
Eplan and Rittal show how the expansion of energy infrastructure can be achieved more quickly with the development of industry-standard projects. A completely preconfigured application solution, including system technology, can be used directly in Eplan and adapted individually as a basis. Users thus receive a complete project developed on the Eplan Engineering Standard (EES), including documentation and a digital twin, and save valuable time even during engineering with a pre-designed, standardised template. For the system technology, the following applies: Rittal standard products are delivered within 24 hours in Germany and 48 hours in Europe.
An assembled AC distributor based on the AX compact enclosure will be shown at the trade fair booth. The power distributor has been specially developed for photovoltaic systems starting from 30 kVA, and it can be used both in mains parallel operation and in combination with energy storage systems.
An Industry Standard Project in the field of building technology concerns the issues of heating, ventilation and climate control. Users receive a pre-designed project with complete planning in accordance with VDI 3814. All the circuit diagrams are integrated into Eplan Electric P8, including the digital twin of a 3D enclosure in Eplan Pro Panel. Registered Eplan users can download these and other industry-standard projects free of charge on www.eplan.com.
More flexibility: Systems and IT from the modular system
Whether we are talking about energy generation, transmission, storage or consumption, Eplan and Rittal present solutions to meet every need when setting up an energy infrastructure, enabling time-saving and cost-saving implementation. The two companies assist their customers along the entire value chain, from engineering and semi-automated enclosure construction through to system operation. When it comes to system technology, basic solutions are available as a scalable modular system, which permits flexible configuration. The VX25 Ri4Power switching and power distribution system from Rittal, a safe, type-tested system for installing low-voltage switchgear, offers flexibility thanks to its manufacturer-independent configuration.
Integrators and tradespeople are also given maximum flexibility when setting up IT infrastructures, from individual network enclosures to server racks with cooling, power, and monitoring solutions to complete data centres. Present requirements such as energy monitoring, energy-saving climate control or liquid cooling are offered here as sustainable solutions. For example, the TX CableNet network rack for easy cable management, the new LCU CW water-based cooling solution for efficient heat dissipation from network and server enclosures in confined spaces, and the new RiZone OTM Suite software application for managing and monitoring the energy consumption of individual components such as racks, power and cooling will all be presented.