Windowmaster for fresh air in Iceland hotel

Iceland's largest hotel has just installed a system from WindowMaster to automatically open bedroom and meeting room windows when it is necessary to refresh the air in the rooms.

When you think of the climate in Iceland you might expect open windows to be rare.

Yet Iceland's largest hotel has just installed a system from WindowMaster, Europe's largest provider of natural ventilation and smoke detection solutions, to automatically open bedroom and meeting room windows when it is necessary to refresh the air in the rooms.

The 314 bedroom Grand Hotel in Reykjavik has recently completed construction of a new multi-storey tower containing guest and conference rooms to cement its claim to be the largest hotel in the country.

Guests checking into their rooms are provided with a manual keypad to control several of the room's functions, including the ventilation.

When sensors detect that the room is unoccupied, however, the WindowMaster system opens the windows, normally keeping them sufficiently open throughout the day to provide trickle ventilation with enough air change to ensure the room is thoroughly aired.

Once guests arrive in the room they can control the window opening with their keypad but in bad weather the WindowMaster system will override the manual control and close the windows.

The windows have a limited opening range in any event, reflecting the fact that temperatures in Reykjavik rarely rise above 12oC even in summer.

Despite the country's name, however, average temperatures in Iceland dip only just below zero in the coldest winter months of January and February.

Strong winds and rain, however, are common throughout the year, posing particular challenges for the WindowMaster system which must respond to weather conditions which can vary from calm and sunny to wet and windy - and then back again - several times in a day.

An external WindowMaster weather station monitors the conditions around the hotel, including wind direction and speed, temperature and rain fall.

Changes in wind pressure on the facades are also monitored and fed into a computer model where they are analysed along with readings taken from the weather station and sensors fitted internally.

Windows around the building are then precisely controlled and positioned to keep air quality within rooms fresh and the temperature constant.

All the windows can be controlled centrally from the hotel lobby if necessary in a fire or other emergency.

The system is built on WindowMaster's NV Advance window automation platform.

It is the only system in Europe that intelligently monitors windows to prevent entrapment as an integrated function of the motor and control system.

It can provide almost failsafe security against the possibility of injury while windows are closing.

If an object, or hands or fingers, becomes trapped in a window and prevents it from closing, the amount of current drawn by the motor instantly increases.

This is detected by the microprocessor which immediately reverses the motor to release the window, therefore preventing the possibility of serious injury.

The system can be retrofitted on many existing windows as well as being installed on new buildings.

It can operate on a broad range of window types, including top and bottom opening, sliding and parallel opening.

The system can also be used on windows for heat and smoke ventilation.

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