Airport Tower Berlin Brandenburg

Redundant building automation for towers and offices – BACnet with DEOS DDC OPEN 4100 EMS

A highly available building automation system was implemented for the tower and office areas at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The goal was to create a consistently redundant design for the MSR technology, which is integrated into the German air traffic control systems as a BACnet island. The focus was on maximum operational reliability, clear interfaces in accordance with the air traffic control system key (AKS), and stable air pressure maintenance in the virtually airtight tower cockpit.

“The pressure control system ensures that doors can be operated safely at all times – without drafts or excess pressure.”

The systems were designed for full redundancy: two completely self-sufficient and mirrored control cabinets, duplicate I/O modules, and redundant DEOS controllers (OPEN 4100 EMS). Two main and backup ventilation systems are used for the office and IT areas. Two additional ventilation systems are installed in the tower, which are operated on a weekly rotation basis.

BACnet was used as the cross-trade communication standard. The entire system is connected to BACnet and integrated as a stand-alone solution into the overall system of German air traffic control – in accordance with the specifications from the system key (AKS). Each air traffic control building is operated as an independent BACnet island; fault messages are also transmitted to a central fault message management system of the air traffic control.

A third-party higher-level building management system was used in the Brandenburg airport tower. BACnet is used to connect the controllers and the field level; visualization and operation are also implemented via BACnet.

System design and integration

The office areas were designed as a 4-pipe system. This offers comfort advantages, high future-proofing, and options for later expansions and conversions. Control panels from the Galaxie series were used in the offices. In addition to temperature control, the individual room control (IRC) also allows lighting and shading to be controlled. Sub-distribution boards were installed in the false ceiling. The remote I/O modules are connected from there to the central control cabinets via the CAN bus of the DEOS controllers. Energy meters (electricity) were integrated into the overall system via Modbus. A Modbus-to-BACnet gateway was implemented with the DEOS OPEN 810 EMS DDC specifically for this project to control the heat pumps. The control system also includes concrete core activation (BKA). The project ran from 2011 to 2012 and included extensive fire protection tests supervised by TÜV.