Pinsent Masons – City of London
Fan Coil Network Upgrade and Light-Fi Integration
Alpha Controls delivered a full fan coil control upgrade across 16 floors at the Pinsent Masons headquarters in the City of London, replacing legacy equipment with new Trend controllers, fresh-air and return-air sensors, and a floor-by-floor control panel network integrated with the building's Light-Fi backbone.
All works were completed during weekend-only access periods, requiring careful coordination with the client to maintain full weekday operation of the offices.
Project Scope
The project formed part of a major building systems modernisation programme, aimed at improving comfort control, monitoring accuracy, and system resilience across occupied office floors.
Alpha Controls supplied and installed:
- New Trend IQ controllers on every FCU
- Fresh-air and return-air sensors for temperature and airflow monitoring
- 4NC control panels on each floor, networked via BACnet/IP
- Integration to the site-wide Light-Fi presence and monitoring system
- New Cat-6 cabling infrastructure to support BACnet and Light-Fi communications
- Monitoring of two client-side AHUs from a local roof-level panel
Weekend Access and Coordination
All works were scheduled over weekends only, allowing business operations to continue uninterrupted Monday to Friday. Each week, Alpha Controls planned the work area in advance with the building management team—typically one or more floors at a time—ensuring access, isolation, and reinstatement were managed safely and efficiently.
Working within a tiled ceiling void, engineers used desk surfers, podiums, and steps to access the fan coil zones and network routes. Every weekend followed a structured sequence of tasks executed by dedicated teams:
Route Preparation
The first team removed ceiling tiles and verified containment paths above the ceiling grid.
Cable Installation
The second team installed new BACnet and Light-Fi Cat-6 cabling, securing runs neatly above the ceiling with sufficient service loops at each FCU position.
Network Termination
The third team stripped, dressed, and terminated each network cable, including earthing, sleeving, and labelling (earth sleeving and Hellermann identification on in/out BACnet cables).
Controller Replacement
Another crew isolated fan power, removed legacy controllers from each FCU connection box, installed the new Trend controller, fitted the new air sensors, connected the BACnet network, and reinstated power.
Once functional tests confirmed all FCUs were operating correctly, ceilings were reinstated and work areas fully tidied before hand-back on Monday mornings.
System Integration and Light-Fi Network
Each of the 4NC panels was networked to the building's Light-Fi backbone via Cat-6 cabling. The Light-Fi system provides building-wide presence and activity monitoring, using distributed sensors to track occupancy and optimise environmental control. Controllers serving multiple floors were housed within the riser panels, enabling consolidated monitoring and simplified maintenance.
In addition to the FCU upgrades, Alpha Controls also integrated two air-handling units (AHUs) on the client side, providing live monitoring and alarm feedback to a local roof-level panel.
Technical Specifications
Control System
Trend IQ Controllers with 4NC floor panels
Network Protocol
BACnet/IP over Cat-6 infrastructure
Field Devices
Fresh-air and return-air temperature sensors
Integration
Light-Fi presence monitoring system
Project Scale
16 floors, multiple FCUs per floor
Installation Method
Weekend-only access, phased delivery
Additional Works
AHU monitoring integration, roof-level panel
Cabling Standards
Cat-6, Hellermann labelling, earth sleeving
Results
16 Floors Upgraded
All FCUs fitted with new Trend controllers and sensors
4NC Floor Panels
Installed and networked via BACnet/IP
Light-Fi Integration
Cat-6 backbone installed for activity monitoring
Improved Control
Enhanced temperature control and system reliability
Zero Disruption
Weekend-only works with full weekday operations maintained
AHU Monitoring
Added for full system visibility and alarm feedback
Conclusion
The Pinsent Masons, City of London project demonstrates Alpha Controls' ability to deliver large-scale, high-precision BMS upgrades within live commercial environments. By structuring the works around weekend access, deploying multiple specialist teams, and maintaining clear coordination with building management, Alpha Controls completed a full 16-floor Trend network upgrade with Light-Fi integration efficiently and safely.
The result is a modern, open-protocol control infrastructure providing enhanced comfort, occupancy insight, and long-term maintainability.
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