20%
Reduction in Energy use
20
Air Handling Units
60+
Fan Coil Units
60
Floor-Mounted Induction Units
Project Highlights
- Retrofit from aging pneumatic hardware and incompatible Direct Digital Control (DDC) platorms.
- Completed the project within a strict two week holiday timeline.
- Coordinated multiple mechanical teams to deliver the pneumatic valve upgrades.
St Andrew’s House Tech Stack
ozPIC Controls
ozPIC controls are the in-house controllers that Oztech design and manufacture. While we have discontinued the range, it had a number of benefits.
- •Designed by a BMS company (us) for the technician in mind.
- •Highly cost effective and reliable. We have many of these units still operating after 20 years in opertion.
- •Simple to setup, and easy to maintain. Run hours and other basic functions tracked by default at the controller level.
Tridium Niagara N4
Tridium’s Niagara framework is designed as a Systems Integration Platform with native support for BACnet, Lonworks, Modbus and more, plus many manufacturer-specific protocols.
- •Truly open platform for developers
- •Modern cybersecurity standards
- •Highly customisable
Project Snapshot
| Project Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Client | St Andrew’s College |
| Project Address | St Andrews House, Sydney NSW 2000 |
| Project Timeline | The project was completed in October 2024 |
| Services Provided | Full retrofit of pneumatic controls hardware, with modern BACnet compatible Direct Digital Control (DDC) hardware. |
| Partners | St Andrew’s House Corporation, Colliers International, Lawson Oxley HVACR Pty Ltd. |
Building Background
St Andrews House, a landmark building in the heart of Sydney, was originally constructed in the late 1970s. Like many older buildings, it had evolved over decades into a patchwork of different control systems — including aging pneumatic hardware and several incompatible Direct Digital Control (DDC) platforms.
The building’s major tenant, a prestigious private school, needed a smarter, more reliable system — but with strict scheduling constraints, this was no ordinary retrofit.
OzTech was engaged to perform a complete retrofit in an aggressive window of just two weeks
- St Andrews House had become a mix of disparate control technologies. With more than 20 air handling units (AHUs), 60+ fan coil units (FCUs), and over 60 floor-mounted induction units spread across the site, managing comfort and energy performance had become increasingly difficult.
- To make matters more complex, all major BMS and mechanical works had to be completed during narrow two-week holiday windows, to avoid disruptions to classes and school operations.
The OzTech Difference
OzTech was engaged to deliver a complete BMS upgrade — including the removal of all existing DDC systems and the rollout of a unified BACnet-based platform. This included:
Replacing all pneumatic actuators and valves site-wide
With modern DDC Controls.
Installing a single, modern BMS
To integrate all plant and terminal equipment.
Coordinating multiple mechanical teams.
To deliver the pneumatic valve upgrades.
Planning and executing all work within strict holiday shutdown periods.
Ensuring smooth operations for the tenant.
The Result
The project was delivered on time, within the limited access window, and without disruption to day-to-day school operations. Most importantly, the new BMS delivered measurable results:
- Improved building control and visibility.
- Streamlined integration across legacy and new systems.
- Over 20% reduction in energy use following completion.
