Pluggable electrical installation in concrete
Text: Desiree Pennings I Images: Isolectra
The demand for efficient solutions in the installation market continues to grow. Isolectra is therefore introducing a new form of plug-and-play installation. With fewer technical staff, installation can be done in no time. Everything is supplied and assembled in pluggable form. This is usually done behind hollow walls or suspended ceilings. Isolectra demonstrated at the Van der Valk Hotel in Gorinchem that it is also applicable in buildings without voids, such as prefab concrete construction, cast construction and tunnel formwork.
The new Van der Valk Hotel in Gorinchem will be opening its doors in late 2022. The complex consists of 157 luxury rooms and suites, 11 meeting rooms, wellness, a swimming pool, fitness, a restaurant, bar, casino and cinema. Floors 9 to 12 will be fitted using pluggable electrical installations in concrete. This is special because all Wieland RST20® systems are pre-assembled, so the electrical installer only has to click them together in the correct position. Concrete is then poured directly over the system, as is always done in tunnel formwork. Of course, these materials must meet special requirements. The Wieland RST® concrete system has been tested and certified accordingly.
Laboratory and field studies
Jordi Blanker, Account Manager at Isolectra, says: ‘Electrical constractor Techval contracted us for this project. They wanted to install even smarter, faster and more flexibly. We supply the e-installation and provide technical support. That the electrical installation in Gorinchem was poured directly into concrete is truly new and innovative. It has to work perfectly, because you can’t access it after work is complete.’
Cor-Hein Slobbe is product manager at Isolectra and co-developer of this way of working. He explains that Isolectra started testing pluggable electrical installation in concrete three years ago. ‘Not all products can be exposed to concrete and they have to be resistant to water. We conducted extensive laboratory and field studies. We have even developed special cables for it that are extra strong.’
Working error-free
Techval is an innovative and ambitious company and had the courage to adopt this new technology. Every Van der Valk hotel is to be fitted using pluggable electrical installation and the management was also open to the idea of Techval and Isolectra. It was decided to fit four floors with a unique concrete system on each floor with both the infrastructure and each room’s systems fully pluggable and cast into the concrete. ‘We tried different distribution systems and cable lengths. Based on this, we were able to work with Techval to determine the optimal infrastructure. It was great that the electrical installer was keen to try this out and that Van der Valk was open to it’, says Slobbe.
After the connecting cables and boxes were in place, the concrete was poured. Plugs protrude from the concrete, to which electrical installers can connect mating plugs. This saves time and materials and there are fewer contact moments on site. Because it works with coded plugs, mistakes are eliminated.
This way of working is also advantageous in terms of pricing, as it is no longer necessary to cross fire compartments. Blanker: ‘No fireproof cables or suspended ceilings are needed.’ His colleague Slobbe adds: ‘The engineering phase in particular runs differently with pluggable electrical installation. Everything is thought out and put together in advance. This makes the processes on the construction site much simpler, with both the electrical installers and the contractor having more time and a clearer overview.’
Staff shortages mitigated
Van der Valk and Techval were so enthusiastic about this way of working that it is now being used at other hotels which are under construction. ‘This is how technical staff shortages are mitigated,’ says Blanker. ‘Van der Valk is making solid progress and several new Van der Valk hotels are currently being built. This system allows Techval to install much faster and it’s more sustainable, too.’
‘It was great that the electrical installer was keen to try this out and that Van der Valk was open to it’