St Peter’s Basilica, also known as Basilica di San Pietro, is a renowned Catholic church located in Vatican City, an independent city-state within Rome, Italy. It is one of the most significant and iconic religious buildings in the world.
Designed by several prominent architects, including Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's Basilica is considered a masterpiece of Renaissance and Baroque architecture.
The basilica attracts millions of visitors each year who come to admire its grandeur, art, and historical significance.
St. Peter's Basilica covers an area of approximately 15,160 square meters (163,195 square feet) and can accommodate over 20,000 people inside the main nave and the surrounding areas.
One of the most famous artworks housed in the basilica is Michelangelo's sculpture "Pieta“.
Movicon.NExT - St Peter’s Basilica
The primary goal of the project was to upgrade the antiquated electromechanical control system to a state-of-the-art digital control system. As part of the project, around 1000 OSRAM devices and lighting equipments were installed.
The project started in June 2018 and ended in January 2019, but there were continuous developments with the integration of additional light points and the creation of new scenarios. The inauguration of the new lighting system took place on January 2019 in front of hundreds of journalists from all over the world.
The supply of Movicon.NExT by Emerson was made possible from the support of system integrator, Future Domotic Service, located in Rome, which has been operating in the BMS field for over 20 years. Future Domotic Service was entrusted with developing the supervision of the new lighting system of St. Peter's Basilica provided by OSRAM, global leader in optical and lighting solutions based in Germany. The choice for the development of the supervision part felt at that time on Movicon.NExT 3.4. The aim of the project, which involved the installation of about 1000 OSRAM devices and lighting fixtures, was to replace the old electromechanical control system with a cutting-edge digital control system.
DALI communication protocol was used for controlling the lighting fixtures, while the Modbus RTU protocol was employed for consumption verification through instrumentation control. The integration infrastructure was built upon the KNX protocol. Thanks to the technology implemented, the customer also achieved the objective related to the sustainability policy, due to the new lighting technology and to the automatic management with dimmer that guarantees further savings up to 90% in terms of electricity consumption. In addition, the SCADA platform and the developed application have increased reliability and efficiency in both the control and maintenance of the system.
To control the lighting fixtures, communication protocol DALI were used, while for the verification of consumption with instrumentation control, the Modbus RTU protocol was used. The integration infrastructure is based on the KNX protocol.
Web clients enable lighting control and scenario management using mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. The Alarm Dispatcher tool promptly notifies maintenance staff of any malfunctions or alarms from various systems.
Regarding the architecture, we have a main centralised Client/Server station in networking with other 3 thick Clients distributed in other offices. Currently, the project has 2 thousand tags, but the intention is to extend the Lighting Management System to other systems and parts of the building, in order to establish it as Lighting Management System Standard. Furthermore, Bacnet protocol for HVAC is under testing and the intention is to integrate IP Cameras.
The I/O Data Server has been supplied with basic and facilities driver package.
Web clients allow lighting control and scenario management through mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. The powerful Alarm Dispatcher immediately notifies maintenance staff of any malfunctions or alarms from various systems.
The end user values the extensive range of drivers and the scalability provided by Movicon.NExT.
The graphical capabilities of the Movicon.NExT platform are highly esteemed, with both the system integrator and the end user considering them unparalleled in the automation industry.
With the help of the developed logics on Movicon, the system can generate a precise alarm for each of the 30 panels scattered throughout the installation, allowing to identify whether one or more circuits are experiencing power supply issues. In addition, the use of the DALI protocol allows for quickly identifying any anomalies on the lamp or driver in any area of the installation.
The ease of development and the support offered were two of the strengths most appreciated by the system integrator.
Furthermore, the efficient User Management allows for quick and effective management and implementation by all operators and blocks unauthorized access.
The end user appreciated the wide availability of drivers offered by Movicon Next and its scalability. In fact, the project started as a test with a few hundred tags and has now expanded to thousands. But the aspect that was most appreciated is the graphical power of the system, which according to the system integrator and the end user, has no equal in the automation world.
After two years of design and work, the Basilica of San Pietro in the Vatican City now has a completely new lighting system which, together with a 90% energy savings and perfect harmony with the worship needs, allows to reveal details never seen in 500 years of history and highlight the masterpieces contained in the Basilica. For over 25,000 visitors who crowd San Pietro every day, the show is therefore guaranteed.
Watch the Youtube video to explore the St Peters Basilica project further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bos06Yqfm0&t=13s
For more information on IPD’s offering of Emerson products such as Movicon.NExT, visit: https://www.ipd.com.au/emerson