Because electrical services connect and influence so many aspects of a building, ECS has developed an in-depth understanding of the way all the building’s services work together. This has led to building services requests from clients for our team to offer a complete solution.

In 2005 we joined forces with Thurston Consulting to incorporate mechanical, environmental and building services engineering into the mix. We have also formed partnerships with Hydraulic Services Consultants (HSC), Protech Design and Vertrans for an integrated design approach drawing on the strengths of specialists, who are each leaders in their fields of hydraulics, fire protection and vertical transportation engineering.

Under the overall management of ECS, this team will deliver a complete solution that is closely matched to the requirements of your project. You benefit from greater accountability, simpler project management and an approach that delivers a better building.

The ECS combined building services team can provide you with services in the following areas:

Air conditioning

When it comes to designing the most effective air conditioning system for your building, there is never one solution. Every heating and cooling situation is different and varies depending on many factors. If your air conditioning system is incorrectly sized, you will more than likely be paying more for your power bill than you should be.

We have partnered with Thurston Consulting, who can design systems to suits all needs, from small homes to multi story high rise buildings; renovations or new builds.

Commissioning

We ensure all services we design are commissioned from a state of static completion to a fully operational system. We ok all equipment and plant installed have been installed correctly and have been testing to current AS/NZS standards to comply with all energy efficiency and health and safety requirements.

Services that require commissioning:

- HVAC Systems, Generators, Switchboards, Water Supply and Sanitation, Pumps, Motors, Fire Detection Systems, ICT Systems, Security Systems, Plant Equipment, Lifts and Escalators and much more.

Compressed air

Inadequate or poorly designed compressed air distribution systems can lead to low productivity, poor air tool performance and perhaps more importantly, high energy bills. In order for a compressed air system to operate properly and cost effectively, it should be carefully designed to meet the needs of your applications.

As part of the design process, there are six items which should be considered and factored into the final system design to give optimum results at maximum efficiency. The six items include demand, compressed air quality, supply, storage, distribution and control or management - all six must work together for the system to achieve top performance levels.

We have partnered with Thurston Consulting, who can design systems to suit all needs.

Drainage

Drainage systems are essential to get rid of wastes through a well-arranged network of drainage pipes. We work closely with Hydraulic Services Consultants to design drainage systems for multi-level apartments, houses, hospitals, medical centres, shopping centres, retail tenancies, offices and much more!

Hydraulic Services Consultants consistently set the national design benchmarks for water delivery, sanitary and stormwater disposal methodology with over 35+ years within the building industry working on major projects across New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Due diligence reports

Here at ECS we can perform due diligence reports based on a process of systematic reviews and analysis of the services in your existing premises, or one that you are looking at purchasing.

This will allow you to make confident and informed decisions in any important maintenance requirements in the near future or the added investment required if purchasing an existing building.

Energy efficiency

An energy efficient building reduces maintenance and utility costs, but most importantly improves the durability, decreases noises and vibrations which in turn increases the overall comfort and safety of the building.

A goal we have at ECS is to try to minimise the risks to the environment which are associated with construction and limit the uses of natural resources like energy, water and raw materials. We have a vast wealth of knowledge in designing to Homestar and Greenstar standards and are more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure the best green design can be achieved for your project.

ESD

Environmentally Sustainable Design is key in all of our designs at ECS and ones that our partners (Hydraulic Services Consultants, Protech Design and Thurston Consulting) strive to achieve as well.

We are all familiar with Greenstar, Homestar and Nabersnz with many of the team holding relevant qualifications.

Fire Alarm Systems

When a fire breaks out, every second is crucial to ensure you can get your people to safety. The earlier the fire can be detected the lower the risks for your people, property and business.

We partner with Protech Design Limited to ensure efficient design of the fire alarm and detection systems, fire indicator panels and Emergency Warning and Intercommunication Systems (EWIS) that range from simple cost-effective manual systems through to large automated commercial or industrial solutions.

Fire Hydrant Systems

Fire hydrants and charged riser systems deliver water to the fire fighting service on large sites or within buildings.

We partner with the experienced team at Protech Design Limited to provide top quality design.

Fire Sprinkler Systems

Automatic fire sprinklers provide the most effective protection against fire damage. If a fire starts in a sprinkler-protected building, the sprinkler heads immediately above the fire will operate by discharging water to control the fire.

We ensure the most effective designs by partnering with the experts at Protech Design Limited. They have been designing sprinkler systems for over 30 years for all types of buildings including; warehousing and storage, apartments, hotels, residential accommodation, commercial office, retail and shopping centres, industrial etc.

Gas

Gas can be provided to buildings to provide fuel to boilers, instant hot water heaters or cooking equipment.

We partner with Hydraulic Services Consultants to provide high quality gas system designs.

Glazing selection

Many factors are considered when selecting glass for a particular application. One must consider the thickness in relation to noise and heat loss. The thermal gaps between glass and the surrounding joinery to reduce condensation. The level of tinting to reduce the amount of solar gain. All of these things must be considered to ensure your building is as energy efficient as possible.

We work exclusively with the experts at Thurston Consulting to provide you with the latest information to allow you to select the right glazing for your project.

Hot water plant

There are many different options for hot water systems within a building, these range from standard hot water cylinders, instant electric hot water cylinders, instant gas hot water units, boilers or solar systems.

We partner with the experts at Hydraulic Services Consultants to provide you with all of the information to allow you to choose the right system for your building.

Hydraulics

Hydraulic systems include the hot and cold water pipework, including all associated accessories such as valves and pumps, within a building.

We work closely with the experts at Hydraulic Services Consultants to provide industry leading designs for all types of projects.

Peer reviews for Council

At ECS and our partner companies (Hydraulic Services Consultants, Protech Design, Thurston Consulting) we have many Chartered Engineers and Council Authorised Producer Statement Authors who can review your designs and provide the appropriate PS2 for Councils.

Pools

Swimming pools require specialist design across all building services (plumbing, mechanical, electrical).

ECS and our partners have been involved in many swimming pool projects and can assist with any of your needs.

Refrigeration

Refrigeration systems are critical for buildings such as supermarkets, distribution centres, production facilities, processing plants etc.

Our partners at Thurston Consulting have an expert knowledge in the design of these systems and will design the system to suit your needs.

Solar

Whether you require solar hot water heating or an electrical photo-voltaic installation, we can help. We have experts in both of these areas that can analyse your site, create models based on the location and number of sunhours per year and provide accurate cost benefit analysis.

We also look at the capital cost required for these systems including items such as structural roof upgrades to support the added weight, additional plant access requirements to maintain these systems over time. These are items that often get forgotten in cost benefit analysis but are some of the most important that need to be factored in at day one.

Specialist Fire Protection Systems

Specialist fire protection systems are required for certain industrial process and mission critical areas such as UPS rooms, data centres and electrical switch rooms.

There are various solutions that may work for these areas but we recommend a consultation with the experts at Protech Design to determine which one is the best for your project.

Thermal modelling

Energy, thermal or dynamic modelling is an important process to evaluate the energy efficiency of building elements and local temperature patterns. It allows Architects and Services Engineers to evaluate alternative design solutions to best suit the project in terms of energy, comfort, cost and design.

We partner with the experts at Thurston Consulting to provide energy models to identify architectural and services opportunities to reduce capital costs and reduced operational energy consumption.

Ventilation

Ventilation is a mandatory requirement under the building code. We work with our partners at Thurston Consulting to provide ventilation designs and reviews in compliance with the building code to suit any projects needs.

This can range from natural ventilation to forced fan mechanical ventilation. We strive to achieve the most cost effective energy efficient solution with means we work closely with Architects to ensure the building's features can be maximised to utilise natural ventilation where possible.

Vertical Transportation

Lifts and escalators are the major transportation systems for moving people within a building. They are also one of the key building blocks within a high-rise building as they tend to set the size of the buildings core.

We partner with the experts at Vertrans to provide condition assessments of existing equipment to let you know when it is time to look at upgrading the control systems, motors etc. We can also help in planning your building by running simulations to predict the optimum number, size and speed of lifts. We will then work with the architects and structural engineers to ensure the lift cores have been planned correctly at the early stages of a project.

What some of our customers had to say

  • “NZRPG is a retail development company with shopping centres in Auckland and Tauranga as well as greenfield sites elsewhere in New Zealand. We have used ECS for over a decade to provide electrical consulting in our developments, as well as other services such as fire, mechanica... Read more

  • “From an architect’s perspective, I can tell you that Nick Topp is a very good electrical consultant. We’ve always found his knowledge and expertise is superb. I have worked closely with him for 24 years and have been happy to recommend him to other clients on a wide range ... Read more

  • "In our game, it’s all about certainty. ECS provides that. Firstly in our Design and Build capability, where they slot right into the team. Secondly, we can rely on them to provide good early advice that enables us to put strong proposals together. Finally they follow through i... Read more

  • "Working with ECS over many projects, we’ve been impressed by their communication skills. Obviously they have the technical ability to deliver the project but good communication makes things so much easier. They provide the deliverables on time."

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  • "We have a property portfolio of over $1 billion, and ECS have provided a range of consulting, construction, development and maintenance services for us over the years. One constant with ECS is that you can expect the utmost in performance. Their diligence and commitment are well... Read more

  • “In my role with McDougall Reidy & Direct Property Fund, and also in previous roles over the last 20 years, I have been involved in dozens of commercial and industrial property development projects. I am struggling to think of one where we haven’t used the services of ECS.“... Read more

  • ECS has worked with us on a variety of projects including multimillion dollar green and brown field developments across the industrial, commercial and mixed use sectors. “Nick Topp immediately strikes you as not only capable but commercial. The latter is a key requisite in any ... Read more

  • “RCP provides independent project management services to the construction industry, across various building and infrastructure sectors. In particular we have worked with ECS for over eight years in the commercial, industrial and retail sectors and would recommend them for the s... Read more

  • “ECS are a pleasure to work with because they’re fast and efficient in turning things around. They know how to deliver a design that’s speedy to install as well as cost-effective. Their systems are excellent and they give value for money everytime.”“We have used ECS for... Read more