Intelligent heating control technology to save energy in buildings
The EU-funded ECOTHERMO (Innovative green technology for smart energy saving on existing residential buildings with centralised heating/cooling generators) project set out to convert old centralised heating systems into ones that are autonomous, enabling independent temperature control at flat level. It also sought to allow heating cost to be based on the real thermal energy absorbed by each user. Project partners developed wireless technology enabling remote control of heating and cooling systems. The system contains several key components. These include a building control unit that links the local system and the remote and Web servers, a flat control unit base station that controls the state of the radiators in maintaining desired indoor temperatures, a local interface for tenants to monitor heating consumption and set desired temperatures and temperature profiles, as well as routing devices and a wireless actuator. The system promises up to 2.5 times greater savings compared to standard thermostats. It does not require metering devices, nor the millions of batteries used annually for this purpose. There is no need to install a flow meter on every radiator. Only one is needed for an entire building. The solution also tackles incorrect cost allocation from human operators by considerably limiting inaccuracies and boosting reliability. Tenants can use PCs and mobile devices to completely control their system, such as postponing the heating switch-on time if arriving home late. Heating contractors can monitor and control the heater's working point and efficiency level and the circulating pump. This saves considerable costs as a result of continued local inspection by workers that can be done automatically and monitored at the office. The ECOTHERMO project will help improve quality of life of EU citizens by providing affordable heating that can be controlled to suit personal requirements. It will also benefit the environment by saving energy, reducing CO2 emissions and removing the need for batteries.
Keywords
Heating control, energy saving, residential buildings, ECOTHERMO
