The Vital Role Of Data In Heat Network Efficiency
It can be difficult to keep tenants comfortable in the colder months of the year, especially if they have particular heating needs, perhaps related to health or age concerns. For some people, worries about the cost of energy have prevented them from turning on their heating. Heat networks are systems that can distribute heat more efficiently and cost-effectively throughout a building, making it easier to keep tenants comfortable.
Typically, heat networks consist of a central energy source and a network of pipes that distribute the heat to individual rooms or units within the building. On the tertiary side within the rooms, the heat is distributed through a variety of methods, such as radiators, underfloor heating, or fan coil units and is also used to produce hot water.
In addition to cost savings, a heat network can also help to reduce carbon emissions by using more efficient and less carbon intense energy sources, such as heat pumps.
For tenants, they control the temperature in their residency through a heat interface unit (HIU) with a connected room thermostat. Mechanical HIUs consist of a heat exchanger which transfers heat from the central heating network to the individual residency’s heating system using temperature and pressure differentials to control the unit but with little access to performance data. Each property usually has its own controls and equipment to ensure that every tenant can adjust the temperature of their living space and hot water supply as desired.
Unfortunately, heat networks are often inefficient, wasting up to a tonne of CO2 per residency. This is ultimately due to a high number of factors, but data analysis by Evinox shows that some of the main reasons include heat loss, over-sizing and subpar maintenance leading to higher primary return temperatures and excessive primary flow rates.
As mentioned before, heat networks rely on a network of pipes to distribute heat from a central location to individual apartments or units. Over long distances, a significant amount of heat can be lost due to pipe insulation problems or system bypasses, leading to lower overall efficiency.
The higher the primary flow and return temperatures the greater the losses.
With the intention of ensuring that the network can provide heat even when demand is at its highest, heat networks tend to be designed with a significant amount of over-sizing. When a heating system is over-sized, it requires more energy to get up to temperature it requires greater pumping energy and increased heat losses, meaning that – on most days – over-sized heat networks are running at less-than-optimal efficiency.
Aside from the excess CO2 pollution, these inefficiencies can lead to each residency having to pay an extra £2,000 per year on wasted energy.
Modern Heat Networks
An immediate way heat networks can be made more efficient is by replacing mechanical HIUs with smart electronic versions with two-way communications technology While traditional mechanical HIUs constantly trickle heat into a residency to maintain hot water performance, smart HIUs use sensors to detect when heat is needed and add it automatically. This means less energy wasted.
Smart HIUs make use of sensors to collect data from all the HIU’s on the communal heating network and efficiently manage the temperature in each residence. By taking frequent real time readings of relevant information such as primary flow and return temperatures, flow rate, heating and hot water flow and return temperatures, hot water use and the time of day, HIUs can make automatic adjustments, helping to raise a heat network’s efficiency to 65% – and potentially even higher as technology and techniques continue to improve.
Future Benefits Of Modern Heat Networks
With increased efficiency comes a host of other benefits to smart HIUs. One of the major advantages is not just the carbon and financial savings, but also the time savings. With 280 separate data points available for monitoring, smart HIUs can alert heat network managers to issues before they become problems meaning downtime and maintenance time can be considerably reduced.
For example, one data point smart HIUs can monitor is the pressure of the secondary heating circuit and send an alert if it needs topping up. It allows the unit to automatically cut power in order to prevent the unit running dry and burning out which can lead to much more serious – and time consuming – maintenance issues. Data monitoring also means that the HIU’s mode can be remotely viewed which can be extremely helpful when diagnosing issues and improving efficiency.
Energy use can be tracked over a period of time; past energy consumption can be compared with current use to encourage tenants to make energy efficient choices. Periods when the HIU is not in use can be tracked too – in these cases, after a specified amount of time, the HIU will automatically open valves and switch on the pump for a brief period in order to avoid any potential seizing.
With more information gathered prior to a site visit from a maintenance worker, the problem can be more easily and quickly identified, leading to a faster resolution. In many cases, a site visit and physical intervention can be entirely avoided.
In some instances, what may initially be perceived as a fault can come down to user error. One of the benefits that the remote capabilities that smart HIUs offer is remotely controlling the temperature setting for individual dwellings. A resident may get in touch, complaining that the heating isn’t working properly, and without needing to physically enter their home, it is possible to adjust their heat, set up timers, and identify if there are indeed any faults present. By using smart HIUs in this way, heat network managers have an opportunity to keep residents comfortable while saving time, energy, and money.
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