UNDERFLOOR HEATING INTELLIGENT CONTROLS
5 Hanover Square
The central challenge was developing intelligent enough software to evaluate the effect of varying materials on the effectiveness of the surface heating system
the mass being heated and cooled, Warmafloor looked at controls from existing manufacturers but could not find a solution that met its requirements. It set up a dedicated research and development team to investigate an advanced control system to facilitate whole-house appliance management. The aim was to create a system that enabled closer monitoring and manipulation of energy consumption to reduce waste, lower running costs and ensure maximum user satisfaction. Mike Lamb, managing director of
London 2012 Olympic Games Athletes’ Village
Warmafloor, says: ‘When we began researching the controls market we found that many of the existing systems achieved central management by linking up to the building’s building management system, which we felt was more of a temporary fix than a long-term solution.’ The central challenge, says Lamb, was developing intelligent enough software to evaluate the impact of varying materials on the effectiveness of the surface heating system. ‘Through rigorous testing, we developed a system that can learn the thermal inertia through different thermal masses in the building, be it screeded floors with carpets, screeded floors with ceramic tiling or lightweight acoustic battened timber flooring,’ he says.
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Warmafloor’s Total Integrated Control
System (TICS) starts by turning the sensor on 180 mins before the selected time and monitors how long it takes for each individual area to achieve set-point. Through Proportional-Integral Device logic (PID), the area sensors then learn the heat- up time for each area and reduce the ‘on’ time accordingly to reduce energy usage. For the first two to three days the system will overshoot and undershoot, until the chips learn the thermal inertia of each space and trim the timings accordingly. Once this initial learning phase has been completed, TICS will accurately maintain the set-point at the selected times. The learning chip continues to adjust the
system because internal heat-up times may vary with different seasons. Once set-point is achieved the sensor, once again, learns the time requirement or ‘On’ period for the thermal actuators in each area. The system features energy saver scheduling, for example super-heat during low-cost night-time electricity, a two-hour hot water boost facility and stop/disable functions for rooms not in use. It monitors inactive devices and cycles dormant equipment. An exercising regime runs every two weeks of non-usage to ensure that the pumps, valves and actuators remain efficient. This, combined with an in-built
December 2012 CIBSE Journal 49
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