::: nBlog :::
When our house construction was completed in 2007, I started to connect various existing control devices and sensors to the BaseN Platform in order to initially verify energy efficiency figures of heating and cooling systems.
With an armada of 142 sensors and two redundant BaseN agents today the system has grown quite a lot – in conjunction with my understanding of how badly most heat pumps, ventilations and heating systems are configured by default, to be inefficiently operated for years until there’s a major failure.
Now that I have all those components measured at least by minute, we’ve done some early calculations on what would be the efficiency gain if I virtualize those archaic logic controllers to the BaseN Platform and start adjusting the system by weather forecasts, energy pricing and eg. indoor CO2 information.
Results are impressive. By just virtualizing the geothermal heat pump logic with additional inputs from forecasts, well temperatures and utilizing opportunistic groundwater temperature deltas can geothermal power output be increased by 24%. The logic in the Platform is also faster and thus avoids any indoor temperature fluctuations when weather changes rapidly.
Next target is the air conditioning system, which, although CO2-controlled, now runs its internal heat exchanger at constant speed regardless of inside/outside temperatures. According to incoming/outgoing temperature measurements is runs at its peak efficiency (86%) only at 0 C, while by gradually increasing/decreasing its speed would yield this from -15 to +15 C.
Fortunately all this is now quick programming in our Platform, instead of trying to adjust multiple wall displays and touch screen interfaces at the devices.
//Pasi
