The correct choice
Internal engineering network management solutions are also available on the market, making monitoring more complicated and preventing simple building maintenance. To compare products and understand the benefits of Mesh, a brief look at the heating management process is required. We offer you a summary of opinions from experts to help you to assess energy efficiency solutions objectively.
Heat consumption is directly dependent on the building’s loss of heat
In a scenario in which no heat was lost in the building, there would be no need to supply any heat to the building. The amount of consumption is dependent on how much heat is returned by the building to the environment. Thus, it is vital to keep room temperature stable – the lower it is; the lower the delta, the lower the delta; the lower the heat loss. Moreover, according to the heat exchange equation, this relationship is linear. If room temperature is reduced at night and the building is not overheated during the day, daily heat loss will be significantly reduced, which will also determine the economy of running of buildings.
Heating unit regulation on the basis of outdoor temperature is not energy efficiency
Substation control hardware of this kind lowers heating water temperature not room temperature. As a result, these changes only apply to heat supplied to premises, while changes occurring within the premises are subject to guesswork, because the heating unit has a heat curve, while heat losses and benefits in each room vary. Actually, each room requires its own curve, because using one common curve is equivalent to a private house with an unregulated heating boiler – there will be rooms in which the temperature will be +24 ⁰C when the outside air temperature is low, and +20 ⁰C – when the outdoor temperature is higher. As a consequence, mechanical or electronic thermostats (thermal heads) without centralized control are usually additionally installed. These radiator thermostats compensate heating unit regulation.
Substation control hardware of this kind lowers heating water temperature not room temperature. As a result, these changes only apply to heat supplied to premises, while changes occurring within the premises are subject to guesswork, because the heating unit has a heat curve, while heat losses and benefits in each room vary. Actually, each room requires its own curve, because using one common curve is equivalent to a private house with an unregulated heating boiler – there will be rooms in which the temperature will be +24 ⁰C when the outside air temperature is low, and +20 ⁰C – when the outdoor temperature is higher. As a consequence, mechanical or electronic thermostats (thermal heads) without centralized control are usually additionally installed. These radiator thermostats compensate heating unit regulation.
On the other hand, if the mechanical thermostat setting is not reduced in the evening after work (if it is reduced, the room will obviously be cool in the morning), this thermostat compensates for the lower heating water temperature with a bigger radiator opening. In other words, if water at a temperature of 40⁰C enters the radiator during the day and the thermostat opens the flow to the radiator to 50%, in the evening, when the incoming water temperature is 36⁰C, the radiator will operate to 80% to maintain the thermostat in the room. As a consequence, the heat output consumed is the same as it would be in the case of higher flow temperature, the only change being that there could be a smaller radiator in the room (which was already working at 100% during the day) or if the window was left open and an emergency situation is possible. Even if the radiators are not frozen, the houseplants certainly will be.
Accordingly, in big buildings with over 50 radiators, heat reduction is not feasible at night or during holidays unless there they have regulators that regulate each radiator individually, while the settings are received simultaneously so that the building’s heating acts as one mechanism. Whereas other manufacturers position a smart thermostat set of this kind as the costliest version, in our opinion it is the only appropriate version, because it is the only one that operates as required in big buildings. And big buildings are our principal advantage – we have created the first smart thermostat system, which makes it possible to include over 1,000 devices within one installation, so the number of radiators in the building is unlimited.
Are buildings overheated?
According to data issued by the State Construction Control Bureau, it is evident that the average Latvian office building is overheated. Overheating in the office building segment is a widespread problem because of a lack of interest in it, whereas a private house has a landlord who makes sure that it is heated properly. In contrast, in office buildings, the situation is often quite different – the administrator has no interest in heat consumption, because the office lessor pays for this, while the office lessor does not have a clue about the technical solutions and whether heat consumption in the building is commensurate with the building structure.
According to data issued by the State Construction Control Bureau, it is evident that the average Latvian office building is overheated. Overheating in the office building segment is a widespread problem because of a lack of interest in it, whereas a private house has a landlord who makes sure that it is heated properly. In contrast, in office buildings, the situation is often quite different – the administrator has no interest in heat consumption, because the office lessor pays for this, while the office lessor does not have a clue about the technical solutions and whether heat consumption in the building is commensurate with the building structure.
As a consequence, the building’s heating supply is not regulated properly, which leaves employees complaining about air quality and windows that are open not for ventilation, but for heat regulation. Technically, precise regulation is difficult, because weather conditions are variable, the sun, wind direction and humidity are all factors that have to be taken into account. What needs to be stressed here is that the regulation of the building’s heating unit according to the outdoor air temperature is inadequate and does not deliver results, which is confirmed by our client data.
This is why BMS (Building Management Systems) has been designed for new office buildings, but just as in private homes, a smart home thermostat is an alternative to a smart home, an alternative is available for office and public buildings – the MESH BMS smart thermostat system. The principle is the same – to create an individual and precise climate for each room, keeping investments to a minimum.
How to assess the energy efficiency of your building
This is really not as complicated as it might seem. Data is required regarding heat consumption during the heating season and the building area in square meters. Heat energy consumption is calculated in MWh or kWh. All you need to do is to divide total annual heat consumption by the building area. The building’s resultant characteristic is the key. As far as any office building is concerned, unless the building does not have any insulation at all and has damaged windows, it is unlikely that this figure will exceed 100 kWh / m2. If the building has been built during the past decade and was built with energy efficiency in mind, i.e. it has insulated walls and high-quality window packages with selective coating – this figure should not exceed 60 kWh/m2.
This is really not as complicated as it might seem. Data is required regarding heat consumption during the heating season and the building area in square meters. Heat energy consumption is calculated in MWh or kWh. All you need to do is to divide total annual heat consumption by the building area. The building’s resultant characteristic is the key. As far as any office building is concerned, unless the building does not have any insulation at all and has damaged windows, it is unlikely that this figure will exceed 100 kWh / m2. If the building has been built during the past decade and was built with energy efficiency in mind, i.e. it has insulated walls and high-quality window packages with selective coating – this figure should not exceed 60 kWh/m2.
Provided that the building does not have a “hole” through which heat is released into the air, excessive heating of the building will be responsible. For small buildings, smart thermostats can be bought in shops. However, if we are talking about a big house, then this equipment must be remotely controlled, which is not going to be possible with conventional smart thermostats, because of the large area and number of hardware units. Therefore, we have developed a solution specifically designed for large buildings – MESH BMS. Ask your administrator if he has heard about MESH BMS and if MESH representatives have provided estimates of the potential reduction in heat consumption in your building.