Panel heater energy management
Smarter panel heater energy management
Smarter panel heater energy management systems are intelligent heating solutions that use a custom-built network of sensors to remotely manage the dynamic temperature control of individual rooms without impacting the thermal comfort of the occupiers. These are often used to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact in purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) and hotels as well as entire hotel chains or PBSA estates. Smarter panel heater energy management gives facility managers and building owners the ability to control how panel heaters operate in individual rooms, driving energy savings whilst allowing occupiers to enjoy comfortable indoor temperatures.
Smarter panel heater energy management allows energy usage across an estate to be tailored to fit the occupancy patterns of individual rooms within a hotel or student accommodation building. The smarter heater can achieve the required temperature in a room at a set time and be switched on and off centrally when rooms are detected as unoccupied. The real time data and reports provided by Smarter panel heater energy management systems can show how adjustments made to control algorithms achieved energy savings and inform new energy efficiency strategies without impacting the comfort of hotel guests or students.
How does Smarter panel heater energy management work?
Smarter panel heater energy management works via a central control system that networks with individual panel heaters and various sensors. This allows the system to establish the internal conditions of the rooms in which panel heaters are situated and manage their energy performance accordingly.
Smarter panel heater energy management uses networked Smarter panel heaters designed by Dimplex and a custom-built SmarterDM network to enable central, remote room temperature control. This allows heating schedules to be put in place that best fit with the occupancy pattern of each room. For those parts of the day where rooms are not in use, or for longer periods when occupants are away, the space can remain unheated with panel heaters on standby to save wasting energy.
Smarter panel heater energy management system can remotely set control limits for thermostat settings to minimise instances where excessive energy is used inadvertently. The Smarter panel heaters also have on board energy management systems such as Open Window Detection. This saves energy by stopping the panel heater from warming up a room where it detects that a window or door has been left open. Adaptive Start technology ensures that a room reaches its required start temperature by pre-heating it using the minimum energy required. Having highly accurate temperature controls to within +/- 0.2°C helps the smarter panel heaters to use the minimum energy required to maintain the desired temperature.
The data that is gathered by the Smarter heating management system gives useful insights into its energy performance in real time as well as accurate reporting ability that helps setting up custom strategies for energy efficiency. The system can also flag up any issues with panel heaters that may require repair or maintenance.
Discover the benefits of SmarterDM's advanced panel heater management solutions in our whitepaper.
The benefits of Smarter panel heater energy management
Smarter panel heater energy management can deliver a number of benefits to the asset manager and owners of hotels and student accommodation:
Minimal disruption when refurbishing
The replacement of panel heaters with Smarter panel heaters networked to energy management systems can be done quickly in a cost-effective manner with minimal disruption to guests or students.
Puts the asset manager in control
Smarter panel heater energy management system puts control of the heating strategy at the fingertips of the asset manager. When, and to what level, each room is heated can be adjusted. The data gathered can be assessed to determine the best energy-saving strategies.
Reduces energy bills
A reduction in inefficient energy practices is possible with a networked Smarter panel heater energy management system to reduce energy demand and energy costs for hotels or student accommodation settings.
Improves sustainability
Using Smarter panel heater energy management to streamline energy consumption can help reduce the environmental impact and lower the associated operational carbon emissions of the building or an estate.
Creates comfortable indoor climate for occupiers
The indoor environment can be tailored to meet the individual needs of building occupiers by adjusting the controls within Smater panel heater energy management system. This ensures the thermal comfort of each occupier is met.
Intelligent system can maximise time of use tariffs
Time of Use (TOU) tariffs supply energy at specific times at lower rates. Smarter panel heater management ensures that the heaters can activate at the optimum times to make the best use of TOU tariffs to heat individual rooms, achieving maximum cost-effectiveness.
Smarter panel heater energy management for student accommodation
In student accommodation, a flat rate for energy consumption is normally paid rather than one that is linked to actual usage. Therefore, the visibility and financial impact of energy use are not available, making it more difficult to recognise practices that are leading to inefficient energy use. The control that comes with Smarter panel heater energy management for student accommodation allows heaters to only be operational during term times when student rooms are occupied and ensures that heating is off, or reduced to a low level, during holiday periods.
As energy used for heating can be up to 70% of running costs for student accommodation, panel heater energy management can deliver large savings. This was the case for Global Student Accommodation at their Cable Street site where the installation of a SmarterDM solution resulted in annual cost savings of £28k.
Smarter panel heater energy management for hotels
The rooms in hotels have clearly defined periods when they are unoccupied, either because guests are out, or the rooms themselves have not been booked. The guests may also forget to turn off heaters when they leave the room. If heaters are left on unnecessarily, this leads to higher energy costs and puts excessive demand on individual heaters.
Smarter panel heater energy management for hotels uses occupancy and temperature sensors to monitor and manage the rooms. The system allows guests to adjust temperature within set limits to achieve a comfortable climate when staying in the rooms. However, the heating is then reduced when the room is no longer occupied. The SmarterDM solution worked well for Travelodge where they were able to achieve a 40% saving on the room heating costs across their estate.
