In Sweden there are some 70 000 surface heating systems, most of them small. By using a smart control system large energy saving are possible.
The energy consumption in the Swedish surface heating systems is 3-5 times higher than necessary, according to Rolf Westerlund, SEO for HoloOptics International AB.
– Sometimes the owners forget about the system and it stays on all year round, he says.
– Other times a poor control system waste a lot of energy because the heating is on at times it’s not needed.
Surface heating systems are often used to stop icicles from forming on the roof of houses.
The situation is aggravated by the lack of maintenance.
To reduce the energy consumption better, more sophisticated control systems is needed.
– Unfortunately these are more expensive and require more maintenance. Therefore it is difficult to mount these everywhere, says Rolf Westerlund.
But now Rolf Westerlund and his company has an idea: A system of control centrals in a region sending wireless signal to subscribes to start and stop the heating.
The control central would be situated high to give an early indication and beyond vandalism and spray from vehicles etc.
The technology won the Green Innovation Contest 2014.
– At the moment we’re looking for capital to be able to start a test phase, says Westerlund.
Facts:
Rolf Westlund
The surface heating systems are often situated in the ground outside entrances or in downpipes. The size may vary between some 10 m2 up to several 1 000 m2.
Smaller systems normally use direct electric heating and the larger uses district heating. Installed capacity is between 100 and 300 W/m2.
The energy consumption is dependent on many factors, including the meteorological conditions and the performance of the control system.