Energy harvesting wireless technology enables new single room control system
Applying energy harvesting wireless technology from EnOcean, the products harvest the energy needed from their surroundings. The efficient wireless solution for comfortable reduced heating costs is installed or retrofitted easily and quickly in each room. The energetic savings potential given by en:key’s automatic adaption of room heat in relation to usage pattern is substantial. It saves up to 20 percent in power-save mode.
Rising energy costs force property companies, home owners and tenants to focus on energy efficiency in the housing sector. A key role to even further reduce future energy needs is the usage pattern: if the room temperature is set to the inhabitants’ actual needs, savings up to 20 percent can be achieved whilst in power-save mode. Kieback&Peter’s en:key system demonstrates how this can be realized, fully automated, at no loss of convenience and with minor investment. It is a self-learning, energy-autonomous system for single room control which is based on the energy harvesting wireless technology from EnOcean.
Central system components are the en:key room sensor and the en:key valve controller, which coordinate optimally with each other. Due to a PIR sensor, the room sensor registers when a room is used often. The resulting data is used to independently and dynamically create a time-in-use profile, which distinguishes between ‘room in use’ and ‘room not in use’: if people are in the room, the valve controller on the radiator will be notified over radio and automatically switch to the preset comfort temperature. Is the room not in use, en:key will automatically lower the temperature by about 4°C. Reducing the temperature by one degree Celsius in the home saves heating energy by as much as 6 percent. Around 20 percent less heating energy is used.
The en:key products are powered not with mains connection or battery, but through the principle of energy harvesting, solely from their surroundings. Integrated into the room sensor is a small solar cell. An additional electric energy storage ensures continued operation, even in the dark, over several days. The controller valve is powered by a thermo generator, which together with a so called DC/DC converter generates electricity from the thermal energy of the heating medium. Heat, light, the ultra-low power wireless EnOcean technology and intelligent energy management of the en:key room sensor and en:key controller valve suffice to ensure the continued and maintenance-free operation of this energy-saving system.
The wireless communication between the en:key components is based on the newest, standardized EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEP 2.5) from the EnOcean Alliance, of which EnOcean and Kieback&Peter are members. Due to these standardized application profiles, the en:key products can also communicate with higher management systems and be integrated into smart home solutions. The housing industry now has a highly efficient system at its disposal, which can be successively further developed and integrated into existing building automation systems.
Jörg Bachmann, Technical Director for Housing Industry at Kieback&Peter GmbH & Co. KG, said: “Thanks to the en:key system, the housing industry can analyze and use the usage pattern in order to integrate energy efficiency into existing buildings for the first time – without high investment costs or loss of comfort for the tenant. In addition, the system guarantees high user acceptance from the start, because it is easy to use”.
Various housing companies which have tested en:key throughout Germany, also come to the same conclusion. “The combination of easy installation, comfortable function and significantly lower energy usage in the apartments has proven to be the deciding argument for the en:key market penetration,” said Bachmann.
Kieback&Peter and EnOcean will present the en:key products at ISH 2013 in Hall 10.3, Stands C55 and B69. The en:key system is available in autumn 2013.
The en:key system is available for the heating season 2013.
More information about the en:key system at www.enkey.de
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