 Heating season is beginning in many parts of the country, so building managers and HVAC professionals are out in the field getting boilers ready for use. The first few weeks of heating season can be hectic, as dormant boilers are lit and unexpected startup problems pop up all over. HVAC professionals must be able to see when a start-up problem occurs in a building so that they can get on site and fix it quickly, then be able to move on to the next issue. Professionals rely on remote boiler management software to keep them informed. BuildingNet® by Heat-Timer® does not let them down.
Why is BuildingNet® a better boiler management software interface? To a user, the connection between a Heat-Timer® Platinum series controller and the BuildingNet® web based or mobile application is just part of the “cloud” that few people think much abhttp://platinumout. The engineers at BuildingNet®, on the other hand, think about it all the time because inside that “cloud” is BuildingNet’s highly reliable backend server software, running on a redundant network to ensure 24/7 availability. BuildingNet’s servers have the reliability and scale to support its customers, even during the busiest time of the season. It is not just the reliability that building managers like about BuildingNet®. BuildingNet® has the powerful boiler management controls that building managers need. BuildingNet® is not just a view-only application, just allowing the user to watch what is going on in the building without being able to do anything about it. BuildingNet® gives the user all the important control functions of the Heat-Timer® Platinum controller, not just the basic temperature control offered by some remote software. BuildingNet® also allows the creation of monitoring accounts which allow a boiler service and maintenance company to receive and respond to alarms and monitor building status. This feature allows the property managers to choose a service company or companies that are right for their needs, rather than be locked into a service contract like some other building management software solutions. Multiple Boiler Rooms, Buildings, and Locations, Single Management Interface BuildingNet® software is not an application originally designed to manage a single residence or small apartment building, and then advertised as being something more. BuildingNet® was designed from the beginning to scale easily and robustly from a single Platinum controller to an entire apartment complex or business campus. BuildingNet® can be used for large property portfolios because it has powerful tools to cut through the noise and give the building managers the information they need, when they need it. One example is BuildingNet’s new alarm features, which allow tiered response to alarms. With tiered alarms, a manager responsible for 50 apartment buildings in a complex will not receive every alarm from every building. The alarms will go first to the on-site technicians responsible, then to the technician’s supervisor. Only the alarms that are not answered after a set time period will be escalated to the manager. Another way that BuildingNet® manages the complexity of a multi-building portfolio is its rich set of data analysis tools that allow building managers to spot trends and potential problems before they become emergencies. The new alarm executive summary gives a daily summary of alarms, while the customizable report features in BuildingNet®, can give managers the ability to generate reports down to the sensor level, or create summary reports that show overall trends. These reports can be configured to be emailed to the team at regular times. Different buildings need different controllers The last reason that BuildingNet® works so well for a range of building sizes and types is because Heat-Timer® offers the widest selection of boiler controllers in the industry. Heat-Timer® has a Platinum series controller optimized for every situation, whether a single hydronic boiler in a small multi-family building to a multi-steam boiler installation for a large building or domestic hot water for an entire hospital. Heat-Timer® has the right boiler control solution for every situation, and BuildingNet® gives building managers and HVAC professionals the tools to manage them efficiently, saving money and increasing resident satisfaction. For more information visit https://heat-timer.com Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/how-buildingnet-makes-boiler-maintenance-easier/
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 Owners of older apartment buildings and complexes sing a common lament: “there’s only so much I can do in my old building, I can’t afford to rip the walls down to install new heating or distribution components, no matter how efficient they make things.”
The thing is, that’s yesterday’s news. Modern heating controls can certainly run your high efficiency replacement boilers better, and more efficiently. But in 2019 the controls, room sensors, and valves can all be deployed and controlled wirelessly, putting a high efficiency, lower energy consuming building into your future too. Consider the following example of how a Heat-Timer® Platinum series control system, in the hands of a skilled commercial HVAC crew, can make your old building a deeper shade of green. Problem Statement Common to older apartment buildings like the Executive house in Albany NY, are problems associated with manual control of one or more boilers and even many different mechanical rooms. Hot spots, windows open all winter, chemical treatments, etc… substantial, but common problems in a building without proper boiler management. A Heat-Timer® Solution to Heating Problems in Old Buildings Our Commercial HVAC Contractor had long experience with the installation of our controls in old buildings. He immediately knew that an updated Multi-Mod Platinum Series control system, replacement of aged out steam valves, and the incorporation of outdoor reset would be necessary to achieve the maximum fuel savings that would make the property manager a hero. With these controls the solution at Executive house got better quickly. The Multi-MOD provided much needed boiler control by modulating multiple boilers using PID-type logic. This energy efficient control strategy incorporates rate of change into modulating decisions. The PID logic analyzes how quickly the current boiler load is affecting the system and the control reacts accordingly. As soon as the control recognizes that the system temperature is approaching set point, it begins to back off the boiler, gradually coasting toward set point. This minimizes energy usage while avoiding overshoots and short-cycling issues. While life got quickly better for 90% of the tenants at Executive House, there were still hot and cold spots in the building. But because the system selected used Heat Timer’s ICMS (Internet Communications Management System) the team was able to dynamically move space sensors around the building to diagnose that a bizarre steam distribution system had been feeding certain apartments from two entirely different sources. By monitoring and tweaking the many parameters designed into the Heat-Timer control, the team was able to beat the odd distribution system into submission. With the use of SRC and the fine tuning capabilities exposed by the ICMS, 100% of tenants are comfortable at all times of the day or night. Not to mention the reduction in energy expenses that paid for the entire upgrade in short order. Conclusion Now, building managers can receive alerts, tweak efficiency, and diagnose issues from couch, with one hand on the cell phone, and the other deep into a bag of potato chips. The heat timer ICMS and wireless space sensors make it all possible, even for your old building. For more information, Contact the team at Heat-Timer® today. Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/your-building-is-not-too-old-for-new-technology/  A commercial HVAC system in an apartment complex or industrial building can represent some complex and expensive hardware and no matter how well you maintain it, eventually, even the best systems will wear out. So, if you’ve wondering how long the HVAC system for your apartment building, retail center, factory, hotel or other commercial property can be expected to last, here are some insights from the experienced professionals at Heat-Timer.
Factors that Determine the Lifespan of Commercial HVAC Systems Generally speaking, a commercial HVAC system will last around 10 years with minimal care, which can be extended to around 15 years if it is properly and proactively maintained. Factors that can impact on this lifespan include:
One strategy for older heating systems which can prolong the lifetime of boilers and associated equipment significantly is the introduction of an energy management system. A system like the Heat-Timer platinum series is so flexible that it can be configured to manage the most complex distributed staging boiler systems for the absolute maximum efficiency. It does this through a series of wireless sensors which provide 24/7 input to the control. It provides “outdoor reset” so that you don’t send heat where it isn’t needed on warm days. This heating control system not only helps manage boiler cycle times, but sophisticated algorithms monitor the sensor input to predict maintenance needs and upcoming repairs in a way that is far more efficient, cost effective, and timely than having a technician poke around the system every month. Information is then reported remotely through a mobile app or website, so that much of the heating system oversight can occur without visits to the mechanical room. Preventative maintenance and partnering with a skilled commercial HVAC contractor is another key to ensuring the longest and most cost-efficient running of your system, so be sure to find a service provider skilled in commercial heating systems. For more information on a Heat-Timer authorized Commercial HVAC contractor near you, call or visit our website at https://heat-timer.com Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/extending-the-lifespan-of-commercial-hvac-systems/  In apartment buildings with centralized heating systems, maintaining comfort levels for the entire occupied space can be a frustrating and expensive undertaking. No one likes to be confronted with angry calls from tenants about continued issues with the temperatures in their unit that never seem to go away.
As makers of the worlds most sophisticated heating controls, Heat-Timer® expertise is often consulted when commercial HVAC companies are trying to solve these issues, especially in older buildings. The following is a great example of how tenant comfort can be proactively, and economically managed by a smart implementation of Heat-Timer Control systems. How to stay ahead of the curve on Heating issues. General Managers of both small and large apartment complexes face unique heating challenges. Being aware of them before a tenant complains and being able to resolve them quickly before they cost the complex money, has always been the goal of Heat-Timer controls. Temperature instability in your buildings can be caused by many different issues, and the services of a truly capable commercial HVAC company is essential to analyzing and resolving them. In some cases, we have seen the breakdown and drift of control systems in older buildings forcing building engineers to actually make out complex schedules for manually changing the positions of various steam valves in the complex based on outside temperature. Not only is this a tremendous challenge, but ultimately it is doomed to fail in large installations, as well as wreaking havoc with the quality of life of building engineers and maintenance personnel. In these cases, temperature variations in parts of the building can be caused by a lack of respect for the ambient outdoor temperature. Because this factor changes frequently and older control systems do not accurately incorporate this into boiler management protocols, you end up with situations where boilers are running too hot, too often. In other cases, boilers encounter “thermal shock” because they’ve been completely shut off for too long. These scenarios not only contribute to excess energy usage but greatly increase the need for boiler maintenance and more frequent, expensive replacement. One Way to Solve the Heat Distribution Problem An example solution for one of our clients involved implementation of our Heat-Timer SRC Platinum Steam Outdoor Reset Controls. The SRC regulates the amount of steam based on the current outdoor air temperature. It controls the amount of heat by continuously modulating the packless steam valve. By monitoring the outdoor air temperature, the SRC control can anticipate a heating demand increase or decrease and modulates the valve accordingly. The colder it is outside, the more steam that is allowed to enter the building’s radiation. But perhaps the best part of implementing the Platinum control was its affect on the quality of life of the building maintenance crew. Heat Timer’s platinum series supports our Internet Control Management System (ICMS) which we call BuildingNet. This Internet Communication package allows you to monitor and adjust any Internet-ready Platinum Series heating control from any Internet browser. All the operating and recording software is contained within the panel. This means the control can be accessed from any computer or mobile device with Internet connection. Alarms are pre-configured to alert building managers before problems occur, allowing problems to be anticipated and solved from the golf course, instead of requiring a midnight visit to the boiler room. Heat-Timer Wants to Solve your Energy Consumption Problem The cost of upgrading to Heat-Timer Controls is generally dwarfed by the savings in fuel in the first month of operation for a large complex. “The reduced boiler maintenance after the installation of the (Platinum Series) HWRs was enough to pay for the controls.” James Marsanico, General Manager Contact Heat-Timer® today when you are done messing around with your building’s heating system. We’ll set you on the path toward big savings on energy costs. Visit https://www.heat-timer.com Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/why-certain-apartments-in-your-building-are-always-too-hot-or-cold/  HVAC Control Systems – What They Are and Why They Matter Large buildings like office buildings, schools, apartment buildings, government buildings and factory buildings have some of the highest energy costs in the country. And if you’re in the northern area’s of the country, make no mistake: its the ‘H’ in HVAC that is costing you most of that money. It’s essential that building operations managers implement technology and systems that reduce these costs without compromising on comfort or safety – this is where HVAC control systems like the Heat-Timer Platinum Series come in. HVAC Control Systems are an Essential Step toward Building Automation  Building automation is about creating fully integrated systems to effectively manage environmental conditions and other elements within a building at maximum efficiency through an automated system. While full scale building management systems integrate things like lighting controls, sprinkler systems, fire control and security monitoring, by far the biggest cost benefit is their control of energy usage during heating and cooling. By integrating multiple systems for ease of use and control, the building benefits from having a single, central point for enhanced monitoring and analysis of energy usage, notifications of boiler inefficiencies, exact monitoring of the temperature and flow of domestic hot water, and fully customizable control for HVAC throughout each zone of the building.
While this has been all about maximizing energy savings, there’s a lot more to implementing a state-of-the-art HVAC control system. Firstly, the environmental benefits are significant, and there are often state and federal rebates to support these types of eco-friendly investments that take pressure off the grid. Building automation systems pay for themselves over time, primarily through the money they save on energy costs every month. But perhaps one of the best things about HVAC control systems is how much they can improve the quality of life of building managers and HVAC repairmen across the county. Controls like the Heat-Timer® Platinum series are completely mobile friendly. Reporting faults no longer requires a boiler room visit as the system will send alerts to building operations teams right to their cell phones, noting where the fault occurred and what happened, so that repairs are faster and easier or even correctable by pushing a few buttons on your cell phone. Modern control systems like the Platinum series actually use some A.I. to learn the characteristics of your building which can reduce capacity during off-peak hours and ramp it up in anticipation of peak times. The Leading Heat and Domestic Hot Water Control Systems are Made by Heat-Timer® Corporation With almost a century of experience as commercial heating control manufacturers, there is nothing our Heat-Timer® Controls have not been designed to deal with. For more information on our company or services, please contact us today and speak to a professional heating control technician or visit our website at https://www.heat-timer.com Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/hvac-control-systems-explained/ |
AuthorHeat-Timer® corporate office and manufacturing facility is conveniently located in Fairfield, NJ. Here, Heat-Timer® manufactures its electronic controls, sensors, valves and actuator products using specialized computer controlled equipment and automated testing systems. Archives
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