Glass & vTherm°e - Energy Management System

The Queens Quay development required a HIU which could operate at lower temperatures than traditional heating networks.  Some units perform poorly when connected to next generation heat networks which results in higher flow rates and narrower temperature differentials which reduces efficiency, increase carbon emissions and drive up costs to the end user.  Whilst vTherm°e can operate at traditional temperatures, it was designed to be “Heat-Pump-Ready” and was ideal for Queens Quay.

vTherm°e combines intelligent responsiveness, reliability and efficiency to make the vTherm°e essential to achieving the council’s twin ambitions of reducing levels of fuel poverty and carbon emissions.  To illustrate how important the vTherm°e HIU was to the overall performance of the project, for every degree Celsius that the district heating network’s flow and return temperatures were lowered we saw an increase of 1.5% in the heat pump’s efficiency.  Therefore, optimising the secondary side was crucial to achieving 300%+ efficiency.

vTherme Features:

• Lowest VWART of all BESA tested HIUs at 60°C.
• Fully insulated EPP case minimises heat losses, average losses of 31 Watts.
• Case constructed in three sections to facilitate easy access to all components.
• BESA Certified and listed on BESA website to current test regime.
• Innovative cool section to extend sensitive component life

Glass is our Energy Management Solution and was developed in response to the metering and billing challenges faced by end user customers, Registered Providers and Developers.

• Glass for Queens Quay Residents – Residents of Queens Quay can use Glass to access current and historical consumption data, view balances and simplify processes such as moving in or out through the intuitive Glass App and Portal. It also allows residents make payments via flexible payment options anytime and anywhere.
• Glass for West Dunbartonshire Energy LLP – The network operator can view the energy usage and financial data for the whole Queens Quay development, including commercial properties, or drill down into granular level to look at energy usage within individual properties. In addition to presenting data in an intuitive format and helping to manage debt, Glass streamlines a range of processes such as changes of tenancy, changing tariffs and providing support for vulnerable residents.
• The Engineers App – The Engineer app connects to the HIU via Bluetooth and brings a range of features to ensure the HIUs at Queens Quay function as expected. Engineers can remotely access the HIU to help residents set their temperature points and set schedules and view how each HIU is performing.  Additionally, the engineer can perform test operations on key components of the HIU to diagnose issues.

The vTherm°e HIU collects high-resolution data and the Glass app displays and analyses it in a variety of ways.  When combined, however, the two are capable of much more, using the two-way communications to bring control to their heating system.

• Heating On/Off Remotely – Control your heating from your smart device.
• Heating Time Scheduling - Make your heating work around your schedule.
• Heating Temperature control – Set your heating in real time with your smart device
• Weather Compensation – The Glass App takes weather data and adjusts to ensure you have the optimum comfort levels.

This brings the same functionality of a brand-name smart thermostat, but without the additional costs, allowing residents to control their heating, save money and never come home to a cold house again.

Traditionally, most heat metering systems involve physical cables being installed into each property.  The data is transmitted through these cables, but this type of system takes time to install and involved both CAPEX and OPEX investment.  vTherm°e communicates with the Glass App through a wide range of connectivity options which means it can operate in all circumstances. It can connect via the Narrow Band Internet of Things (NBIoT), Wifi, radio or Bluetooth.  This generates significant savings as early as the installation phase.

The ESCo needed a level of budget certainty and Glass portal has been a fundamental tool in achieving this.   The real-time financial and usage data can be used to perform long-term forecasts for the project which allows the council to have a high-level of confidence in how the system will perform in the future.

Additionally, by setting the HIUs to credit billing mode it will ensure timely payment of revenue from customers rather than allowing arrears to accrue, something which can happen when the system is set to credit billing.  This is another key tool in achieving budget certainty and helping residents stay out of debt.

The Glass App comes with a text communications tool allowing the ESCo to text residents and can include simple payment reminders for customers set to credit billing.

Glass interacts with the vTherm°e HIU to produce a range of data which can be used to enhance the scheme and make it more efficient.  Under performing HIUs can be identified and addressed, meaning each Queens Quay resident will only ever pay for the energy they use.  This is a core component of the Heat Networks (Metering & Billing) legislation and our experts can help ESCos and other managing agents achieve legislative compliance in all areas.

In addition to the HIUs, Glass allows access to real-time analysis of performance to optimise the energy centre.  As the intelligent system learns how residents use their energy systems it can adapt to achieve higher levels of efficiency.  This allows the system to enter a cycle of continuous improvement by using the data to inform changes in the energy centre operation meaning the energy centre, plant and HIUs will always perform at an optimum level.

Importantly, Glass is helping West Dunbartonshire Council ensure that their vulnerable residents have heating systems which are set correctly, performing as designed and giving value for money.  Glass will allow owner/operators to monitor their vulnerable residents to ensure they are never without heat and makes it easy to access emergency credit if necessary.