Heating water

Heating water is one of the very important parts of family houses and other buildings technologies from the point of view of energy consumption. Many solutions and types of equipment are used for its heating.

When water is heated by the solar system (solar thermal collectors), the Foxtrot system direct control can be advantageously applied; in addition to monitoring the functions (smart phones, tablets, etc.), remote monitoring, etc., it also facilitates measuring the gained heat energy and an intelligent link to other systems of heating or preheating water. E.g. when a solar system for preheating water is being installed, it is appropriate to control the related electric water heater to avoid e.g. unnecessary heating of water by electricity when the consumption is small, or when the water in the solar system tank is hot, etc.

Another possibility of reducing energy consumption is smart control of a standard electric storage water heater, for which there will be available support (hardware and software) in the Foxtrot system. Manufacturers of heaters gradually introduce on the market (in accordance with European legislation) the so-called smart boilers, which we would also like to incorporate in the control system, mainly with the optimum usage of other systems of heating or preheating water in mind (e.g. preheating by the heat pump).

Water heating control (charging accumulation tanks) is also important in installations that include solar panels. Here is recommended the option of continuous power control of the heating bodies. An example of this solution is presented in Chapter 5.6 Control of PVPS internal consumption.