Case Studies: Thermal Energy Monitoring (TEM) System

Hot water usage monitoring for the property and facilities management sector

HVAC

The Thermal Energy Monitor is an intelligent metering system designed for real-time monitoring and control of thermal energy consumption in residential, commercial, and industrial applications.

The system provides accurate measurement of energy usage through temperature differential analysis and offers comprehensive data logging, communication, and control capabilities.

Our customer for this project was Nottingham City Council.

We can customise and build on this platform to fulfil your needs quickly, at a significantly lower cost than starting from scratch.

Suitable for all kinds of smart-metering, monitoring and control of utilities, or industrial processing.


Hardware Functionality and Compliance

Main Control Unit: Functions

  • Thermal energy measurement and calculation​
  • Data logging and storage​
  • Multi-protocol communications
  • Relay output control
  • System diagnostics

Customer Interface Unit: Functions

  • Real-time consumption display​
  • Credit/balance information​
  • Interactive user-interface
  • Portable battery operation

Communications Interfaces / Protocols

  • Ethernet 10/100 Mbps, RJ45 connector, TCP/IP, DHCP support​
  • 4G/LTE​ cellular
  • HTTP/HTTPS, MQTT, CoAP
  • Bluetooth 5.0, 100m range
  • Modbus, RTU/ASCII, RS485

Control Outputs

  • Dual heating zones, 2 relays, 250VAC/10A
  • Control logic: time-based, temperature-based, or remote control
  • Safety features: overtemperature protection, fail-safe operation

Data Management and Storage

  • 32Gb flash memory, over 2 years of hourly data​
  • Battery backed real-time clock
  • Data export: CSV, JSON, XML formats
  • Remote configuration via web interface

Customer Interface

  • 3.5" colour TFT display, 320x240 pixels
  • Auto-dimming backlight
  • Touch screen with haptic feedback
  • Multi-language support

Compliance and Certifications

  • CE marking (EMC Directive 2014/30/EU)
  • FCC Part 15 Class B
  • IC RSS-247
  • ROHS compliant
  • WEEE compliant
  • IP65 ingress protection (main unit)
  • EN 61010-1 safety standard

Software Features

Measurement and Analytics

  • Real-time energy consumption calculation (kWh)
  • Historical data trending and analysis
  • Peak demand monitoring
  • Energy efficiency reporting
  • Configurable alarm thresholds
  • Load profiling and pattern recognition

Communication and Connectivity

  • Automatic server synchronisation
  • OTA firmware updates
  • Remote diagnostics and troubleshooting
  • Multi-protocol support for legacy systems
  • Secure encrypted data transmission
  • Network redundancy (Ethernet + 4G/LTE failover)

User Management

  • Multi-user access levels
  • Credit / prepayment system support
  • Usage notifications and alerts
  • Mobile app compatibility
  • Web-based configuration portal
  • API for third-party integration

Control Functions

  • Automated heating control based on schedules
  • Temperature-based switching logic
  • Remote relay operation
  • Energy-saving algorithms
  • Load balancing capabilities
  • Emergency override functions

More images to follow.


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