Product category:
Ventilation Services
News Release from: Honeywell Control Systems
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 April 2008
Energy expert aims for eco efficiency in
his home
Dr Michael Lamperth is not only a world-renowned developer of energy efficient vehicle technologies, but strives to be eco-friendly in all he does.
His home has a super-efficient home heating system featuring solar heated hot water and wireless Honeywell heating control of individual radiators These controls avoid energy wastage by heating rooms only when needed and then only to the preset temperature for the time of day
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 29 Oct 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Air Cleaning Technology Questions Smoking Ban
Antony Worrall Thompson questions the need for a total smoking ban as air cleaning technology exists.
Balancing Valves Add To Honeywell Online Resource
Calculation program, animated graphics, videos and a wealth of technical data, all on Honeywell web site.
Dr Lamperth is an ambassador for energy efficiency as a lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London.
His powertrain research is expected to have profound global significances in the design of energy-efficient electric and hybrid vehicles.
Meanwhile he has striven to ensure that his four-bedroom family home, built in 1900 and doubled in size in 1980, uses as little energy as possible.
Further reading
No Need To Ban Smoking Says Honeywell
Electrostatic air cleaners provide the means to banish smoke, not the smokers.
Honeywell BA295 Backflow Preventers
Honeywell has launched its BA295 series of compact backflow preventers, which ensure contaminated water cannot flow back into the public mains supply.
Low air pollution in smoking bar claim
Sunday Mirror researchers surprised by low air pollution in smoking bar were air cleaners remove smoke and other pollutants
"The wireless control system is Honeywell CM Zone, which transmits from a central unit to wireless controllers on radiators," he explained.
"It ensure only rooms being used are heated and then only to the temperatures necessary for comfort".
""Rooms are grouped in heating zones, depending on the times of day they are used.
For example, the kitchen and breakfast room zone is heated only in the morning and at lunchtime.
Meanwhile the family rooms, study and bathroom are in a zone with a different heat pattern focused on warmth during the evening.
"The Honeywell wireless zone controls can change the temperature in each zone up to six times per day".
"They can also set a different time and temperature programme for each day of the week, which is useful at weekends when our heating needs differ." The temperatures of radiators in Dr Lamperth's children's bedrooms are presently controlled by thermostatic radiator valves as they are only individually heated when used.
He hopes to group these on an additional wireless heating zone in the future".
"The radiator valves will not need to be removed: The existing thermostatic heads can be unscrewed and replaced in minutes by Honeywell wireless controller heads, without draining the system." The solar powered hot water heating, installed early in 2007, meant the Lamperth family did not use any gas for heating its domestic hot water from April to October 2007.
Dr Lamperth commissioned solar heating specialist Rayotec to install Schott solar panels and a 250 litre hot water cylinder".
"We get 250 litres of hot water at 40 degrees C, even on cloudy day," he revealed.
The storage cylinder has two heating coils.
One is at the bottom and linked to the solar panels; this provides full tank heating to maximise the benefit of solar power.
The second coil, served by the gas boiler and used to top up the hot water if necessary, is in the middle, so only heats the top half of the tank to avoid wasting gas.
The tank also has an immersion heater to heat water at the top of the tank: this will be used only in the unlikely event of boiler failure".
"The hot water may need topping up from the gas boiler to meet family needs for half the year, but we reduce gas consumption even at these times: the solar heating controller is programmed to check at 5pm each day if the water is below 40 degrees C.
Only then will the boiler top up the heat using gas".
"It checks only once to bring on the boiler, if necessary," he explained.
"If the boiler was coming on to maintain the stored water temperature from say, 5pm to 10pm we would have a lot of residual hot water overnight and much of the available energy from the solar system would be wasted the next day.
Dr Lamperth's home energy-saving initiatives have also included installation of cavity wall insulation and double glazing, and he replaced the original gas boiler in summer 2007 with an energy-efficient Vaillant ecoTEC plus 428 condensing boiler, capable of over 90% efficiency - 50% more than that of the original unit".
"For me, energy efficiency is a way of life".
"In my home as well as my research, I always ask myself if there is a more eco-friendly way to do things".
"But that's what we should all be doing.".
• Honeywell Control Systems: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Buildingtalk email newsletter
• Buildingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
