Ensure^TM Monitoring System

Protect your investment.

When you go through the trouble of installing an expensive thermal battery for your building, you don't want anything to go wrong.

Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems can be one of the most efficient and cost-effective HVAC systems available today, as long as they are properly monitored.

An energy meter for a ground heat exchanger (GHX) is a device that determines the thermal energy loads transferred to and from the ground. It can be used to verify that the system maintains ideal operating performance.

Unfortunately, installations that employ GSHP systems rarely include an energy meter. Even with an energy meter installed, building managers aren't GHX experts and few know how to properly analyze the recorded data. Mismanaged GSHP systems can greatly reduce efficiency and in some cases even fail entirely, costing the owners huge sums to repair.

ENSURE^TM is the ideal GHX monitoring solution. It's a state-of-the-art IoT energy meter integrated with a cloud-based analysis and communication tool. It can:

•   monitor heat exchange fluid temperatures to and from a GHX.
•   monitor flow rates through the GHX.
•   calculate Btu's (kWh) in and out of the GHX.
•   predict the future performance of the GHX.
•   provide reference signals for building automation systems.
•   raise alarms if anything looks out-of-the ordinary.

We provide a component overview of the ENSURE^TM system in the figure below. The energy meter sensors attach to the pipes running to the GHX, and the IoT device transfers the data to our remote server. If desired, users can request a local server that stores data locally before transfer. In some configurations, we generate advisory control signals, either remotely or at the local server, that are available to the building automation system (BAS).

Our clients add ENSURE^TM meters to both new and existing GSHP projects. We deploy ENSURE^TM in three different operational configurations: Basic Monitor, Predictive Monitor, and Predictive Control Advisor. The Basic Monitor collects the data and monitors for any irregularities. The 'Predictive' variants utilize the constantly updated, monitored loads together with the GHX configuration to predict the future performance of the GHX. The Predictive Control Advisor adds another level of utility by making reference signals available to the BAS that may be used as, for example, control variables. The table below compares the various configurations: