Hydronic Heating Controls for Smaller Systems


Smaller commercial buildings, or large homes can also benefit from sophisticated boiler and domestic hot water heating controls.  I mean everyone wants to save money on fuel don’t they? If you have a large home or run a small commercial building, your energy bills in winter can easily run thousands of dollars per month. In this realm, Heat-Timer® offers the highly affordable Digi-Span® series of Heating Controls.

For HVAC technicians the term “light commercial” applies to describe this class of boiler configurations. There are several configurations that Digi-Span® is commonly used with :
  1. Single boiler system, with a system pump and a domestic hot water pump.
  2. Two boiler systems, or a two stage fired boiler with a system pump.
  3. A system with three individual boilers.
  4. Can be used to modulate a 3-way valve to achieve better control of building heat
  5. Can be used to provide residential snow-melt control.
Borrowing from technology developed for our class leading Platinum Series Controls, Digi-Span employs sophisticated control algorithms informed by outdoor reset features. The benefit of outdoor reset is paramount in achieving the kinds of intelligent energy savings that was formerly only available to more expensive, more complicated controls.

Why is Outdoor Reset So Important for Heating Controls?

The ability to regulate boiler duty cycles based on potential heat loss to the outside air is a powerful vehicle for saving money on your energy bill. Outdoor reset as a heating concept has actually been tested by government energy groups and found to be the single biggest way to save on energy. These agencies recognize that the use of outdoor reset can result in an average savings of 15% or more. Use of outdoor reset with certain high-efficiency boilers may even qualify for certain tax incentives and rebates.

A major factor in favor of outdoor reset is energy savings. For every 4°F the boiler water is reduced, there is a 1% energy savings. Thus, if the boiler was run based on a fixed set point of 180°F vs. running the boiler using outdoor reset at 120°F will provide a savings of at least 15%. If the boiler was a condensing boiler and was able to lower its temperature below 120°F, the savings would be even greater.

Why Digi-Span for light Commercial Usage?

Unlike other heating controls, the Digi-Span from Heat-Timer offers more sophisticated management capabilities and is able to control a more diverse set of boiler, domestic hot water, and pump configurations, even snow melt applications.

A quick rundown of product variations is Below:
DIGI-SPAN® HWE-Elite & SEQ-3For Residential Hot Water Outdoor Reset Boiler and Motorized Valve Heating Controls
DIGI-SPAN®MC-Elite SeriesModulating Controls for Current, Voltage, and 135 Ω signals
DIGI-SPAN® RSM-EliteResidential Snow Melt Control
DIGI-SPAN® SPC-EliteSingle Set Point Digital Control
DIGI-SPAN®TSC-EliteTwo-Stage Digital Set Point Control
DIGI-SPAN® VSP-EliteVariable Speed Pump Outdoor Reset Control
SQ-Elite-8TSequencing Control for Hydronic and Steam Heating
EPU-DLight Commercial Steam Cycling Control
For more information on how Digi-Span can be used in your home or garden apartment complex, please contact our team or you can find a distributor near you.

Original content posted on https://www.heat-timer.com/hydronic-heating-controls-for-smaller-systems/

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