Facility Automation with Weather Forecasts

Buildings may soon no longer be heated unnecessarily. Siemens researchers have developed a facility automation system that regulates the temperature in accordance with the prevailing weather conditions and weather forecasts, and thereby achieves considerable energy savings. The technology is currently in field testing at the recently opened Monte Rosa chalet in Switzerland. It is already becoming evident that the system will reduce the chalet's energy costs by up to one third.

A lot of energy is lost when heating and ventilation systems are operating — especially when buildings are heated too much and therefore aired out more often. To prevent this, Siemens Building Technologies has developed a facility automation system which ensures that temperatures are always comfortable. The system regulates the temperature controls in line with the prevailing weather conditions. If a cold front is approaching, the system increases the heat. When temperatures rise outside, the heat is reduced.

The system is working flawlessly at the Monte Rosa chalet. Located at an altitude of 2,883 meters, the chalet generates its own electricity and is supplied with water from the local area. A facility automation system ensures that all of this is done very efficiently. The chalet has a solar power unit to generate electricity. On the occasions when the supply cannot meet the demand, the system switches on a combined heat and power unit that runs on liquefied natural gas. The system turns various processes, such as the heating and waste water treatment facilities, on or off, depending on the weather conditions. If sunshine is forecast for the near future, for example, the system will begin with waste water treatment if the battery is half-charged and the waste water tank is half full. If the weather then worsens, the system will stop the waste water treatment process so that the battery will not be unnecessarily depleted.

The chalet serves as a pilot project. The empirical values that are collected at the chalet can later serve as the basis for corresponding tests at completely different types of buildings.