Onset recently paired up with Massachusetts-based Orchard Knoll, LLC to monitor the performance of innovative eco-friendly home heating and cooling systems being installed in a new 66-unit development located in East Bridgewater, MA.
Mike McGonigle, developer and engineer, explained that each home features a geothermal heat exchange system that utilizes temperatures deep within the Earth to help keep the home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. To achieve comfortable temperature conditions in the home year-round, the system pumps water through a loop down a 300- to 400-foot well and back up to a heat exchanger in the basement.
Several factors can affect system performance, ranging from water flow and pressure to outdoor temperature and the motor runtime of the heat exchanger. To monitor the system’s performance, McGonigle chose Onset’s HOBO® U30 Remote Monitoring System. The monitoring system consists of a GSM cellular-based data logging unit mounted on the wall in the model home’s basement, and sensors that plug into the unit. The sensors monitor indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity, as well as power usage of the geothermal unit, well pump, and the entire home.
The HOBO U30 collects data 24/7, and the information is accessible via the web at the following address: http://www.onsetcomp.com/livesystem_eco-friendly-home-heating
McGonigle has already gathered valuable information from the data logging system and has been able to make necessary adjustments. The monitoring system will continue to be valuable in the future as the developers plan to add solar thermal units to the homes’ roofs to further help with home heating and the hot water supply.