Lab Testing
The lab environment, by design, simulates the operational conditions that a digital controller would experience in managing the heating and cooling of a system under load. The digital control is installed on a commercial boiler. The entire system is heavily instrumented with data recorders for recording the performance of the system. The number of system cycles, the duration of each cycle and the system input and output temperatures are measured over a period of time. The boiler is subjected to simulated heating demands typical for a facility during winter, spring or fall. Multiple test runs with the digital controller on and then off are performed on the entire rig for direct comparison. The simulation is managed to remove the variability of the heating system itself so as to isolate and document the performance of the digital controller in action.
The two sets of data, with and without the digital controller, are compared over similar simulated operational periods of time. The difference between the number of cycles and cycle length provides a direct measure of the amount of energy saved.
Field Testing
Field-testing places the digital controller in live facilities where they can be observed, measured and documented under actual working conditions. The methodology directly compares heating, cooling and refrigeration system performance when the digital controller is active in the system with periods of time when it is NOT active in the system.
There are two approaches for this comparison. In either case, the heating or cooling system and the conditioned space is instrumented with recording devices that will measure the number of system cycles, the duration of each cycle and the ambient temperature experienced in space over a period of time.
The first approach installs the digital controller in a facility with a timer that can bypass the control at specified intervals. In this way, the system will run over a span of time while capturing performance data during comparable operational periods with the digital controller in and out of operation.
The second approach designates multiple comparable facilities, e.g., retail stores, where some will have the digital controller installed and others will not. Performance data is captured over a period of time in both sets of facilities and then compared.
Both approaches collect system performance data correlated with temperatures measured in the conditioned space. The two sets of data, with and without the digital controller, are compared over similar operational periods of time, e.g., Mondays when walk-in freezer deliveries are made. The difference between the number of cycles and cycle length provides a direct measure of the amount of energy saved.