An alarm system for reliable heating

Using IoT technology, EZS therefore developed its remote monitoring system, Loralarm. The system comprises a battery-operated radio unit based on low power network technology (LoRaWAN) and a temperature sensor that can easily be mounted on a plug-and-play basis on solar thermal equipment and, in the near future, on heat pumps and ventilation units. Loralarm recognises temperature patterns and can therefore tell if, for example, a solar thermal pump is running at night and heating the roof. If it spots any irregularities or faults, it informs the operator automatically.

Stefan Liechti, EZS’s innovation team leader, explains that thermography-based solutions had been tested first, but had been found to be far less effective than IoT technology. With IoT, key values are constantly measured, sent to the monitoring portal via the Internet and analysed using algorithms. “Using the monitoring data, the operator can see from the warning message what kind of fault has occurred and can visit the site fully prepared if absolutely necessary. The system therefore always runs at maximum capacity and at lower cost,” says Stefan Liechti.