Heatboxquality – Decentralized Hydraulic Stations on Testing Rig
Abstract
The heat supply for terraced houses and apartment buildings via a 2-pipe network in connection with decentralized hydraulic stations (so called heat boxes) has become more and more important in the past years due to numerous technical advantages (minimum heat losses and return pipe temperature, maximum water hygiene and comfort). The decentralized hydraulic station plays a very important role in the 2-pipe network, as both the hydraulics and the regulation of the domestic hot water generation and the space heating are integrated in this station. The heat box also includes the components for the hydraulic alignment with parallel consumers (other flats) and the instruments for the heat- and water accounting. The quality of the realisation of all these functions is finally responsible for satisfying the users- comfort as well as achieving highest energy efficiency. Nevertheless, in the past no profound testing methods and measuring results and no key figures were available which guaranteed the quality and enabled a comparison of different products. This circumstance provided the motivation for the project “HeatBoxQuality”, which focused on the development of an adequate testing method, the setting up a test rig, the test of nine products of the five Austrian main suppliers, basic work for further targeted optimization. The project “HeatBoxQuality” was managed by AEE-INTEC and financed by the Austrian research program “Energie der Zukunft” out of the “Klima und Energiefonds”