22.11.2019, 13:10

Enabling Connected Boiler Control

Vericon Systems has launched BCM:Connect, an intelligent device that monitors a boiler’s health and status in real time to facilitate preventative maintenance in residential housing.

Targeted at Housing Associations and organisations with direct responsibility for tenant welfare, the device records and sends intelligent performance data to the cloud or management system, such as Vericon’s VS:Connect Portal, where it can be interrogated and analysed to predict and identify common failures such as low pressure, loss of gas and even a frozen condensate pipe.  Through deep integration with external sensors the device also has the ability to report environmental concerns such as damp and mould.

Utilising a sophisticated, anonymised community learning system as the amount of data collected and interrogated increases (for example from multiple clients), the machine learning algorithms within VS: Connect highlight correlations between boiler sensor fluctuations and potential faults. These correlations can then be flagged by the system, allowing resource to be proactively scheduled or in the event of a failure, a far greater likelihood of a first time fix being achieved.

BCM:Connect enables the boiler to be tested and managed remotely, without the cost of an engineer attending site. Boilers can also be deactivated and reset remotely, and there is also the ability to remotely alter the heating temperature and domestic hot water temperature. 

The innovative cellular device is easy to fit in under 10 minutes and is simply mounted adjacent to the boiler thus not affecting any boiler warranties or safety qualifications. It connects in the same way as a traditional smart thermostat without any dependence on an occupants Wi-Fi network.

Bernard Cook, Vericon Systems managing director, explains:

“Boilers are an essential part of any household or building’s heating or water systems. Making sure they are working efficiently and at optimum capacity, along with predicting when they may fail can be a real challenge. Yet the impact of a broken boiler in a domestic property, care home or indeed any building that requires the constant availability of hot water can be more than an inconvenience; it may also be a risk to health.

“Interfacing directly with the boilers control bus allows the device to perform a range of actions not possible with a read-only Smart Thermostat. Utilising our smart technologies, BCM:Connect creates greater efficiencies for housing providers, building managers and tenants alike. Preventative maintenance programmes can be put in place that not only save money in the long term, but also ensure legal and regulatory compliance is consistently maintained.”