IOT News

At a certain school, the domestic hot water supply system consists of PLCs, temperature sensors, pressure transmitters, electric control valves, circulating pumps, heat exchangers, and other auxiliary equipment. The operating principle is as follows: temperature sensors continuously measure the supply and return water temperatures and relay this data to the PLC. The PLC then compares the setpoint outlet temperature against the actual return temperature and, through PID control logic, automatically adjusts the opening of the steam/hot water electric control valve and the operating frequency of the circulating pumps. This ensures stable temperature and pressure for 24/7 hot water delivery, while also achieving ondemand heating, energy savings, reduced consumption, and unattended operation.

The current requirement is to aggregate data from these hot water units into the campus facility management cloud platform, enabling remote monitoring and intelligent management. WideIOT addresses this by deploying data acquisition gateways that collect key parameters—including supply and return water temperatures, tank liquid level, steam pressure, circulating pump on/off status, inverter frequency, instantaneous hot water flow, and cumulative heat output. The data is then transmitted to the facility management cloud platform via 5G, 4G, or other communication methods. This enables remote monitoring, anomaly alerting, intelligent control, and energy efficiency analysis for the hot water system, providing solid data support to ensure hot water supply quality, reduce operational costs, and improve maintenance efficiency.

Key Features

Versatile Connectivity and Protocol Support: The gateway integrates multiple communication interfaces (RS232/RS485, Ethernet, I/O, etc.) and supports acquisition of critical operational parameters—supply/return temperatures, steam pressure, tank water level, pump running status (both circulating and makeup pumps), inverter frequency, instantaneous flow, cumulative heat, and valve opening. It is compatible with major PLC brands (e.g., Siemens, Mitsubishi, Schneider, Inovance) and offers plugandplay functionality with simple configuration.

Reliable MultiNetwork Transmission: The gateway supports 5G, 4G, WiFi, and wired Ethernet, allowing flexible adaptation to onsite network conditions. Builtin features such as storeandforward, automatic network recovery, and local data caching ensure that no data is lost during network instability or outages, guaranteeing complete and reliable data transmission.

RealTime Remote Visualisation: Operations and maintenance personnel can access dynamic graphical dashboards of the hot water units via smartphone or PC from anywhere. They can monitor outlet temperature fluctuations, return temperature differentials, pump load rates, and valve position changes in real time, and clearly visualise system performance during different periods of the day (e.g., morning and evening peak usage hours)—providing full remote visibility and peace of mind.

Intelligent Alerting and Remote Control: When anomalies are detected—such as outlet temperature exceeding limits, low tank level, pump overload, or abnormal steam pressure—the system automatically sends tiered alerts to onduty staff via WeChat, SMS, or email. Authorised personnel can also remotely adjust temperature setpoints, start/stop circulating pumps, and control makeup pumps, enabling rapid response and significantly reducing the need for onsite inspections.

Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics: The system automatically generates daily, weekly, and monthly reports on hot water supply, energy consumption, and equipment operation logs. These summarise heat output, circulating water volume, electricity consumption, and steam usage across different time periods. This helps management scientifically uate unit efficiency, forecast maintenance schedules, schedule timely descaling of heat exchangers or replacement of wear parts, extend equipment lifespan, and optimise energy usage strategies.