Energy Efficient Work Area Control

[Ma5on]

Im trying to design some circuit for my work place to make things a bit more hi-tech and most importantly energy efficient, im new to the design environment and bit inexperienced but researching and trying to get as much info before asking more experienced people, this is where any of you guys come ill list what is is i need help with and see if you guys can point me toward the right direction.


Ceiling Fans
· Down blowers are just off a single thermostat and constantly run though the night with no control other than the temperature, would be ideal to wire these to the lights for isolation ie turn the lights off and then the blowers turn off, but i cant seem to find a controller for this.

General Lighting
· control of lighting zones (certain areas on certain switches) this being so that we can control via PIR sensors or similar, also need some sort of dusk till dawn sensor to allow the lights to come on and off regarding the certain time/light omitting in the day.

Heating Control
· Ethernet Ctrl heating thermostat or controller?
· Outside Temp Determines the time that the heating come on the get up to temperature for a certain time ie if everyone is at work for 6 am and its 0degrees outside the heating comes on at 5am or is the temperature outside is 20degree then the heatings doesn't come on until 5.50 ect



I hope I've explained enough for yo guys to understand my situation and if any of these parts you can associate yourself/ past experience with then id be very grateful for your help and guidance toward achieving a more energy efficient work place.

Thank for your time.

[Ma5on]

anyone got a little bit of insight or places to search?

[Drew1]

Ceiling fans- With some rewiring (by a licensed Electrician) you should be able to link the fans with the lights. I would also look for "Load Controller" in Google and see what you can find. I am sure there are devices you can wire in as a direct replacement for the switch that works on a timer.

General lighting- There are commercially available sensor that do just this. No need to design a new circuit. This would also fall under load control/lighting control.

Heating- Programmable thermostats are designed to control temp based on time; however, not outside temp. I will caution you though, it has been shown that to large of a delta in temp will actually increase energy usage. Gemerally 3-5 degrees F is about the max you would want to turn it down. You are heating not just the air but also heat sinks such as furniture, floors, wall's. If you let them coold down 15 degrees for examble.....it will take more energy to bring them back to a warmer temp than if you just left the temp unchanged over night. I would recommend a programmable thermostat that is on a timer. You might find an outside temp sensor but it is not a common device so it could cost you more $$ than you would save over the long run.

In short; I would google products to get familiar with what is available commercially then go about finding a licensed contractor to install.

[Ma5on]

Sorry iv only just noticed your reply on this, i shall research the load controllers and see what i find. i've used google quite a bit to get some knowledge of commercial stuff and its helped out quite a lot, we are look looking at putting majority of things onto contactors and creating a master control to control everything, whilst also try to link it to a computer some how.

thanks for all the help, i think its the heating im going to struggle with.