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Our
Projects

At Protek we like to help our customers with simple to use, cost effective solutions. Here are some of the exciting  projects we have enjoyed working on.

Scarthingmoor Lodge Energy Efficiency

Swimming Pool Control

The Challenge

Scarthingmoor lodge is a barn conversation in the beautiful countryside of north Nottinghamshire. The owners came to Protek to discuss their current energy and heating plant that was falling short of expectations. The property's demands are made up of the following; central heating, domestic hot water, electrical demand and finally the heating of an outdoor open air swimming pool of 130,000 litres capacity. All these demands were managed by individual controls, that did not interface with each other, as such making for a very inefficient system. In fact the main reason for the enquiry came from the customer experiencing regular cold showers. The existing heating and energy plant was made up of an 18kw PV array alongside a 35kw biomass boiler. Both the boiler and the array were used to heat up a couple of 1000 litre buffer tanks. The array assisted the boiler by diverting the excess energy produced to six 3kw immersion heaters split between the tanks. This stored heat was then used to fulfil the demands of the house and pool, unfortunately due to lack of control this lead to the tanks becoming regularly depleted, therefore unable to cover the demands at all times.

Solar Production Control
Plant Room Control

The Solution

The solution has not only resolved the initial concerns making a more than capable system, but has seen some very dramatic reductions in the customers energy costs. We chose not to re-invent the system but to introduce the power of Loxone. The same array and boiler provide the energy with Loxone using its powerful logic to control where the energy comes from and where the energy is delivered to.  The work was completed during March this year, using only two quarters worth of bills in comparison to the previous 4 year average, the results are truly unbelievable. During this time the array has produced 8260 khw more energy, providing an extra income of £1296. There has been a reduction in pellet usage by 10 tonnes, saving £4724. Whilst the demand from the grid has decreased by 3973 kwh making a saving of £1120. These savings will only grow through the rest of the year especially due to the current energy crisis. We will publish a full years results as soon as we have them. Loxone has actually made the existing system so efficient that it was apparent we needed to store the excess generation instead of sending it to the grid. We therefore introduced a Loxone controlled Sonnen battery to help reduce the electrical demand during the night. The customer opted for the Protect version which gave them the provision of continuous electrical supply during any grid outages. Protek then took the install to another level, It is the only Sonnen Battery installation in the world that uses the same 18kw array to recharge the battery during a grid outage as well as during on grid service.  In essence we have created an on and off grid system using the same array and grid tied inverters. All this would not be possible without Protek and it's partnership with Loxone. 

Loxone provided the perfect platform to deliver the bespoke logic required to manage this complex heat and energy plant

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