Planning heating, water, and ancillary cost management

This article describes the installation planning. For on-site implementation and equipment configuration on the Climkit platform, please refer to the links at the end of the article.

1. Heating, Water Cost, and Ancillary Charges Management - Typical Installation

The Climkit Heating and Ancillary Charges Management solution allows for the allocation of heating costs among the occupants of a building proportionally to their individual thermal energy consumption, in compliance with the requirements of the Swiss Federal Ordinance on the Individual Cost Allocation for Energy and Water (DIFEE).

To achieve this, Climkit reads the following meters:

• One thermal energy meter (heating) per apartment
• One hot water meter per apartment
• One thermal energy meter at the boiler outlet to measure total consumption and deduct the share of common areas
• One thermal energy meter at the water heater inlet to measure the energy required for hot water production

To fairly allocate water consumption and treatment costs, a cold water meter is installed in each apartment as well as for common areas (laundry room, irrigation, etc.).

Standard Connection Diagram

Here is the diagram defining the location of heating, hot water, and cold water meters in a standard residential building.

Complete Thermal Metering (Recommended by DIFEE)

To correctly allocate heating costs for apartments, common areas, and energy costs related to domestic hot water production, the following installation is necessary:

• One main meter at the heat pump (HP) outlet
• One meter for domestic hot water production installed on the water heater connection
• One heating meter per apartment

This is the correct diagram as recommended by the DIFEE.

This way:

• Apartment heating costs are allocated to each occupant proportionally to the consumption measured by their individual heating meter.
• Domestic hot water production costs are measured by the meter installed on the water heater connection, and then allocated among occupants based on their hot water consumption measured by their individual hot water meter.
• Common area heating costs are determined by the difference between the main meter and the sum of the other meters, then allocated among occupants pro-rata to the surface area of their apartment.

Partial Thermal Metering

When certain meters are omitted, estimations become necessary. For example, with only one meter per apartment, not all consumption is directly measured.

Consequences for allocation:

• Common area heating costs must be estimated.
• Domestic hot water production costs must be estimated.

If the main meter at the boiler outlet is omitted, it is strongly recommended to install at least one meter dedicated to domestic hot water production.

In the absence of this meter, the usual estimation is to assign 25% of the total costs to domestic hot water production.

Electrical Meter Connection

When heating is provided by an electrically powered heat pump (HP), it is recommended to install a dedicated electrical meter for the HP and a meter for common areas. This distinction allows for the correct allocation of energy costs related to heating and those related to common area consumption.

Communication via M-Bus

The meters are connected via M-Bus and then linked to the Climkit Gateway through an M-Bus/RS485 converter.

M-Bus (Meter-Bus) is a European communication standard specifically designed for remote reading of energy and water meters. This protocol allows connecting multiple meters (up to 250) on the same two-wire bus, in a line or star configuration, greatly simplifying wiring. The cable used must be shielded U72 type.

Heating Meter

Thermal meters are installed directly on the closed-loop heating circuit pipe. They measure the flow rate as well as the inlet and outlet temperatures of the circuit, which they then convert into energy (kWh).

The meters are generally supplied and installed by a heating installer.

It is strongly recommended to position the underfloor heating manifold and the heating meter in an access panel located at the entrance of the apartment, rather than inside a cabinet.

This configuration greatly facilitates access to the meter for maintenance.

Hot Water and Cold Water Meter

Water meters are installed directly on the pipe and measure the flow rate (m³) passing through.

Domestic Hot Water (DHW) and Cold Water (CW) meters are the same devices but are distinguished by the flow they measure.

Climkit Offer

The standard Climkit offer includes the necessary elements for system operation: hardware equipment (except meters), software functionalities, as well as services related to implementation.

All hardware is supplied pre-configured to simplify installation and ensure correct meter communication.

• Equipment:
  • LAN router or 4G router
  • Climkit Gateway
  • MBus / RS485 converter
• Software functionalities:
  • Reading and logging of heating and water meters
• Implementation service:
  • Integration of meters into the platform based on the commissioning protocols established by the heating and plumbing installer
  • Technical coordination and meter reading verification
  • Administrative commissioning

All products are ordered directly from Climkit.

In most cases, the installation can be carried out by the installer without on-site intervention by a Climkit technician.

Telephone support is available if necessary during commissioning.

Detail of Equipment Supplied by Climkit

4G Router

An internet connection is essential for the system to function. If no connection is available, Climkit can provide one via a 4G router equipped with an active multi-operator SIM card.

Using the Climkit TRB140 4G router offers several advantages:

• Simplified installation: the router easily installs inside the electrical cabinet, directly on the DIN rail
• Complete delivery: supplied with its DIN rail mount and 24V DC power supply
• Ready to use: delivered pre-configured with an activated SIM card
• Economical 4G subscription: low-cost internet connection

Climkit Gateway

The Climkit Gateway reads the meters connected to its RS485 port via the Modbus protocol and transmits the readings to the Climkit platform via the internet.

MBus-RS485 Converter

The MBus-RS485 converter allows connecting M-Bus meters to the RS485 port of the Climkit Gateway.

It is installed on the same RS485 bus as the electrical meters and is supplied with a 24V DC DIN rail power supply.

It is available in 2 models depending on the number of M-Bus meters connected:

• MBus60 for max 60 meters; width: 4 DIN modules
• MBus200 for max 200 meters; width: 8 DIN modules

It is possible to connect multiple converters to a single Gateway.

2. Next Steps