Today’s heating and climate systems in energy-efficient houses are so high-tech that adjusting the indoor climate can be a challenge for the owners. Danfoss Heating Solutions Division is behind a new test center in Vejle, Denmark, which is set to be the first to offer the climate control solutions of the future.
Today, house-owners often equip their home with heat pumps, ventilation systems and underfloor heating. They are intended to make houses more energy-efficient, but in reality, say Danfoss sources, the systems sometimes oppose each other. Therefore, new know-how is required and a new Danfoss test center is set to examine the aggregate climate control systems installed in a house to make them all compatible with each other.
Danfoss says the new test center will play a role in finding ways to balance a home's energy use.
“The new test center is a cornerstone, because we can use it for testing and developing products which will accommodate the market’s current and future needs. Many houses are now so well-insulated that you can practically heat them using a hair dryer. So, the challenge is to ensure comfortable indoor climate in energy-efficient houses without the owners having to open the doors in order to compensate for the excess heat. Danfoss wants to be a world champion in climate control in houses by making all our products — and, eventually, also other products in the house — operate together in a single energy-efficient system,” says Kim Christensen, President of Danfoss Heating Solutions.
Faster product development
The rooms in the test center are surrounded by a cold room that is used by engineers to simulate various temperature conditions, and to test how products and climate control systems respond in the test rooms. This means that even on warm summer days, tests can be carried out under winter conditions at -4F.
So far, Danfoss has had a laboratory for the testing of a single product at a time. The developers have either had to wait for their turn, or have tested new products in their private homes.
“Conducting tests in a private home is not always optimal, because we can never repeat the test under precisely the same weather conditions. This is possible at the test center, which has the optimum framework to work with the optimization of the interaction between the technologies and create future efficient climate solutions for all kinds of buildings. The new facilities will ensure faster marketing of new solutions and products,” says Jacob Madsen, Vice President of Danfoss Electric Heating Systems and Head of Danfoss in Vejle.
- The test center is located behind the Danfoss premises at Ulvehavevej in Vejle and was opened on November 26, 2013.
- The two-storey 1,743 sq.ft. building consists of three test rooms with different floorings, such as wood and tile, as found in real homes.
- Well-insulated houses offer a good opportunity for utilizing electricity as a means to link different energy forms. Sustainable energy sources such as solar panels and heat pumps often generate power to be used directly to heat the home.