Sized against the coldest day,
judged on the whole year
Gas engine ignition and air fuel ratio control, oil debris monitoring and outside temperature measurement for heat networks and CHP, where the plant fails in a basement and the wear shows in the oil first.
Two failures, one slow and one expensive
A heat network is sized against the coldest day and judged on annual efficiency, and those two numbers pull in different directions. Plant that comfortably meets peak demand spends most of the year running badly at part load.
The engines carrying it fail in a basement or a plant room, usually at the point in the year when the network can least afford it, and the access to replace anything is often worse than the access to install it was.
The wear that produces those failures is measurable long before it is disruptive. Ferrous debris accumulates in the lubricant through the whole degradation process, while the vibration signature and the performance figures still look acceptable.
The building is only one part of the measurement environment
Wind on the roof, facade and at street level. Temperature, humidity and pressure for ventilation and plant. Rainfall and level for drainage. Position on dampers, barriers and doors. Condition monitoring for machinery in the plant room.
The measurement points are spread across the building and the environment around it, from a parapet or crane jib to an attenuation tank below a car park. The application determines what the instrument has to survive, how often it can be accessed and how its data needs to be used.
Gill’s technologies span these requirements, from three-axis wind measurement for microclimate and ventilation through to weather, level, position and machinery condition sensing.
Wind where the environment changes
Street-level conditions can differ dramatically from those measured on a roof. Three-axis measurement captures the full wind vector where downdraught, acceleration, turbulence and pedestrian comfort matter.
WindMaster Pro: 3-axis measurement up to 32 Hz
Measurement for difficult-to-access positions
Rooftops, facades and construction equipment can leave little appetite for frequent access. Instrument construction, environmental protection and the absence of moving sensing components all become part of the specification.
WindObserver: 316 stainless steel, IP66, heated options
Beyond wind
The built environment depends on more than weather measurement. Rainfall, liquid level, position and machinery condition all contribute to how buildings, infrastructure and plant perform.
One sensing capability across multiple building systems
From sensor to building system
Measurement only becomes useful when the data reaches the system that needs it. Gill instruments provide industrial communication and analogue interfaces for BMS, SCADA and monitoring applications.
Modbus, RS485, serial, analogue and SDI-12
Independent verification
Building portfolios rarely contain instruments from one manufacturer. Labcal provides UKAS-accredited calibration for equipment from multiple manufacturers across six measurement parameters.
One traceable calibration service across a mixed instrument estate
One building. Sixteen measurement points.
A building measures from the roof to the basement, and from the plant room to the pavement outside.
Wind above the parapet, at the facade and at the kerb. Conditions for ventilation and plant. Rainfall and level for drainage. Position on everything that moves. Measurement for the machinery that keeps the building operating.
Rooftop weather station
The roof is where a building finds out what the weather is actually doing, and it is the only place a met station can go without arguing with the architect.
- MaxiMet GMX551 wind, T, H, P, solar and rainfall in one housing
- MetConnect One Modbus and SDI-12 into the BMS
- MaxiMet GMX603 wind, T, H, P and high-accuracy optical rainfall, 5 percent or better
Rooftop plant and HVAC
Air handling responds to outside conditions, and a plant deck sheltered by its own parapet is not measuring the same air the intakes are drawing.
- MetConnect THP temperature 0.2 degrees C, humidity 1.5 percent RH
- WindMaster 3-axis for ventilation and air-flow control
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, temperature, humidity and pressure in one unit
- WindSonic 60 2-axis ultrasonic, 0 to 60 m/s, 0.5 kg, no moving parts
Tall building wind loading
Wind loading and perceived sway are the reasons the structural model exists, and the only way to check the model is to measure the building it produced.
- WindObserver 90 0 to 90 m/s, 316 stainless, no moving parts
- WindMaster Pro 3-axis to 32 Hz for buffeting and vortex work
- WindObserver 75 open head, accurate across a wide flow angle
Facade access and cradles
A building maintenance unit stops at a wind speed, and the crew on the cradle would rather that number came from the facade than the airport.
- WindSonic 60 0 to 60 m/s, 0.5 kg, mounts on the rail or parapet
- WindObserver 75 where the facade position is severely exposed
- Blade position sensors non-contact position feedback on the cradle drive
Tower crane and lifting
An urban lift stops on a wind reading taken at the jib, above a street that will be closed if it goes wrong.
- WindSonic 75 0 to 75 m/s, full-range accuracy published
- WindObserver 90 0 to 90 m/s for tall or exposed jibs
- MaxiMet GMX200 wind only, 0.5 kg, for a temporary works mast
Site hoarding and dust
Dust and noise complaints from a city site arrive with a time on them, and without wind data at the hoarding there is nothing to answer with.
- MaxiMet GMX551 wind, T, H, P, solar and rainfall at the boundary
- MetConnect One analogue inputs for dust and noise monitors
- WindSonic 60 a compact wind reference on the hoarding
Pedestrian wind comfort
A tower accelerates wind down its face and around its corners, and the people who feel it are at the bus stop rather than on the roof.
- WindMaster Pro 3-axis to 32 Hz for gust and turbulence at street level
- WindSonic 60 0.5 kg, discreet enough for a street mounting
- MaxiMet GMX200 wind only, for a short pedestrian-comfort survey
Urban heat and outdoor workers
A street of hard surfaces runs hotter than the met office figure, and the people working in it feel radiant heat rather than air temperature.
- MaxiMet GMX552 WBGT heat stress with wind, T, H and P, 1.29 kg, IP66
Green roofs and roof irrigation
A green roof is a maintenance liability if it is watered on a timer and a benefit if it is watered on a measurement.
- TruMet PW100 optical rainfall, no bucket to block with substrate
- MaxiMet GMX551 rainfall alongside solar, wind, T, H and P
- MaxiMet GMX603 wind, T, H, P and high-accuracy optical rainfall, 5 percent or better
District energy centre
Heat networks and combined heat and power are sized against outside temperature, and they run at their worst efficiency on the day nobody is watching.
- MetConnect THP reference temperature, humidity and pressure
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, temperature, humidity and pressure in one unit
Barriers, gates and doors
A car park barrier cycles hundreds of times a day, and the sensor proving its position is the part that fails first.
- Blade position sensors non-contact inductive, unlimited-life feedback
Kerbside air quality
An air quality reading without wind beside it cannot be attributed to the road, the site or the plant, which is exactly what everyone wants to know.
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, temperature, humidity and pressure in one unit
- MaxiMet GMX552 WBGT heat stress with wind, T, H and P, 1.29 kg, IP66
Drainage, SUDS and attenuation
Sustainable drainage only demonstrates anything if somebody records what the attenuation tank actually did during the storm.
- TruMet PW100 optical rainfall, 0 to 200 mm/hr, no moving parts
Plant room machinery condition
Chillers, pumps and generators fail in a basement nobody visits, and the wear is in the oil before it is in the noise.
- WearDetect oil debris sensing for ferrous wear particles
- LevelPro lubrication and coolant level with no moving parts
- DD1615 level display local indication in the plant room
Ventilation and occupant comfort
Natural ventilation and mixed-mode control open windows on a wind and temperature reading, and get complaints when the reading is from the wrong side of the building.
- WindMaster 3-axis for building and clean-room ventilation control
- MetConnect One temperature, humidity and pressure into the BMS
- MaxiMet GMX500 one unit, one cable, one output string
Duct and grille air velocity
Ventilation is balanced and signed off with vane and thermal anemometers and pitot tubes. Labcal calibrates them from 0.1 to 50 m/s.
- UKAS air velocity calibration vane, hot wire and thermal anemometers and pitot tubes, 0.1 to 50 m/s
- Labcal, UKAS Lab 0625 ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for instruments from any manufacturer
Heating and water pressure gauges
Boilers, pumps and pressurisation units are set against pressure gauges and transmitters. Labcal calibrates them, whoever made them.
- UKAS pressure calibration pressure gauges, digital indicators, transmitters, transducers and switches, 0 to 1,400 bar
- Labcal, UKAS Lab 0625 ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for instruments from any manufacturer
Flow and return temperature probes
District heating is controlled and billed on flow and return temperatures. Labcal calibrates the probes, RTDs and transmitters that measure them.
- UKAS temperature calibration temperature probes, thermocouples, RTDs, thermometers, transmitters and data loggers, -30 to +140 °C
- Labcal, UKAS Lab 0625 ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for instruments from any manufacturer
Pumped drainage flow meters
Pumped discharge from attenuation tanks is measured and reported. Labcal calibrates electromagnetic, ultrasonic and other liquid flow meters.
- UKAS liquid flow calibration electromagnetic, turbine, Coriolis, paddle wheel, positive displacement and ultrasonic flow meters
- Labcal, UKAS Lab 0625 ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for instruments from any manufacturer
Office humidity and comfort loggers
Comfort and building certification surveys log temperature and humidity floor by floor. Labcal calibrates the hygrometers and loggers used.
- UKAS humidity calibration hygrometers, humidity transmitters, combined temperature and humidity probes, dew point sensors and loggers
- Labcal, UKAS Lab 0625 ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for instruments from any manufacturer
Service vehicles: fuel and position
Service vans and site vehicles run on fuel that is easy to lose track of. A capacitive level sensor reports what is left in the tank with no float to stick, and non-contact position sensors give long-life feedback from pedals, steering and actuators.
Control decides efficiency, condition decides availability
Ignition energy and timing decide whether the engine burns the mixture cleanly, and on a network running mixed or variable gas the assumption made at commissioning does not hold across a year.
Closed-loop air and fuel ratio control is what keeps the engine at its intended ratio while the gas and the load move. Without it, part-load efficiency drifts in a way that shows up only in an annual figure.
Outside temperature is the demand signal for the whole network, and it is often taken from a single sensor in an awkward position or from a weather service. Both are weaker than a properly sited measurement, and the network is controlled against it continuously.
Underneath all of that, oil debris monitoring is what turns an engine outage from a discovery into a plan. The debris trend is available months before the failure it predicts.
Ignition and mixture across a whole year
The GS8, GS12 and GT6 ignition modules provide controlled ignition energy and timing, and the AF120 provides closed-loop air and fuel ratio control that corrects continuously as gas and load change.
On a network that runs at part load for most of the year, that is where annual efficiency is actually won or lost, rather than at the peak condition the plant was sized for.
Efficiency across the year, not the peak
View gas engine controlsA basement is a bad place to discover a failure
Plant rooms and basements are chosen for everything except maintenance access, so an unplanned engine strip is disruptive out of proportion to the component that caused it.
WearDetect monitors ferrous debris in the oil, distinguishing fine from coarse and reporting water presence and oil temperature, with 0-10 V, 4-20 mA, CANbus or Modbus RTU output into plant control.
Planned rather than discovered
View WearDetectEfficiency and availability are both contracted
Heat networks operate under efficiency commitments, availability guarantees and increasingly under consumer protection requirements, and all of those are settled from recorded performance.
A record that shows what the plant was doing, when it drifted and when it was corrected, is what supports a position rather than conceding one. It is also what makes the case for replacement or refurbishment arguable.
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited laboratory operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer across temperature, humidity, pressure, air velocity and flow.
What a heat network measures
Ignition and mixture control on the engines, condition monitoring on the plant, and the outside measurement the whole network is controlled against.
Engine and plant
Gas engine controls
Ignition modules and air fuel ratio control
GS8, GS12 and GT6 ignition modules with the AF120 closed-loop air and fuel ratio controller, configured over RS232.
WearDetect
Oil debris sensor
Ferrous debris in engine and gearbox oil, reported fine and coarse separately alongside water presence and oil temperature.
Level sensing
Capacitive liquid level sensors
Oil, coolant, condensate and thermal store level with no float, with a FEP-coated variant for treated water.
Network and demand
MaxiMet
All-in-one weather station, no moving parts
Outside temperature, humidity, wind and solar from one unit, sited properly rather than wherever a sensor fitted.
MetConnect
Separable sensors for WMO-compliant siting
Separable sensors with analogue and Pt100 inputs where the network keeps a reference record or reads existing probes.
Blade position sensors
Non-contact inductive position sensing
Non-contact position feedback on valve, damper and actuator mechanisms across the plant.
Where district energy measurement does the work
Residential schemes
Networks controlled against outside temperature and judged on annual efficiency.
Combined heat and power
Engines whose availability and efficiency are both contracted.
Universities and hospitals
Estates with their own generation and a low tolerance for outage.
Poor access
Plant where an unplanned strip is disruptive out of proportion to the failure.
Investment cases
Condition and performance data supporting a case for replacement.
Reliability obligations
Networks with recorded obligations on availability and performance.
UKAS-accredited calibration for six measurement parameters
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. It provides calibration across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
For a network carrying thermometers, temperature and humidity probes, pressure instruments, thermal probes, anemometers and data loggers, one accredited laboratory keeps the whole estate on a single traceable schedule.
Gas meters · Mass flow controllers · Dispensing systems
Anemometers · Pitot tubes · Thermal probes
Flow meters and sensors · Process control equipment
Gauges · Transducers · Manometers · Transmitters
Thermometers · Probes · Thermocouples · Data loggers
Hygrometers · Probes · Transmitters
Getting control and condition into plant management
An engine control decision happens in milliseconds and a network efficiency review happens annually, and both draw on the same plant.
Gill supports environmental monitoring, industrial sensing, embedded electronics and systems integration, so operators, engine builders and plant contractors can bring ignition, mixture, condition and demand measurement into existing control architecture.
Whether the requirement is a 4-20 mA signal into an engine package, Modbus into plant control or a BMS, or analogue into an existing channel, Gill engineers can support integration from specification through commissioning.
Outputs and options
- RS232 : Engine control set-up and configuration
- Modbus RTU : Plant control, SCADA and BMS
- 4-20 mA & 0-10 V : Existing analogue channels
- BladeCom : Travel, switch points and output limits set before fitting
What the specification looks like in practice
Efficiency across the year
Closed-loop ratio control holds the engine at its intended ratio at part load, which is where an annual figure is actually decided.
Ignition specified, not inherited
GS8, GS12 and GT6 provide controlled ignition energy and timing rather than whatever the fitted coil delivers.
Wear seen months ahead
WearDetect reports fine and coarse ferrous debris separately, turning an outage into a plan.
The demand signal measured properly
Outside temperature drives the whole network, and it is often the least well sited measurement on the scheme.
Level without a float
Capacitive sensing across oil, coolant, condensate and thermal stores, with no moving component in the fluid.
Into the systems already running
CAN, Modbus, analogue and serial outputs reach engine controllers, plant control and building systems.
Questions about district energy and plant
Because a network is sized against the coldest day and judged on annual efficiency, and it spends most of the year well below peak demand. Plant that meets the peak comfortably can still run badly for most of the year.
Closed-loop air and fuel ratio control is what holds the engine at its intended ratio as gas and load change.
It turns an engine outage from a discovery into a plan. WearDetect reports fine and coarse ferrous debris separately alongside water presence and oil temperature, months before a failure becomes disruptive.
Somewhere representative rather than wherever a sensor fitted. It is the demand signal for the entire network, so a poorly sited measurement is a control error repeated continuously.
GS8, GS12 and GT6 cover different engine configurations and cylinder counts. Selection depends on the engine, the gas and the control requirement, and the engineering team can advise against the installation.
Generally yes. The condition, level and environmental sensing provide Modbus RTU, analogue and serial outputs, and the gas engine controls are configured over RS232.
Yes. Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
Speak to our team
Tell us what you need to measure, where and under what conditions. We'll help you work out the appropriate approach.
We aim to respond in one working day.