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.
One building. Seventeen 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
- WindObserver 75 316 stainless, IP66, for an exposed high roof
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
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 THP two 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
- MaxiMet GMX300 temperature, humidity and pressure at street level
- MetConnect THP Pt100 input for surface temperature probes
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 GMX301 solar radiation, 0 to 1600 W per square metre
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
- GS12 Ignition Module up to 12 cylinders, IP67, for CHP engines
- AF120 closed-loop air and fuel ratio control
Smoke control and pressurisation
Stairwell pressurisation and smoke control are commissioned once and then relied on for decades, in the one event where nobody gets to check first.
- MetConnect THP pressure 300 to 1100 hPa, accuracy 0.5 hPa
- Blade position sensors non-contact damper and actuator position feedback
- WindMaster 3-axis air-flow measurement for ventilation control
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
- Blade360 contactless rotary position for barrier arms
- Blade Dual Output a second independent channel where redundancy is required
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.
- WindMaster Pro 3-axis to 32 Hz for dispersion at street level
- MetConnect One analogue inputs for third-party analysers
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, T, H and P alongside the analyser
Drainage, SUDS and attenuation
Sustainable drainage only demonstrates anything if somebody records what the attenuation tank actually did during the storm.
- LevelPro capacitive level, no moving parts to foul
- LevelSlick FEP coated for silty and contaminated water
- TruMet PW100 rainfall intensity to 0 to 200 mm/hr alongside level
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 THP temperature, humidity and pressure into the BMS
- MaxiMet GMX500 one unit, one cable, one output string
Calibration and commissioning evidence
Soft landings, performance in use and a dispute about comfort all come back to whether the instruments were right.
- UKAS-accredited air velocity calibration traceable certification for anemometers
- Multi-parameter calibration six parameters, equipment from any manufacturer
- Recalibration scheduling intervals, reminders and turnaround
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, integrating over CAN.
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 CAN into an engine controller, 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
- CAN : Engine controllers and OEM integration
- 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 integrate over CAN.
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.
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