Chillout is a modern, luxurious chalet in the mountains, which was designed to provide guests with a comfortable rest amidst the picturesque landscapes of the Slemieñ commune, in the valley of the £êkawka River, on the border of the Little and Middle Beskid Mountains.
The four four-bedroom Chillout accommodates up to 16 people, who will also have a nice time in the cottage’s spacious recreational area. It is truly relaxing. You can quickly soothe your nerves and collect a lot of beautiful memories.
For the owners, the priority was the comfort of the resting people, as well as properly selected underfloor heating automation, which will provide convenience and operational benefits. Therefore, one of the most important decisions for them was the choice of the system controlling the installations in the cottage.
In this type of place, it is as important as wise architectural solutions, thoughtful ergonomics of the interior, its design, and attractive furnishings. A conducive temperature for the body not only builds a cozy climate. It is also critical to the well-being and thermal balance of vacationers. And this is a real investment because in the future they are eager to return to where they rested decently.
After studying the market offer of modern and energy-efficient controllers for underfloor heating, the choice of Chillout owners fell on ENGO Controls devices.
The idea was to provide guests with the perfect temperature regardless of the weather. It was important that – if necessary – renters could control it themselves through a mobile app using their smartphones. Because it’s convenient and very practical. At the same time, it was about the economical consumption of the heating medium, which in this case is gas (the heat source in Chillout is a gas boiler).
The economy is governed by its laws, and for this reason, the owners could not give the guests full rudder. They wanted to retain control over the main settings of the heating system and impose restrictions of their choosing, such as minimum and maximum temperatures. By specifying the values that landlords can inflict on room controllers, hosts need not fear mismanagement. And this is not a matter of mistrust. It’s simply that managers of resort facilities know very well that in various circumstances the so-called human factor can sometimes be unpredictable. It is necessary to be prepared for everything.
Besides, this option is also important for the safety of the installation – the introduction of too low or too high values can cause a costly failure. In the case of sudden, difficult-to-predict situations, Chillout hosts can stop the change of any parameters (locking of regulators).
To sum up, when deciding on our underfloor control system for their mountain chalet, the customers wanted to give their guests arriving for a holiday the best of all worlds – thermal comfort and the option to adjust the temperature to individual tastes. At the same time, they wanted to protect themselves from wasting energy, and money and from damage to the installation.
Wired and wireless controllers in a universal black color were installed in the rooms. The devices provide precise temperature control, as they offer a state-of-the-art algorithm for the underfloor – with high accuracy. They are conveniently operated in the ENGO Smart mobile app (downloadable at any time from Google Play and App Store). The modern design of the controllers fits perfectly into the trendy minimalist interior design. Importantly, Chillout hosts can share heating settings with their guests, while maintaining control over their actions during their stay.
The Chillout also features our control strip and thermoelectric actuators, which regulate the flow of the heating medium in the system. The devices optimize the operation of underfloor heating. Relays and network repeaters were used, which did a great job of amplifying the signal interfered with by architectural barriers (thick concrete walls in the basement, long distances).
Relays for temporary control of DHW also passed the test, which serves to save money. Hot water in the pipes circulates only when Chillout guests need it. All this is because hosts have the option of setting a schedule for the operation of the circulator, or even remotely starting and stopping the unit at any time via a mobile app. This is a great convenience because although the boiler prepares domestic hot water virtually continuously, its circulation is triggered depending on whether guests are staying in the cottage or not. The circulation pump does not run constantly without need. This noticeably reduces energy losses.
All the installed controllers work with the TUYA platform, and therefore also with other products compatible with this technology. The hosts were eager to take advantage of this functionality. The openness of the system created in this way made it possible to connect our relays with devices of other brands.
This is worth emphasizing: in the ENGO Smart application, our customers can now control many products from different manufacturers. If necessary, the system can be expanded with any components. It is open to a variety of smart building solutions – we can add TUYA-compatible devices to ENGO Smart and create any connections between them.
Chillout has had its first heating season – a big part of it. The chalet was put into use for guests only recently – at the beginning of last year. But already today the owners have the first conclusions about the gains that resulted from installing our system in it.
First of all, full control over heating energy consumption has given them a peaceful night’s sleep – and there is not a bit of exaggeration in this statement. High gas prices (and other heating fuels) can turn the dream of running a guesthouse on its head. Energy efficiency prevents this – it’s a policy for survival in the industry.
Secondly, controlling the cost of operating a lodge could in no way be achieved at the expense of guest convenience. And it hasn’t been. All thanks to schedules arranged by the hosts, which automatically kept an eye on gas consumption. No inefficient manual control, no compromises. Chillout gained the most by not losing. Heating energy consumption perfectly matched demand.
Conclusions about savings are based on accurate calculations required by law in the process of commissioning the facility. When preparing the design of the holiday home, the owners made calculations related to the demand for usable energy (necessary, among other things, to heat the facility). Without our system, these calculations were not colorful. This is what prompted the hosts to look around for the most energy-efficient controllers to reduce the gigantic gas consumption. And the result turned out to be more than satisfactory. Savings were estimated at 30% over the charges that would have had to be paid without our controls!