IKEA Augsburg

IKEA Augsburg saves heating costs with DEOS TEO

“Improving indoor climate and saving energy – these are our goals with the DEOS TEO solution.”

IKEA Augsburg was looking for a solution that could be implemented quickly to improve the indoor climate and (of course) save energy. The aim was to make heat management more demand-oriented and save costs. When searching for the right solution, all of the points listed above spoke in favor of the DEOS TEO wireless radiator thermostat and the LoRaWAN solution from DEOS AG.

“We were just as impressed by the TEO’s simple installation as we were by its built-in thermogenerator. This means that no batteries are required, unlike with other smart home solutions,” says Thomas Rodak, Unit Facility Management at IKEA Augsburg. “There is no longer any need to replace the batteries in the wireless thermostats every six months, and operation is more economical.”

IKEA Facility Management effortlessly handled the old-for-new replacement of the first 50 thermostats in this phase of the IKEA project. The LoRaWAN network with two DEOS gateways was also put into operation by IKEA itself. The DEOS LoRaWAN Toolkit is used for operation and central function settings.

Another argument in favor of the DEOS TEO solution: the wireless standard

The DEOS solution is based on the LoRaWAN wireless standard, which is particularly suitable for communication in buildings. This means that wireless sensors from other manufacturers can be freely combined with the DEOS solution – with individual designs and functions. This manufacturer-neutral expansion option makes the solution open and future-proof for expansions.

With DEOS TEO: energy-efficient and demand-based room temperature control

This easy-to-implement and fast-acting conversion measure with DEOS TEO has paid off for IKEA Augsburg. Heating costs have already been significantly reduced and CO2 emissions cut. The comparison with the previous year is still pending, but DEOS’s experience shows that savings of up to 40% can be achieved. One thing is clear: from now on, DEOS TEO will provide energy-efficient heating day and night in line with demand – according to a one-time time program. The automatic night setback also takes effect after work and on weekends. This prevents continuous heating at night and regulates the heat demand during the day. “Complaints from employees about offices being too cold also decreased significantly after the installation of DEOS TEO,” says Thomas Rodak.

Tamper-proof temperature settings

Many radiators are located in public areas at IKEA Augsburg, such as the customer restrooms. DEOS TEO is designed so that room temperature settings are not made on the radiator itself, but centrally via radio. This prevents unwanted settings from being made and eliminates the need for inspection rounds. The robust design also offers optimal protection against vandalism.

Future expansion is already planned.

Now that the first 50 DEOS TEOs have demonstrated that the heating cycle works smoothly and automatically, the next step is to expand the system with additional thermostats. There are already ideas for multiple uses of the LoRaWAN network once it has been set up: in the future, radio-based LoRaWAN leak sensors will be retrofitted in hard-to-reach places in the kitchen area. The wireless solution enables quick and cost-effective expansion, as no cabling is required. In the future, the Modbus interface will be used on the DEOS LoRaWAN gateways. Monitoring of the data from the wireless network will be carried out via the locally installed DEOS building management system (BMS) OPENweb, which will also be used to configure the BMS devices. “Our next goal is to automatically lower the room temperature when the room is not in use – in the event of canceled appointments in the meeting room, business trips, and working from home.”

The DEOS difference: personal support throughout the project

“As an end customer like IKEA, it is not a given that we have direct contact with manufacturers such as DEOS AG. I received the necessary answers the very next day or support from a regional employee who came by in person,” says Thomas Rodak about DEOS’s direct support. Genuine partnership and personal support have been the hallmarks of DEOS for over 55 years.