Pellet Connected Solution: Which sensors for tracking wood pellets?
Pellet connected solution: telemetry and level gauge systems connected for hoppers and silos of pellet or wood pellets are quite recent!
Indeed, the wood pellets as a means of heating and stored in bulk are used only for about fifteen years. The decarbonization of heating means, the rise in fuel prices (oil, gas) and especially electricity, are driving the growth of this market.
Thus, according to
the Propellet association
we estimate that there are more than 30,000 bulk pellet boilers installed in France!
In addition, delivery trucks are few and far between. It is therefore essential to anticipate the shortage of pellets in order to supply at the right time.
That’s why Fuel it’s connected radar gauges & connected hopper scales are exactly what you need.
There are now two ways to store pellets in bulk:
- in a small mobile silo (fabric on a frame, metal or HDPE plastic)
- in a fixed hopper usually made of wood.
Fuel it’s connected pellet solution consists of a connected scale with 4 load cells placed under the 4 legs of the silo. It allows to have a very precise level of the remaining volume of pellets.
However, these silos are often with closed metal or fabric roofs and the installation of a radar sensor seems to be more complicated than a scale made of 4 small load cells. Thus, for the fixed hoppers, the solution lies in a radar sensor which flashes the height of the pellet in the hopper and transforms it into a volume and then a heating time before breaking.
How does the connected pellet silo scale work?
Since the end of 2021, Fuel it has been offering a weighing measurement solution from scales or load cells connected to LPWAN (Sigfox & Lora) and NB-IoT / LTE-M network.
This solution allows to measure the weight with precision of a container like a silo or a hopper of pellets and wood pellets.
The Pellet Fuel it connected solution is quite easy to install. Nevertheless it is preferable to proceed when the silo is rather empty. A taring is done via the platform and gives the level in a very precise way.
This system is now in high demand by the pellet boiler installers that Fuel it works with.
3 reasons for this:
- The first is the ease of installation of its sensor, which can be “grafted” directly onto all hoppers and silos on the market
- Less than 15min for the installation. No drilling or special equipment required. The installation is simple and secure.
- The level data is sent to the cloud via communication protocols depending on the site configuration. LPWAN networks (Sigfox & Lora) as well as NB-Iot-LTE-M-CAT1 are available. The data is sent back depending on the settings: once or 4 times a day. The data is integrated into the monitoring interface and allows to visualize the level of the tanks directly. It is also possible to set up alerts according to defined thresholds. (Most of our customers set a threshold between 25 and 30% of the remaining pellet).
The 3 good reasons to add telemetry to your pellet silos!
- 32% logistical savings & no more pellet delivery emergencies! Our customers claim a reduction in their logistics costs. optimization of routes and the end of emergency management.
- A modular interface! Our software is designed as a full web service with APIs and iframe bricks to retrieve level information. Alerts can be set up directly in the interface that distributors share with their customers. We support any type of communication protocol, including legacy 2G/3G M2M protocols. You can then view data from connected load cells, Fuel it radar gauges or other brands like Vega, Endress Hauser directly through APIs and partnership agreements.
- Optimize follow-up & provide service! The temperature and humidity sensors ensure that the pellets have the right hygrometry to ensure better combustion.
