Project Overview
The Braemar 7 Star equivalent* ducted gas heater is the most energy efficient conventional ducted gas heater in the world! All Australian made at Seeley International's Albury, NSW manufacturing plant. The Braemar 7 star is the first ducted gas heater in Australia to have an inverter-controlled room fan motor. The key benefits include a cost saving of $577 per year^ and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.99 tonnes per year compared to a 3 star ducted gas heating model.#
Organisation
Team
Seeley International employs more than 400 people at two manufacturing plants, Lonsdale SA and Albury NSW.
Project Brief
The Braemar 7 Star equivalent* ducted gas heater! Launched in March 2015, the Braemar 7 Star ducted gas heater is the most efficient conventional gas heater in the world! It represents a major
breakthrough for the industry, significantly reducing energy usage and the impact on the environment. The 7 star heater is shaking the paradigm of the star rating system in Australia, as the current rating system only offers a maximum of 6 stars.
Star ratings measure what percentage of energy used in the heating process is converted into heat, so, the higher the star rating, the closer to 100% of the energy is being converted into heat. When you consider that each additional star equates to 10-15% in energy savings, the new Braemar 7 star uses at least 36% less energy than a three star ducted gas heater and 18% per cent less than a five star. Braemar 7 star provides an efficiency increase of some 1.5% over the previous 6.8 star model. It is redefining the star rating system in Australia. The key features include a cost saving of $577 per year^ and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.99 tonnes per year compared to a 3 star model#.
Innovative features include:
- Inverter motor – Australia’s first in a ducted gas heater!
- Innovative touch-screen MagIQtouch controller
- Softair™ fan system
- InShot Burner™
- Combustion air control
Project Innovation/Need
Innovative features of the Braemar 7 Star include:
- Inverter motor
The Braemar 7 star is the first ducted gas heater in Australia to have an inverter-controlled room fan motor. This significantly increases the efficiency of the room fan, and significantly reduces its electricity consumption.
- MagIQtouch controller
Now available on Braemar heaters, the 7 star ducted gas heater is packaged exclusively with the MagIQtouch Controller which allows for zoning in up to 10 areas. It features a ‘smart’ touch screen, similar in size to an iPhone.
- Softair™ fan system
Exclusive to Braemar, the Softair™ function delivers continuous warm air and ensures no cold drafts.
- Combustion air control
Most current ducted gas heaters in Australia use a fan to generate combustion air flow, and use pressure switches to enable the heater to reduce its gas input, or turn the heater off if the combustion air flow rate is reduced, for example, due to restrictive flue system or excessive wind on the flue. The Braemar TQS7 is the first ducted gas heater to combine combustion pressure sensing and a variable-speed combustion air fan that enables the heater controls to automatically adjust the speed of the combustion air fan to maintain the desired combustion air flow rate.
Design Challenge
The product was released to the Australian residential market in winter 2015 with a limited field trial initially in ACT, this was to enable a quick and localised response to any teething issues. This worked well as any failures were able to be acted upon quickly, diagnosed and rectified across the range before national release.
Our competitors reacted strongly to the product release and claimed that we had overstated the heater's performance using unsubstantiated data. However, independent testing by the Australian Gas Association confirmed that our product was indeed above the limit of the 6 Star rating system currently in place in Australia. We responded to our competitors by updating all our public materials and referred to the product as the 7 Star equivalent ducted gas heater, for full transparency in the marketplace.
Sustainability
Seeley International is always striving to bring the most energy efficient products to the market. The star rating system in Australia measure what percentage of energy used in the heating process is converted into heat, so, the higher the star rating, the closer to 100% of the energy is being converted into heat. When you consider that each additional star equates to 10-15% in energy savings, the new Braemar 7 star uses at least up to 36% less energy than a three star ducted gas heater and 18% per cent less than a five star. Braemar 7 star provides an efficiency increase of some 1.5% over the previous 6.8 star model. It is redefining the star rating system in Australia. Using less energy means it is kinder to the environment and kinder to hip pockets. Zone control also means that consumers can heat only the rooms they need to and at different temperatures in each zone, saving energy and money. Installing the 7 Star instead of a 3 Star heater can save up to 1.99 tones of CO2 emissions per year,which is equivalent to taking a small car off the road for a year!#
Product Design - Technology
This award celebrates creative and innovative design for either a component or overall product. Consideration given to aspects that relate to human usage, aesthetics, selection of components and materials, and the resolution of assembly, manufacturing and the overall function.
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