Mass timber builds are highly sensitive to temperature changes, adhesives and engineered wood need to stay within strict ranges to avoid damage.

The key challenges were:

• Material Sensitivity: Temperature-sensitive materials, such as specific adhesives and engineered wood, required consistent and reliable heating to prevent curing failures or damage.
• Energy Management: The use of large 150kW and 60kW electric heaters posed a significant risk of energy overuse and waste if they were run at high setpoints around the clock.
• Operational Inefficiency: Manual heater checks were time-consuming and labor-intensive, needing constant site visits from supervisors and staff.
  Complex Logistics: The project involved multiple floors in various stages of completion. This meant different floors had different heating needs, making centralized management difficult.
• Winter Readiness: With winter approaching, there was a pressing need to have a reliable and responsive solution in place to keep the site protected and ready for ongoing work.

Meeting the Challenge 

ControlPro Solution

To address these challenges, the team deployed ControlPro, a remote thermostat management solution. This technology provided the critical tools needed for effective climate control on the complex project. The solution offered:

• Remote Access and Control: Team members gained the ability to adjust heater set points in real-time from anywhere, directly based on current site conditions.
• Proactive Monitoring and Alerts: The system provided alerts that notified staff immediately if temperatures dropped below safe thresholds or if a heater shut off unexpectedly.
• Mobile Management: Site supervisors were able to manage and adjust heaters directly from their smartphones, significantly reducing the need for physical site visits and saving valuable time.
• Energy Optimization: ControlPro enabled the team to set heaters to lower temperatures during off-hours or when full heat wasn’t necessary. This conserved energy without risking damage to the temperature-sensitive materials.
• Remote Support: The solution allowed the team to monitor and support the project remotely, ensuring rapid response times to any issues that arose.

Project Outcomes

• Material Protection: The team successfully maintained optimal temperature ranges, protecting all materials and helping to meet construction quality standards.
• Improved Response Times: The real-time alerts enabled staff to respond to issues with offline heaters or falling temperatures much faster than was possible with manual checks.
• Reduced Energy Consumption: By actively adjusting set points and leveraging the energy-saving features of the system, the project was able to cut energy use.
• Increased Efficiency & Peace of Mind: The need for manual heater checks and on-site visits was significantly reduced, saving labor hours and giving the entire team greater peace of mind.
• Enhanced Project Viability: ControlPro showed that remote management can make electric heaters a highly practical and effective solution for mass timber and other temperature-sensitive builds. This success led to Stephenson’s being awarded additional ControlPro/heat work on the project for the upcoming winter.

What’s Next?

The success of Stephenson’s ControlPro solution on this project has made it a go-to tool for managing complex climate control needs. The project team is excited to expand the use of the technology and plans to add more units for the upcoming winter season. By continuing to leverage the system’s ability to optimize energy use and provide real-time monitoring, they expect to achieve new levels of efficiency and cost savings, ensuring the project stays on schedule and on budget, even as temperatures drop.

‍