Monitoring Heating Systems with Real-Time Visual Analytics

A user-friendly interface that makes heating system monitoring accessible for everyone: from non-expert specialists (e.g. building caretakers) to experienced technicians. The solution improves usability and clarity through intuitive design and contextual information.

Initial situation

Heating systems are complex and vary widely across buildings. Current monitoring tools require expert knowledge and often overwhelm non-experts with technical diagrams and unclear terminology. As a result, problems are spotted late or misinterpreted, wasting time and energy.

Project goal

The goal was to design and implement a monitoring interface for heating systems that:

• supports both non-experts and professionals
• detects and automatically labels statuses that are not OK
• groups reports by location and inspection
• displays information in a clear, organized and scalable manner

Solution developed and its benefits

The proof of concept is a web-based monitoring tool that makes data easy to read and act on. It offers:

• Reports that are structured hierarchically and easy to follow
• Guided interactions through contextual explanations and troubleshooting steps
• Automatic status detection and labelling of faults
• An overview of several buildings in one place

The results

The new interface was tested with people who regularly work with buildings, from caretakers to technicians. The results were very positive: caretakers, who often do not have specialist training, found that they could follow the diagnostic steps and understand what the system was telling them. Clear explanations and easy-to-read visuals helped them recognize problems with confidence. For more experienced users, the system saved time by organizing information in a logical way. Instead of being overloaded with too much data, they could quickly find the details they needed to make decisions. In short, the project showed that heating system monitoring does not have to be complicated. With the right design, the same tool can support both everyday building staff and technical experts, making problem detection faster and communication clearer.

Testimonial
«I am very happy with the way the implementation of the workflow turned out. I especially like the hierarchical structure, in particular the way the bad state back-propagates all the way up to the top. This provides a great overview right at a glance and makes navigation easier.»
Wolfram Willuhn

Key terms

• Contextual GuidanceExplanations and step-by-step support are directly included in the user interface to reduce errors and increase confidence.
• Efficiency through ClarityComplexity is removed so users can focus on what’s important and act faster.
• Realistic WorkflowsUse-case driven design based on real fault scenarios (e.g. hot water drop) to reflect actual situations.
• Scalable DesignThe concept that can grow with more data sources, more buildings, more workflows and more advanced analytics.
• Proof of ConceptClickable prototype that demonstrates how the system improves monitoring, usability, and decision-making.

Costumer

Plutinsus AG
Wolfram Willuhn
Im Tiergarten 57
8055 Zürich
Plutinsus homepage

Team

Saskia Bosshard, Manuel Plavsic

Advisor
Prof. Dr. Arzu Çöltekin

Design Coach
Alain Zanchetta

Technical Coach
Raphael Lüthy