Cloud-based and app-based heating and lighting control any time, anywhere.
Historic building meets state-of-the-art cloud technology: Theben’s TC 649 C control box supports cloud-based remote control for heating systems and outdoor lighting for a church building that is almost 200 years old.
Task
- Remote control of the heating system and outdoor lighting from any location
Solution
- Remote control via Theben’s TC 649 C control box (digital time switch/astronomical time switch)
- Connection to the Theben cloud with its servers located in Germany
- Simple programming via an app
- Control of the outdoor lighting via astronomical programs
The parish church at Geislingen-Binsdorf was built between 1834 and 1837. Its heating system was previously controlled using a Theben annual time switch. In the event of changes, events like weddings or funerals that cannot be planned too far in advance, or in exceptional circumstances like those of the coronavirus pandemic, the new program, which was created on a PC with Theben’s Obelisk software, had to be transferred to the switch manually on site. Alternatively, central control could be bypassed with a switch connected in parallel on site.
In other words, changes to the standard program had to be made by a parish employee on a PC and then transferred to the time switch in the control cabinet on site.
Efficient remote control instead of time-consuming changes on site
The challenge: the merging of parishes and the creation of a single parish authority in Geislingen, some distance away, made managing the church building much more demanding. Quite simply, there was no longer anyone on site who could have taken care of switching over the settings for controlling the heating and outdoor lighting.
So the parish turned to Elektro-Kühne in Balingen to see if it could provide a remote control solution for the parish secretariat in Geislingen. As the company was not able to meet this requirement, its MD Markus Kühne contacted Theben. The experts at Theben recommended the TC 649 C digital time switch and astronomical time switch, which are controlled via the Theben cloud and can be programmed via a smartphone with the Obelisk top3 app.
No sooner said than done: the electrical installation was completed by Elektro Kühne and Theben’s experts assisted with establishing the connection to the cloud and registering the smartphone belonging to the parish administrator. Thanks to this solution, she can now control the heating programs via the app any time, anywhere.
Astronomical program controls the outdoor lighting
During the course of installing the new solution, the parish submitted an additional request for a means of switching on the outdoor lighting automatically in the evenings and switching it off again at daybreak. Although this request had effectively come out of the blue, it didn’t pose a problem: because the TC 649 C provides timer and astronomical programs on a channel-by-channel basis, these functions could be programmed easily. The parish administrator is delighted: “There’s something magical about seeing modern technology at work in such an old building. Day to day, remote control via the app saves us a great deal of time and offers us much more flexibility. The solution is both practical and easy to use – even if you’re not an expert.”
The product
TC 649 C - Digital time switch / astronomical time switch with weekly program and annual program
Electrical installation
Elektro Kühne, Balingen, Germany