Custom Controller for Thermal Energy Storage

Posted 4 days ago

Worldwide

Summary

I want to develop a custom electronic controller for a residential thermal energy storage water tank. The controller will manage a heat pump, three electric resistance heaters, temperature sensors, energy meters and communication with a cloud/app platform. Features: Microcontroller: ESP32 or equivalent industrial-grade MCU with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Power Supply: 230VAC input with isolated AC/DC power supply for the control electronics Temperature Sensors: Minimum 10 temperature sensor inputs, including redundant sensors for Top / Middle / Bottom tank zones and outlet pipe temperature sensors Electric Heaters: Control of 3 independent resistance heaters, normally 5kW each, assigned to L1 / L2 / L3 phases Heater Switching: 3 SSR control outputs with provision for external SSRs and a master safety contactor Heat Pump Control: 2 configurable potential-free relay outputs for Heat Pump Enable/Stop or SG-Ready interface Communication: Wi-Fi for cloud/app connectivity and OTA firmware updates Bluetooth for commissioning/setup RS-485 / Modbus interface for heat pump communication, diagnostics and future expansion Provision for communication with external wireless energy meters Energy Monitoring: Interface with 3-phase main-grid energy meter Heat-pump energy meter Resistance-heater energy meter System should use import/export power information to control heaters according to available solar surplus Safety: Independent master contactor output Over-temperature protection Watchdog protection Contactor feedback input Safe shutdown if communication or sensor faults occur All heaters and heat pump OFF after power failure, followed by configurable restart delay Additional I/O: Digital inputs for alarms / feedback Outputs for optional circulation pump Expansion capability for additional tanks or future accessories Programming / Reprogramming: OTA firmware updates through Wi-Fi plus USB/UART programming/debug interface. PCB Design: Preferably designed in KiCad. PCB should be suitable for reliable long-term residential installation and designed with proper isolation between 230VAC, relay/contactor circuits and low-voltage electronics. Deliverables: Complete schematic and PCB design files, source files, BOM, Gerber/manufacturing files, firmware-ready prototype PCB, and at least one assembled and debugged sample.

  • Less than 30 hrs/week
    Hourly
  • 1-3 months
    Duration
  • Intermediate
    Experience Level
  • $15.00

    -

    $25.00

    Hourly
  • Remote Job
  • Ongoing project
    Project Type
Skills and Expertise
Mandatory skills
C++
Microcontroller Programming
Nice-to-have skills
C
Embedded System
Activity on this job
  • Proposals:10 to 15
  • Last viewed by client:3 days ago
  • Interviewing:
    7
  • Invites sent:
    4
  • Unanswered invites:
    1
About the client
Member since Feb 10, 2016
  • Latvia
    Riga11:38 AM
  • $117 total spent
    2 hires, 0 active

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