Vermont Energy Control Systems LLC designs and builds energy
management systems in Addison county, Vermont. We use local resources
for our sheet metal work, printing, and other subcontract work. Our
circuit boards are designed and built in the United States.
Our mission is to make it easier and less risky for people to
design, build, and efficiently use complex heating systems in their
homes and businesses.
We've found that wood gasification and other high-efficiency heating
systems are capable of remarkable performance, but are often operating
far below their potential. Designers, installers, and users often
don't have access to the information and tools that they need to get
the most out of their systems.
Our business is dedicated to solving that problem.
Contact information:
support@vecs.org
614-918-VECS (614-918-8327)
History: The Problem
Our founder installed a wood gasification boiler in his residence
in 2005. It worked well, but it needed heat storage in order to
operate at peak efficiency. After adding heat storage, it became
obvious that there was a problem: somehow, the system had to switch
between getting heat from the wood boiler, from storage, or from the
backup heat source. Ideally, it would optimize heat load management
and system temperatures. Short of industrial control systems, there
wasn't anything available that had the necessary power and
flexibility.
To make matters worse, it was very difficult to see and understand
what was happening in the system.
History: The Solution
The original version of the Vesta was developed to solve this
problem, and a web site was created to share the lessons learned.
This web site was named 'nofossil.org',
and our founder used 'Nofossil' as his screen name when participating
in wood
heat forums. Perhaps predictably, the control system became
known in the wood heat community as the 'NoFossil Control System', or
NFCS. The
hardware design and software were shared
on the nofossil.org web site on an open-source basis, and
several people all across North America built their own.
However, there were many people who wanted the controller but
didn't have the time, resources, or inclination to build it
themselves. Eventually, several batches of NFCS systems were built
and sold, with customers ranging from New Brunswick to Maryland to
Idaho.
Building and supporting controllers became too much for one person
to handle, and production wound down after about two years.
Vermont Energy Control Systems
Facing continued demand for the controller, we found partners and
launched Vermont Energy Control Systems LLC to build and support a
commercial version of the controller.
Although we started out using our controller to manage complex
heating systems, our customers are using them for a much wider range
of applications, from making craft malt for microbreweries to heat
pump control to laboratory data collection.
We put the very best tools in the hands of our customers so that
they can get the most out of their systems.
Please feel free to contact us with ideas or questions.
