Our Energy Management Systems (EMS) ensure switch heaters run only as long as necessary to clear switches of ice and snow.
The EMS monitors site conditions such as precipitation, ambient air temperature and rail temperature. It ensures the heaters are turned on when there is freezing rain or snow and conserves energy by limiting the rail temperature to a maximum of 45°F during a weather event.
All our Energy Management Systems have the following features;
| FEATURE | BENEFIT |
| Adjustable precipitation sensitivity, temperature setpoints, and timers | Optimizes snow clearing performance, saves fuel, and extends equipment life. |
| Rail temperature sensor | Further reduces fuel consumption by limiting rail temperature to a maximum of 45°F. |
| Low temperature cut off | Avoids nuisance flame safety relay shutdowns due to loss of propane vapour pressure during extreme cold periods. |
| Parallel operation with Rail Traffic Control | Allows for stand alone operation with RTC backup. |
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HELLFIRE heaters are designed to accept all the EMS components, a circuit board, a plug in precipitation detector, ambient air temperature sensor and rail thermostat. No extra enclosure or wiring are required, simply plug them in.
In addition to all the standard features the EMS includes our Aggressive Retry function that attempts three retries before reporting an alarm in the event of a heater failure.
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Recommended for the automatic control of 2 to 6, or 2 to 10 heaters, typically at a double crossover. Installs in the signal bungalow to provide a single control point for all heaters and use of existing control wiring.
The Multi Heater EMS includes all the standard features plus a switch warming function, daily heartbeat heater trial, manual run timer, RTC timer, stagger start timer and test cycle.
The switch warming function turns the switch heaters on briefly after extended periods to remove any blown snow accumulation or fallen ice in the switch.
The Heart beat function helps avoid train delays by testing the heaters for 5 minutes daily and reports any failures before a snowstorm.
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Automates the control of a single heater, typically at an end of siding.
In addition to all the standard features the EMS includes our Aggressive Retry function that attempts three retries before reporting an alarm in the event of a heater failure.