If your building is equipped with Belimo Smart EnergyValves, you already own one of the most powerful tools available for hydronic system optimization. Yet in many buildings, these valves are configured once, left alone, and used primarily as balancing devices — while their data and control intelligence remain largely untapped.

Smart Energy Valves don’t just control flow. They measure thermal energy at the coil, manage delta T in real time, and provide the data needed to verify energy savings. This post outlines a practical, step-by-step process to convert Smart Energy Valve data into measurable reductions in pumping energy, plant inefficiency, and low delta-T conditions —across chiller plants, district chilled water systems, and hot water systems.

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Step 1: Start With the Data You Already Have

Each Belimo Smart Energy Valve provides direct, measured data at the load

• Flow rate (GPM)
• Supply and return water temperature
• ΔT (delta T)
• Calculated thermal energy (BTU/MBH)
• Valve position
• Vmax (maximum flow limit)
• Vmin (minimum flow limit)
• ΔT Manager status (active/inactive)

This is not inferred BAS data or modeled performance — it is real coil-level measurement, which is where most hydronic inefficiencies originate.

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Step 2: Trend Before You Touch Anything

Before making any adjustments, download trend data for at least 2–4 weeks under normal operating conditions. At a minimum, trend:

• Actual flow (GPM)
• Vmax and Vmin setpoints
• ΔT (actual)
• ΔT Manager active/inactive
• Valve position
• Entering and leaving water temperatures
• Calculated BTU (if available)

This data set becomes your baseline. Without it, you cannot quantify improvement or defend changes later.

NOTE: Belimo Energy Valve Data is typically stored automatically for 13 months! To learn how to download the trend data ClickHere. The energy valve data analysis tool is also highly recommended to import this raw data into as it provides both a graphical representation of the data and lays the data out in an easy-to-read format. To download the “DataAnalysis Tool” ClickHere it is located at the bottom of the webpage in the “Tools &Materials” section. Data from the tool can also easily be copy and pasted into excel if you prefer!

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Step 3: Evaluate Vmax — Design Flow vs. Actual Demand

One of the most common findings when reviewing Smart Energy Valve data is that actual flow demand is far below design.

Mechanical schedules often list conservative or originally specified values, and over time:

• Loads change
• Control sequences evolve
• Equipment is replaced
• Occupancy patterns shift

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‍What to Look For

• Does actual flow ever approach Vmax?
• Are peak flows consistently well below the Vmax limit?
• Does the valve reach 100% open without hitting Vmax?

If the valve never reaches its maximum flow limit (Vmax setting), the system does not require that much water; excess flow can reduce the water’s ability to effectively transfer heat.

Vmax should reflect required flow, not theoretical design flow.

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Step 4: Don’t Ignore Vmin — Minimum Flow Matters

Minimum flow (Vmin) settings are frequently overlooked, yet they can be just as impactful as Vmax.

Common issues include:

• Vmin set unnecessarily high “just in case”
• Vmin copied from legacy 3-way valve logic
• Vmin preventing the valve from fully unloading at part load

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Why This Matters:

• High Vmin forces water through coils even when little or no heat transfer is     occurring
• This artificially lowers ΔT
• It increases pump energy
• It reduces the effectiveness of the ΔT Manager

In many variable-flow systems, Vmin can be reduced significantly — or even set to zero — without impacting comfort, provided freeze protection and control logic are properly addressed.

If Vmin is too high, the Smart Energy Valve is never truly allowed to be “smart.”

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Step 5: Understand the ΔT Manager (In Simple Terms)

The ΔT Manager is designed to protect system efficiency by preventing excessive flow when a coil is no longer transferring energy efficiently.

In plain language:

• It limits flow automatically when additional water is no longer producing useful heating or cooling
• It forces the coil to extract more energy per gallon
• It helps maintain healthy system delta T

‍Key point: The ΔT Manager works automatically, but it can only function properly if both Vmax and Vmin are set correctly.

If Vmax is too high or Vmin too restrictive, the valve never reaches a condition where ΔT management kicks in — and the system silently wastes energy.

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Step 6: Establish a Thermal Energy Baseline

Smart Energy Valves let you measure actual delivered energy:

BTU/hr = GPM × ΔT × 500

By tracking baseline trends, you can:

• See exactly how much heating or cooling is delivered
• Verify energy transfer stays stable after flow adjustments
• Separate perception from reality — know what’s real vs. assumed comfort risk

Many operators worry:

“If I reduce flow, won’t I losecapacity?”

Here’s why that’s not always the case:

‍Before adjustment

• 30 GPM     × 8°F × 500 = 120,000 BTU/hr

After optimization

• 20 GPM     × 12°F × 500 = 120,000 BTU/hr
• ‍(Less water, more time in the coil, same energy delivered.)

‍Same energy delivered — but with less water and lower pumping energy!

By establishing a thermal energy baseline, you can confidently optimize flow while maintaining comfort and performance. Measure first, adjust second, and let the data drive savings.

Step 7: Adjust Vmax and Vmin to Enable Real Optimization

Using trend data as guidance:

1. Reduce Vmax incrementally (typically 10–20%)
2. Lower Vmin where appropriate to allow full unloading
3. Confirm:
    
   • Space temperature and comfort remain stable
    
   • Delivered BTUs are maintained
    
   • ΔT improves or stabilizes
    
   • ΔT Manager becomes more active
 
4. Trend post-adjustment data for another 2–4 weeks. The result is:

• Lower average flow
• Higher delta T
• Reduced pump energy
• Improved upstream plant performance

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Step 8: Verify and Document Actual Savings

With Smart Energy Valve data, savings are not theoretical.

Compare pre- and post-adjustment trends:

• Average and peak flow
• ΔT improvement
• Pump energy reduction (calculated or measured)
• Chiller or boiler efficiency impacts
• Total delivered thermal energy

This provides measurement-based verification, not assumptions — and over time, you should also see the difference reflected in your energy bills.

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Key Takeaway: Smart Valves Require Smart Settings

Belimo Smart Energy Valves are only as effective as the flow limits applied to them.

Design flow values are not sacred.
Minimum flow settings are not harmless.
And delta T does not improve on its own.

When Vmax and Vmin are tuned based on real operating data,Smart Energy Valves become:

• Load-side efficiency enablers
• Plant performance protectors
• A source of defensible, persistent energy savings

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Final Thought

Your smart valves already know how to save energy! Use the intelligence already installed to unlock real energy savings — one valve at a time.

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