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Tekmar Controls
Better Design. Better Control. Better Systems.
About us
With over 28 years of experience tekmar Control Systems understands the comfort of the occupants in a building depends on the performance of its heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC) system. Since 1984, tekmar has developed affordable heating & cooling control solutions designed to get the best performance from the mechanical equipment and system. In anticipation of the needs of tomorrow, they continue to innovate and pioneer new technologies, following their motto 'Better Design. Better Control. Better Systems.'
A Brief History
Since the founding of tekmar Control Systems in 1984, we have enthusiastically introduced innovative control solutions to the North American hydronic heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry.
Our roots can be traced to West Germany in the 1960’s where businessman Kurt Knuever partnered with his brother-in-law, Helmut Freundlieb, to establish an applied electronics company that later became tekmar, a manufacturer of HVAC system controls. Over time the company focused on development and manufacturing of electronic controls for operating electric off-peak thermal storage systems, hydronic radiant floor heating systems and snow/ice detection and melting systems.
Kurt immigrated with his family to Canada in 1980 and, shortly after, tekmar Control Systems Ltd. was founded when daughter Ulrike and son-in-law Don Gibbs joined the company after completing their engineering degrees. Although the first products sold were modified versions of the German products, Don began development of products for the North American market within two years of start up. By 1991 the two companies were independent and had significantly different product lines.
Innovation was the hallmark of tekmar from its beginning. Our first generation of products, developed and assembled in the family’s renovated barn, made the benefits of outdoor temperature reset accessible in ways not yet seen in the North American market.
Through the work of Kurt’s son Steffen Knuever, who joined the company in 1985, we established and expanded our network of independent manufacturer representatives. A distribution network, as strong today, with 70% of sales through manufacturer representatives and 30% through OEM business.
Our second-generation products were developed based on customer needs and emerging technology. Along the way we set new standards for product and service excellence, and built the family business into a recognized brand.
Today’s third generation of products use communication technology to lead the way. We continue to develop control solutions with a system approach that intelligently coordinates the operation of the entire mechanical system to improve overall efficiency & reliability, while saving energy and providing the best in comfort.
The Spirit of Innovation
In Greek, tekmar means “the goal or standard.” From our inception we aspired to push the boundaries on accepted industry practice and set new product standards to advance performance and energy savings in hydronic heating systems.
In North America, tekmar led the resurgence of the residential hydronic heating market and backed those products with excellent technical support and training. tekmar introduced the commercial boiler staging market to a series of feature-rich outdoor reset staging/sequencing controls. The hydronic snow/ice melting control was the first control developed in Canada and is one of the most advanced in the world for hydronic snow melting systems.
tekmar developed new control algorithms and terms such as heating curve, warm weather shut down, equalization of boiler run times, fixed lead/last boilers, variable speed pumping for mixing water temperatures, auto-differential, optimum start/stop, multi-zone indoor temperature feedback, zone synchronization and communicating thermostats.
The desire to offer better system performance and energy savings led tekmar to release the first fully integrated “House Control” for residential hydronic heating systems in 1995. With a simple communication link known as tekmarNet®, the control improved the outdoor temperature reset function through indoor temperature feedback from multiple zone thermostats. The resulting features included automatic shifting of the heating curve, zone synchronization, intelligent post-purging, zone load shedding, cooling groups and DHW override based on outdoor temperature.
In 2005 we introduced the second generation of digital tekmarNet® communication to give systems the ability to operate up to 120 zones with more sophisticated thermostats, and access new products such as Gateways. Remote monitoring and integration with home automation systems through Gateways expanded the capabilities of the tekmarNet® line of products and offered customers more flexibility in managing their hydronic system away from the boiler room.
In 2009 tekmar introduced a new generation of House Controls and by 2011, forward thinking products including a touchscreen thermostat and a new House Control for operating heat pumps became available in the market.
While the touchscreen thermostats are designed for simplicity and convenience, they still use all the algorithm sophistication now expected from tekmar for great system performance.
Leading the way once again, tekmar also offers an innovative solution that brings heat pumps and boilers together in a unique way to maximize overall system performance.
