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CAREL webinar to explore WATERKOTTE’s STone software journey

Italy – CAREL will host a webinar on 6 October examining how German heat pump manufacturer WATERKOTTE has adopted its STone software-development ecosystem to manage growing complexity in HVAC/R controls development.

The free “STone Customer Experience Webinar” will feature Axel Schöne, Senior Software Engineer at WATERKOTTE, who will discuss the company’s experience of introducing the platform and the benefits it has brought to day-to-day software development.

WATERKOTTE case study

The session will focus on the practical challenges facing HVAC/R software teams as equipment becomes more connected and control architectures more complex.

Topics will include code standardisation, modular software development, the reuse of pre-tested function blocks, collaboration between developers, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, debugging and managing software changes.

CAREL says STone supports the software development cycle from design and validation through to deployment and production management, with tools intended to improve collaboration, reuse software components and reduce development time.

Cybersecurity and lifecycle management

The webinar will also address cybersecurity and the implications of the EU Cyber Resilience Act for HVAC/R equipment manufacturers.

The timing is particularly relevant, with the Act’s reporting requirements for actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents having come into effect on 11 September 2026. Most of the wider Cyber Resilience Act requirements will apply from December 2027.

The session will consider how security, software updates and vulnerability management can be addressed throughout a product’s lifecycle.

WATERKOTTE background

WATERKOTTE traces its heat pump history back to 1968, when Klemens Oskar Waterkotte used geothermal energy to heat his own home.

The manufacturer, now based in Bochum, Germany, offers series-produced heat pumps across a 1–300kW output range and has been part of the NIBE Group since 2020.