The Hartman Company Newsletter

Issue: May, 2002
Topic: Integrating Controls with Equipment

Dear Hartman Company Newsletter subscriber,

The evolution of modern controls over the last several years has been a mixed bag. 
Equipment manufacturers are rightly placing a new emphasis on integrating controls 
into their equipment, but so far, the results are disappointing. My experience is 
that control packages offered by equipment manufacturers often limit the flexibility 
and functionality of the system to which they are applied. The reason for this seems 
to be that the primary focus of equipment manufacturers is on the equipment, and 
they tend to undervalue the role of controls in making that equipment operate 
effectively. Our firm has seen more and more requests to update controls for 
equipment ranging from chillers to rooftops that have been installed with 
manufacturers' 'packaged' control systems and are performing poorly, or not 
performing at all.  The only viable solution to many of these failed projects is to 
replace all or a large portion of the controls package with more functional and 
versatile controls.

Manufacturers have a huge advantage in integrating controls into their products that 
have capabilities beyond direct control of each product. In another generation pure 
"control manufacturers" may disappear. By that time, every product from air handlers 
to chillers to VFDs to zone sensors will have built in intelligence and the capability 
of directly connecting and communicating digitally with other devices and equipment. 
To build a functional system we will be able to simply plug all this equipment together 
and install distributed operating programs within controls built into the various 
equipment. A separate control system will not normally be required.

However, for this more cost effective future to evolve, equipment manufacturers need 
to play catch-up. As it stands, most are far behind the curve in controls technology 
and don't seem to understand how far behind they are. The best thing the industry can 
do to help the process is to push ahead with controls technologies that use digital 
networks effectively to reduce first costs, improve system performance, and enhance 
operating and maintenance efficiencies.

Resources for up-to-date information and commentary about the direction of modern HVAC 
controls are provided in the following on-line references we recommend:

1. A commentary on the continuing efforts at standardization that needs to be pursued 
to help manufacturers be more successful in integrating controls into their products is 
provided in a column Mr. Hartman wrote recently in HPAC magazine. This column is 
available at:

http://www.hpac.com/member/archive/0203freaks.htm

2. An article written by  Mr. Hartman for the on-line publication, The Automator, 
discusses the new, network-enabled 'Demand Based Control' concept, which offers much 
simpler and more effective HVAC system operation and has been developed specifically 
for the optimization of all-variable speed systems. This essay can be obtained at:

http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/may02/articles/hrtmn/hrtmn.htm

3. An on-line commentary written by  Mr. Hartman several years ago for The Automator 
discusses some of the reasons network control is becoming more attractive and 
outlines a preview of the impact new network control technologies will have on the 
structure of our industry. This essay can be obtained at:

http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/jan00/articles/hartman/hartman.htm

4. Finally, to get an idea of the impact Demand Based Control has on sensor selection, 
you may wish to review the on-line interview Mr. Hartman conducted last year with Ken 
Sinclair of AutomatedBuildings.com. This interview is available at:

http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/nov01/int/hartman.htm

To search the Hartman Resource Library yourself for additional articles on this topic, 
go to:

http://www.hartmanco.com/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=resource&uid=default&view_search=1


Linda Zuvich, Editor
THC News
The Hartman Company


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                                  The Hartman Company
                       An HVAC Engineering & Technology Development Firm
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