The most recent change to the DV and DRHX drives is quite invisible from the outside, but still opens up new opportunities for system designers: they now come with the BACnet protocol installed. Preben Jessen, Head of Drive products at OJ Electronics, explains: ‘As most of our customers will already know, BACnet is short for Building Automation and Control Network – and it’s a communication protocol designed to allow easy communication in building automation and control systems, covering heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning control (HVAC). BACnet ensures that information is exchanged in a standardised way between sensors, actuators, and controls – the point essentially being that system designers can create building management Systems (BMS) using devices from different manufacturers with no problems.’
Simpler, more cost-effective AHUs
As it turned out, several customers wanted that option with OJ Electronics drives, too. Preben continues: ‘We had quite a few inquiries, especially from customers in northern Europe, and because we’re all about listening to what our customers want, we set to work. Soon, we had a BACnet token passing option incorporated into our DV series and selected DRHX models’.
BACnet MS/TP uses an RS-485 interface, and this was implemented in the DV and DRHX series. ‘Having done that, OJ Electronics now enables BACnet control and supervision of components in a complete air handling unit (AHU). This allows system designers to simplify their ventilation systems, enabling them to be controlled directly from a BMS controller. Often, they will find that this is more cost-effective,’ says Preben.
Easily enabled
BACnet capability is now available in our drive products. ‘It’s disabled by default when you get the drive out of the box,’ explains Preben, ‘but it’s easily enabled. You can enable it through Modbus commands, by connecting an OJ-DV-HMI-35T control panel, and/or by changing the User Config File (UDF) using the OJ-DV-PC-tool. It really is simple’.
The OJ-DV and OJ-DRHX BACnet MS/TP implementation is BACnet conformance certified – BTL listing. ‘Systems designers might want to know that our drives are classified as “smart actuators” in this context’, says Preben, and goes on to make these concluding remarks: ‘This entire project was really about meeting customer demands. It’s great news for system designers wanting their BMS system to control every aspect of a building’s operation. It enables simpler systems, savings on components, and lets you choose exactly the kind of control you want. Also, it expands the range of projects that system designers can use OJ drives in’.
The new BACnet capabilities in brief
• Embedded in DV and DRHX drives
• In models with AOC software versions 2.50 and later
• Enables easy BMS control
• Facilitates simpler AHU design
• Allows for more cost-effective AHUs
• BTL listed
• Available for all OJ-DV variants
• Available for OJ-DRHX-1055-MAD5, OJ-DRHX-1220-MAD5, OJ-DRHX-1690-MAN5, and OJ-DRHX-1790-MAN5
Want to know more about BACnet integration? Contact our experts.
