Control Network Newsletter
A Successful AHR Expo 2010
March 2010 - AHR 2010 was a success for Contemporary Controls. More than 1,800 companies showcased their latest products to more than 35,000 HVAC/R professionals.
"We've attended the AHR show for many years," said George Thomas, president of Contemporary Controls. "It's a great chance for us to meet our building automation customers. Despite the current economic climate, the mood at the show was very upbeat. All three days were busy for us, with no sign of a recession. People were talking about projects and looking for solutions to make their installations easier."
At the show, Contemporary Controls presented the newly released BAS Remote 3.0, which was upgraded to allow Modbus mapping to BACnet objects.
"Customers involved in boiler controls and lighting controls, which typically have a Modbus interface, were extremely pleased to see the Modbus to BACnet mapping enhancements," said Joe Stasiek, Sales Manager of Contemporary Controls. "The BAS Remote allows them to convert the Modbus variables to BACnet objects for installations and systems that require BACnet.
With version 3.0, the BAS Remote becomes a controller with its resident Powered by Sedona FrameworkTM virtual machine. Application programs developed on either Tridium's Niagara Workbench or Sedona Workbench will execute on the BAS Remote. Sedona Framework provides a rich set of function blocks that can easily be connected with "wires" to create control schemes. Not only can the BAS Remote's resident I/O be controlled by Sedona Framework but attached Modbus devices as well.
"Many customers were surprised to learn that some of the functionality in a Tridium JACE can be had in a BAS Remote using the Sedona Framework controller capability," said Mr. Thomas.
Other features in version 3.0 include the ability to serve up custom web pages, support for Web Services, and the ability to create virtual objects.
In our booth, we had an active display of the BAS Remote's control integration that allows Modbus Serial to Modbus TCP routing and Modbus to BACnet mapping. The active display was very beneficial, because in addition to our current customers, we met many new HVAC/R professionals who had heard about us and wanted to see our products in action.
In addition to the BAS Remote, the upgraded BAS Router and the the newly released EIPE Power over Ethernet (PoE) Injector were also presented.
The BAS Router 3.0 is now a multi-network router that allows three-way routing between BACnet/IP – BACnet Ethernet – BACnet MS/TP.
The EIPE PoE Injector is capable of sourcing 15.4 W at its OUT connector and can be powered by a 24 VAC/VDC supply, thereby not requiring a 48 VDC source to generate the required PoE voltage.
"At the AHR Show, we demonstrated the EIPE injector powering a BAS Remote Master PoE along with a damper actuator using a single Ethernet cable," said Mr. Stasiek. "We call this "the single cable solution". As long as the total load does not exceed 13 Watts at the end of a 100 m run, the single cable solution is viable. This is ideal for installations where there is no availability of low voltage power. It also saves in wiring cost and installation expense."
Visit the BAS Remote, the BAS Router, and EIPE product pages to learn more. Special thanks to all our visitors who made AHR 2010 such a successful show.
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