Trend takes control of air-conditioning terminal units
Trend’s IQeco range of controllers for air-conditioning terminal units have features such as soft addressing and barcode identification for faster set up and commissioning, which can save days on larger projects. These controllers are designed to achieve a high level of energy efficiency. There are four models to meet the control requirements of virtually all fan-coil and VAV units. They are available in fixed-function form with 40 control strategies or as fully programmable versions. Fixed-function units can be converted to fully programmable.
IQeco controllers use the BACnet protocol and are designed to connect to an MS/TP field bus. Their functionality has been independently tested and certified by WSP Lab in Stuttgart.
There are three controllers for fan-coil units. They have a flexible mix of inputs and outputs, including at least one analogue output and one universal input. The other controller is for VAV units and has an integral pressure transducer and optional damper actuator.
The inclusion of at least one analogue output on the FCU controllers enables stepless control of EC motors. A standard strategy runs the fan at minimum speed and only increases it when demand cannot be met by controlling heating/cooling valves alone, which can easily halve fan energy consumption.
The FCU controllers have inputs for temperature sensors for the space and discharge air. They can also reset the space temperature themselves to its original value an hour after it has been locally adjusted. Another standard feature is virtual heat metering, which calculates energy usage based on valve position.
One of the FCU controllers can also control lighting and window blinds.
IP addresses are assigned via the network using Trend’s standard engineering tool (SET), rather than using DIP switches on each controller.
SET has a monitoring tool to help commissioning by enabling rapid checking of controller set-up, communications etc. Time can be saved because the universal outputs are configured for the specific roles via the controller’s software rather than being a hardware adjustment.
IQeco controllers can be seamlessly integrated within a Trend BMS.
