April 2012 |
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Effective
Daylight Management
through Building Automation |
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Effective daylight
management has long been a challenge for building
managers. With constantly rising cooling and lighting costs,
organizations have been forced to implement new strategies to best
manage costs while maintaining comfortable work environments. The
integration of motorized window shading systems into building
automation is proving to be the best solution to address these market
needs.
RQ Bus Network
ESI has developed a powerful bussed communication platform in the RQ
Network. The RQ (Remotely Queryable) network
provides
advanced bi-directional communication and control to motors used inside
shading products. Low noise “Q” Motors from ESI are available in
40mm and 50mm diameters in a variety of torques and speed. The Q
Motor line integrates intelligent, advanced control inside the
motor. Control of standard motors is also realized through RQ
controllers. RQ controllers empower any standard 4-wire AC or
2-wire DC motors to realize advanced actions including 3 digit move to
position, ability to incorporate into pre-set scenes or whole building
actions, while continually reporting position to the control system.
The RQ Network easily ties into advanced control and automation systems
through RS232 serial ports. The RQ Bridge enables communication
and control of the RQ Network through simple ASCII command
strings. 3 digit alpha numeric addressing lets a programmer
easily manage network devices and helps to keep the command strings
short, typically not exceeding 8 characters.
The
network provides a stable platform that can manage motorized
systems with as many as 100 devices per network and has the address
capacity to support 42,566 parts. RQ is diverse in its depth of
application. It utilizes the same command strings for tubular
motors with RQ intelligence built in as well as standard motors
controlled by external RQ controllers. For example, an RQ network
can easily incorporate roller shades with Q Motors, drapery tracks with
DC controllers, a projector screen with an AC controller, etc.
Building Management Gateway
In 2011, we partnered with FieldServer Technologies to develop the RQ
BMS Gateway, a small device that provides an embedded solution for
protocol conversion between virtually all popular Building Management
Systems. BACnet MS/TP, BACnet/IP, Metasys N2 by JCI, Modbus TCP,
Allen Bradley EtherNet/IP, LonWorks and many others can now simply,
reliably incorporate an advanced motorized shading system.
Centralized control networks utilize a
single power source into a
control panel. RQ60 AUMH controllers inside the panel manage the
control of the AC motors and the communications from input
devices. The RQ BMS Gateway enables bi-directional communication
between most building management systems and the RQ network.
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PilotRQ – Shade Automation through Solar Tracking
ESI has developed a proprietary solar tracking software system designed
to best manage natural daylight. The PilotRQ program, riding on
the RQ backbone, automatically operates motorized shading products
based on a building’s position relative to the sun. PilotRQ
features a “Where on Earth ID” system which accounts for the building’s
latitude, longitude and orientation to ensure the building footprint is
accurately managed. The building’s position is then used to
develop programmable rules to automate the movement of the shades. The
rules allow for timed operation for any device in the project, support
hierarchal organization where events like fire alarms or window washing
supersede other actions, and enable the building manager to customize
the automated shade actions to their tenant’s preferences.
The PilotRQ system includes a roof-mounted RQ Weather Station.
The station transmits real time weather data which is evaluated by the
system against the predefined rules. The building manager
administers the PilotRQ system through a Dashboard, the primary control
desktop user interface, where user profiles can be setup and managed,
rules can be established, and all system administration can be
centralized. “Local desktop control” gives building users control
over individual shades, with pop up notifications to give advanced
notice of shade actions that can be overridden if desired. All
actions are tracked and logged to provide the system administrator
perspective into system utilization. The system can then be
customized even further in consideration of users’ preferences.
About ESI:
ESI is North America’s leading manufacturer of intelligent motors and
motor controls for products including window coverings, projection
screens, retractable awnings, rolling shutters and exterior solar
protection products. ESI is a Hunter Douglas company and is
located in Lafayette, CO.
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