We previously covered the topic of enthalpy and dew point in our article Enthalpy as it relates to free cooling in HVAC. In today’s article we will go over how to create these points in CBAS.
Continue reading George’s CBAS Tips, May 2020None of us know what the future holds for us as we return to “normal” over the coming months in the COVID-19 recovery process, but one thing we know for sure is that our lives will never be the same. People are now hyper-aware of their air space and the potential for spreading disease, particularly in highly trafficked areas. These areas include places we go every day such as office buildings, schools, and gyms. So how do we get over this and feel comfortable going back to the buildings we live, work, learn, and play in?
Continue reading Computrols Provides Peace of Mind in the “New Normal”Most Computrols hardware products include various LEDs – these lights can be very helpful in providing visual feedback of various controller conditions and the status of communication channels.
The LX controller features several differences and improvements over the X-line with regards to LED indicator light functions.
Continue reading George’s CBAS Tips, April 2020The easiest way to program Software Points is by going to Hardware View, finding the controller then going to Points. In Editor Mode or in Live Edit you will see a line at the bottom of the points that says Add A Software Point. Click that to add a point.
Note that all the standard Software Point types are there but there are also a few select System Point types. For example, Controller Run Minutes is a Point that counts the minutes that a controller has been running without a reboot. This can be helpful in determining if a controller’s power is being interrupted
Did you know that you can now use 10K Type II temperature sensors in addition to 10K Type III in CBAS? This means that if Type II sensors are in place when retrofitting controllers at a site, you don’t have to change them.
The use of Type II is limited to the LX line of controllers. You must have a CBAS19 version and LX firmware dated January 15, 2020 or later for this to work.
Did you know that Binary Outputs can be locked out if your power supply is inadequate?
If the power being supplied to the controller is inadequate, all binary outputs will be locked in the OFF state until adequate power is returned. This way the controller continues to run, and if you have alarms setup, you will be notified that the equipment did not start. To know for sure whether this is Binary Lockout or your controller is defective, you must check Controller Diagnostics.
In July of 2018, I wrote an article about The Importance of Probe in BACnet. As a quick recap, when you probe a BACnet Controller in CBAS, the resulting probe file allows points to be imported into the database easily with minimum manual data input. Probing also automatically sets some of the BACnet services that the controller supports, like Read Property Multiple and COV (Change of Value). These are two services that can make BACnet communications more efficient.
CBAS software can be started in several different modes, one of which is GW Mode, also known as Graphical Workstation Mode.
On the DPU, also known as the Automation Server or Front End PC, CBAS software runs the database for the building in Real Mode and communicates in real-time to each of the controllers at the site. Additional PC’s on the network can run CBAS in GW Mode and connect to the DPU, allowing for several users to simultaneously work with a database.
Did you know that you can set up groups of users in CBAS that have the same rights as individual users?
To add users and groups in CBAS, go to System, then Program Passwords and you will see the user list:
It’s good practice to create a user and password for everyone who will be using CBAS. Typically, your most experienced users will have rights to view, command, and program nearly everything in the system. Meanwhile, security users might only have rights to see Activity View and acknowledge alarms, but must log in to do so. You might also have less experienced engineers who are only allowed to view data in the system without the ability to command points or make changes to programming.
Schedules in CBAS: Cycles, Logic, and Priority Summary
Did you know that Schedules on both Analog and Binary Output points can have up to 24 “cycles”?
A Cycle is any time that the Schedule commands the point. A Binary point is just 2 possibilities, meaning On\Off, Start\Stop, Normal\Alarm. With 24 cycles, that means you can turn a piece of equipment On 12 times and Off 12 times. Of course, you would have to think of a good reason to do that but you might want to cycle something a few times. To find the Schedule, click any output point then click Program, and you will see the Program Schedule button.
