Wireless pneumatic HVAC controller - A great retrofit product

 

By Bill Lydon - Editor, October 2010

 

The ecWizard, recently introduced by Energy Controls Co., LLC, appears to be a great retrofit product for HVAC applications. The product is a wireless programmable controller based on the Tridium Sedona architecture and has pneumatic connections to retrofit existing systems.

 

Outlined here is an interview conducted by our editor, Bill Lydon, with George Fincher, the founder of Energy Controls Co.,LLC  (ECC) (www.energy-controls.com) about the ecWizard.

 

 

[George Fincher] I attended Laney College and Cal poly San Luis Obispo, California. I was recruited by Robertshaw Controls while attending Cal poly. As an application engineer for Robertshaw Controls, I successfully engineered the controls for the Transamerica building and hundreds of other projects in the early 70s. In 1981, I started a mechanical/controls contracting business in the San Francisco Bay Area. We did some design and build clean rooms and computer rooms, mostly for critical environments. I just recently ended my contracting career to concentrate on the exciting ecWizard.

 

 

[George Fincher] The simplicity of pneumatic dampers and actuators and the high cost of retrofitting pneumatic zone controls to all electric DDC controls. (The ecWizard cost to the building owner is approximately $500 and all electric DDC retrofit is approximately $2000/$2500.) I originally thought of the idea probably 10 or 15 years ago, but at the time wireless was unheard of. When the wireless industry became robust and reliable, I felt it was time to start working on my patent. The simplicity of pneumatics and the up-and-coming wireless technologies provided me with the enthusiasm to move forward.

 

 

[George Fincher] Yes it can. The pneumatic thermostats have orifices as small as .007 diameters. This is where dirty air presents itself as a problem. The ecWizard's switching valves orifices are huge compared to the thermostat's small diameter and will definitely survive a dirty pneumatic environment.  One other thing to point out is that with installation of ecWizard, the pneumatic tubing is being purged at each thermostat location. So after this purging is complete, it would be advisable to give the air compressor a little TLC to protect the existing pneumatic thermostats.

 

 

[George Fincher] Yes it does. I spent a lot of time and effort to select only the best manufacturers and products available in the industry today to produce the ecWizard. Jennic manufacturers the wireless send/receive module and has teamed with Tridium's Sedona software. Jennic is a market leader in ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, IEEE802.15.4 wireless microcontrollers and modules.

 

 

[George Fincher] In its simplest application with only temperature sensing (supply air entering and leaving and room temperature) the batteries will last 3 years. If you want to monitor CFM and 0 to 20 PSI heating and cooling pressures at the actuators, the ecWizard requires energy harvesting or 24V class II power.

 

 

[George Fincher] A simple fan motor spinning from the duct pressure turns a motor into a generator of electricity. Combining this with existing technology for managing and storing energy is one opportunity. This will provide an add-on feature to the ecWizard to support and extend the batteries. There are several energy harvesting technologies and we are also considering temperature difference as a ceiling option for baseboard heating/cooling applications. We also will be providing a battery pack option that will economically extend the batteries for a much longer period of time. In the ceiling, we could use batteries of any size because we do not have space limitations. There are also new interesting battery technologies that we are currently testing and considering.

 

 

[George Fincher] In its simplest application, the ecWizard could sit in the ceiling and act as a simple time clock.

The ecWizard has four universal analog/digital inputs. Input/sensing opportunities: Supply air entering, supply air leaving, CFM, room temperature/room return air, heating valve/actuator control PSI and cooling valve/actuator control PSI.

 

The ecWizard has two outputs to control specially designed solenoid switching valves for heating and cooling. The unit also includes two digital outputs for fans etc. and two analog outputs for electric damper/actuators so if the owner decides to remove the pneumatic control system, the unit is ready to go all electric. The ecWizard is designed with the future in mind and will always be in the ceiling, providing savings and control for the owner.

 

 

[George Fincher] Each ecWizard has an IP address. By cutting a few tubes in the ceiling you're essentially ready to go. Its outputs are auto and off. It's that simple. The existing room thermostat is providing the control. The ecWizard is just acting as a time clock, etc. Setting up of the ecHost, which is the Tridium Jace, can range from simple to extremely sophisticated if you're incorporating other building automation systems. This should be done by trained (Niagara certified) Tridium personnel. I would advise contractors without Tridium training to quickly take advantage of their training facilities and jump on the bandwagon with Tridium because they are doing some exciting things in the industry.

 

 

[George Fincher] The ecWizard does not actually control it only shuts off the existing pneumatic thermostat from schedules, dead band setpoints and other energy saving strategies. The existing room pneumatic thermostat does the controlling. If the owner decides to remove the pneumatics and go to all electric DDC then the ecWizard becomes an actual controller utilizing approximately 170K of memory.

 

 

[George Fincher] The ecHost Pro provides integrated control, supervision, data logging, alarming, scheduling, and network management functions with Internet connectivity and web serving. Powered by the revolutionary NiagaraAX Framework®, it seamlessly integrates with a wide range of protocols including LonWorks™, BACnet™, Modbus, oBIX and Internet standards.  The Jennic send/receive module provides the ecHost with wireless communications with the ecWizard, ecCombo sensors, ecUnit a/c, ecUniversal, ecMetering and ecSubmetering. The ecHost allows for seamless integration with other wireless protocols when they are converted to BACnet™, Modbus, oBIX etc.

 

[George Fincher] If for any reason the ecWizard fails to communicate it automatically switches to the auto position. This allows the good old pneumatic thermostat to continue to provide excellent control. I would highly recommend that the ecWizard be installed in the president's office or any critical area of the facility. The ecWizard also provides valuable monitoring, alarm, trend logs and diagnostic capabilities enhancing the opportunity for excellent control.

 

 

[George Fincher] This is accomplished with the powerful Tridium Niagara software with each ecHost. We utilize a simple calendar for use of scheduling including holidays, optimal start/stop and demand response.

 

 

[George Fincher] Yes. The ecHost utilizes Tridium's Niagara software and there are 200,000 applications throughout the world that can communicate with Niagara. Tridium is the leader in communicating with various building automation systems. The ecHost brings the ecWizards to life on the Internet where you can use an iphone or desktop computer to energize override control and to view or log tenant billing opportunities.

 

 

[George Fincher] In my research I found that Jennic is the leader in wireless send/receive modules and they referred me to Tridium. I was extremely excited to learn that Tridium and Jennic had teamed together. The Sedona Framework is designed to make it easy to build smart, networked embedded devices.

 

 

[George Fincher] The ecWizard can be installed by a high school student, but the ecHost requires trained Tridium personnel and quite often requires interaction with the building's IT personnel for Internet access and building communications.

 

 

[George Fincher] We have 200 units ready to ship. ECC has received a tremendous amount of interest throughout the world. The factory in Chicago, Solidyne Corporation, is gearing up for the tremendous response. ecDealer requests have been accumulating throughout the U.S. for about a year and a half.  We are currently sending out sales packets to contractors and distributors throughout the U.S.  

 

What was surprising was the interest internationally. Ss we know here in the United States, the labor burden is a major factor with the cost of retrofitting to a DDC all electric systems. Internationally we've received e-mail requests from China, India, El Salvador, Australia, Israel, Dubai, Sweden and the UK. I guess I'm just naïve to the labor costs associated with retrofitting from pneumatic controls to DDC internationally. I could definitely see utilizing the ecWizard because of its simplicity and immediate energy savings but whatever the reason is I'm elated about everybody's enthusiastic response to the ecWizard.

 

[George Fincher] I actually did receive one negative response from a controls contractor right here in California. He said, that he was able to make more money retrofitting pneumatic controls into all electric DDC systems and that the ecWizard would reduce his project costs and profits. I wish I could call the guy back, I forgot his name and company.

 

The ecWizard opens up a tremendous door of opportunity in sales immediately and in the future. The immediate sale is a no-brainer. How many one-year paybacks are available in the industry today? As a matter of fact, a one-year payback is almost like free, with extra cash in your pocket, if you lease or take out a loan.  He could easily sell five ecWizard projects to 1 all electric DDC retrofits. Once the ecWizard is installed, a number of seamless wireless opportunities present themselves. Possible additions include motion/lighting detectors, metering, sub metering, AC unit control and of course they would have the inside track for the future retrofit from pneumatic to all electric actuators and valves utilizing the ecWizard's existing analog outputs. This would provide the contractor with years of income with the good old door opener ecWizard. After the ecWizard and the ecHost are installed, adding additional wireless Sedona/Jennic controls becomes very simple and economical.

 

I spoke with one chief engineer and he complained that management wasn't spending anything on the building maintenance and repairs. He could hardly walk through the building without getting yelled at. He was definitely discouraged about his job. Energy savings was on the bottom of the list of problems. I explained to him that building management would definitely buy into something that is essentially free because of the resulting energy savings. The sensing and monitoring capabilities would make his job much easier. Utilizing trends and alarms would allow him powerful diagnostic tools to help solve his problems efficiently.

 

 

The ecWizard utilizes the VAV and Zone control energy-saving strategies that have passed the test of time since the mid-80s.  Established energy savings for DDC zone retrofits are from 3 to 6 years depending upon the buildings activities and occupancy. The ecWizard uses the most important sequence of operations for energy savings in the industry today - it's called “turn it off.”  ecWizard offers individual zone scheduling, holiday schedules, optimize start/stop, dead band setpoints, demand response and set point limitations. When used with motion detectors, zone setpoints can be raised and then be lowered when occupied. When used with wireless sub-metering, the ecWizard can provide calculated HVAC costs. This capability provides for total accountability of energy usage of the tenants or occupants.   

 

 In the early 80s, energy conservation started to blossom. There existed at that time one-year paybacks. Buildings owners eagerly grabbed every opportunity to purchase items and systems that provided such an excellent financial savings. I remember the banking institutions would eagerly grab up anything that would provide them with a three-year payback, let alone a one-year payback.  The ecWizard brings back an average one-year payback opportunity that was first realized in the 1980s. The utilities, state and national governmental incentives and rebate programs increase the financial incentives to purchase the ecWizard.

 

 

[George Fincher] Not really required. Imagine placing steppingstones across the river to easily get to the other side. When installing wireless controls, you start off with the ecHost and place your modules one by one like steppingstones through the facility. If you're too far away, temporarily install an ecWizard in between to act as a send/receive repeater. Then replace the ecWizard with the repeater when it becomes available. Each building and the way it's constructed is different but the ecWizard communicates from 30 to 100 yards.

 

Introduction to ecWizard on YouTube:

 

 

It is always fun to interview an enthusiastic entrepreneur. George Fincher, in the spirit of entrepreneurship, has put together new technology to do things a better way. Rather than reinvent the technology, he is leveraging partners with established track records.

 

This will be interesting to watch.