Tip of the Week 5: Damper Feedback
Did you know that there is an easy way to validate your damper control?
The good news is this method will only cost you adding a single set of wires!
If you put in your specification that you want actuators with feedback then you can get the real-time damper command from your actuators.
I've seen this used to great effect in large air handlers, where obstructions and/or improperly designed dampers (not able to handle the foot lbs required) are keeping the actuator from driving the damper to the correct position.
The additional cost of damper feedback is a relatively small first cost increase that can result in massive savings over the lifecycle of the building!
Here is a great article Belimo wrote on this exact topic!
https://blog.belimo.com/Blog/bid/31678/What-Is-Electronic-Feedback-In-HVAC-Systems
What other quick additions do you have? Let's discuss in the comments below.
To your success,
-Phil
Project Manager at Trane Canada (West)
5 年I have found little to no value wiring the actuator’s feedback. There are so many reasons for that I will not bother to start counting. In mission critical applications or let’s call them business sensitive, I have found value on specifying a flow station/ meter (or pressure sensor depending the application). If you analyze the application you will see that the damper is there to divert, restrict or modulate the airflow. At the end of the day you don’t care about the damper position but for the affect that the actual position has to the airflow. Plus using such a sensor is a great example of integrated design, the use of one element for more than one reasons. Using the airflow sensor you can do energy and air flow calculations, go figure with the actuator position feedback...
Energy Management / HVAC Specialist at PCSD
5 年If there are available inputs I definitely like to add when the only added cost is a 4 conductor over a 3.