Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Failure with extended or long path or filename Environment I/NET Cause Failure or crash with long path name or filename Resolution In rev 2.41 the length of the path+filename went from a total of 128 characters to max path: 260, max filename: 256 Example: The following path is 132 characters long and therefore would not be compatible with revisions prior to 2.41: C:\Documents and Settings\Houston\My Documents\My Sites\Disco Inferno\DesignScape Files\20120411_MirrorBall_Points by Controller.xls

Issue Have used tuning parameters that have worked good other places but at this site the loop output hunts continuously.  How do I properly tune this PI loop? Environment MNL-V2 or other temperature controller Proportional hot water valve for the reheat control. Cause  Loop was tuned too tight causing continuous hunting that resulted in premature failure of the actuator. Resolution The following information is paraphrased from a number of previously published HVAC controls documents. Using only proportional control, adjust the Throttling range (TR) until the loop control is stable with no oscillation. The desired control range x 2.5 is a good TR to start with.  When the loop is still oscillating, note the period of oscillation (in minutes). You may need to increase the TR to 25 or more to achieve stability in the loop output.  You must achieve stable control before continuing.  If proportional control cannot stabilize the loop, adding integral and/or derivative will cause further instability. Make a step change (5 to 10%) in the setpoint.  If the system does not stabilize after a few minutes, repeat step 1. Increase the TR by an additional 5% to 30%. Use the following formula to calculate the initial value to be used for the integral value:       i = 1 / [ ( Loop period in Minutes ) x 2 ] Monitor loop to evaluate response,  If the response is slow with integral action, increase the "i" value slightly.  It may be necessary to upset the loop, by changing the setpoint, to get a good test of the loop response.  The final integral value is typically in the range of 0.05 to 0.5. In most cases HVAC control loops do not require derivative action.  Improperly tuning the derivative action can result in poorer control than without any derivative action.  The following formula can be used to determine a starting value for the derivative value:      d = (Loop period in Minutes) / 8 This value may need adjustment to optimize the control.

Issue When a Xenta Server alarm object generates and email, the email is accompanied by several emails showing alarms from objects that did not go into alarm. Environment Xenta Server 5.0.2 through 5.1.7 Cause When the system program in the Xenta server polls multiple point simultaneously it may interpret one alarm signal as multiple alarm signals from all polled points. Resolution Option 1 - Edit the Xenta Servers Xbuilder project Change the scan time on all alarm objects so that they are at different scan rates. Generate the project Send the project to target. Option 2 - Connect to the affected I/NET controllers Modify the points in Resident I/O Change the scan rate of each point so that all alarms have different scan rates.

Issue I/A Series G3 schedule times can only be adjusted in half hour increments? Environment I/A Series G3 versions 3.3.22, 3.4.51, and 3.5.25 Cause Schedule module and associated user interface is not correctly processing the time setting causing the time to round to the nearest half hour increment. Resolution Note: It is recommended to upgrade to the latest maintenance build for the I/A Series G3 version being used. If this is not possible, updated schedule modules are available for download from https://ecobuilding.schneider-electric.com website.  

Issue The Access Events delivery works well for a long time; However from a special time point, the Access Events delivery stopped  and no access event can be traced after that time. Environment Continuum 1.81 and above Windows XP SP3 CX9900/9940 AC-1 Cause If the time  is not synchronized in Continuum, it may cause issues like below: Several seconds time difference between workstations and controllers will result in some issue, such as lost extendedlogs, Access Events and etc. More than 3 minutes time difference will result in extendedlogs and access events stopped delivery to the workstations Resolution Create an time synchronization program as a fallthru program on anyone workstation in the system, and has the "Run on any workstation" checked, Triggered this program by analog value "hour" on the workstation After the program run, make sure all the CX /ACX controllers and workstations has the same value in "Date" exactly . Open the editor of each workstations in the system, click "Teach" then select "Device Teach" Present your access card in the front of reader, check the access events listview or Access events tab on the door editor to make sure the new access events come in.

Issue Encountered the following error while accessing an UNC station recently added with the SnmpService Cannot initialize view. java.lang.IllegalStateException: tridiumx.snmp.services.SnmpService: releases incompatible [2.302.532.v1 != 2.301.431.v1] Environment I/A Series R2 Cause This is caused by the version of WorkPlace Pro software used. WorkPlace Pro software version r2.301.431 was being used to access an UNC station with SnmpService version r2.301.532. Resolution Use WorkPlace Pro version 2.301.5xx and above to access the UNC station.

Issue How fast are supervised inputs scanned? Environment ACX5720 ACX5740 Netcontroller Netcontroller II CX9702 AC1, AC1A, AC1-plus Cause Want to know how quick a TROUBLE condition is measured on a supervised input. Resolution The Supervised inputs behave a bit differently to the other inputs. The input value is scanned every 100ms to determine its current state and this is compared to a matrix to determine if a trouble event is being generated. To determine that there has been a cut or short, the input needs to see a TROUBLE value 3 times, meaning it needs to be in trouble at least 300ms. There is a caveat to this though. When going from On-TROUBLE-ON or OFF-TROUBLE-OFF, the input just needs to see 1 TROUBLE condition before a trouble alarm is generated. This can be a problem when the input hardware is very fast (such as a Mortise lock or plunger style REX button pressed quickly) and the input goes through the OFF-TROUBLE-ON-TROUBLE-OFF scenario within less than 500ms (100ms for each sample), the samples actually measured (seen by the controller) could be OFF-TROUBLE-OFF...which will raise a trouble condition. You can mitigate the problem by using a more tolerant supervised circuit such as series or parallel. The SeriesParallel circuit is the most secure but is the least tolerant due to the smaller voltage range between each distinct value.  

Issue Is it possible to upgrade a bCX1-R to a bCX1-CR in the field? (upgrade router to controller / router) Environment bCX1-R (bCX4000) bCX1-CR (bCX4040) Cause Want to upgrade a router only controller to a controller/router to provide the ability to add objects and programming to the bCX1. Resolution Yes you can upgrade a bCX1-R to a bCX1-CR in the field. You will need to order the upgrade from Repairs. They will supply you with a flash file to disable the Router only functionality and to adjust the node count. Once the flash file e-mailed by the North Andover Repair Dept has been downloaded to the controller, the appropriate revision bCX4040 file will need to be downloaded from the Buildings Business Extranet to activate the 4040 Controller Router functionality.  

Issue "!MBM Timeout receiving request" message is seen in the Xenta Server vx log every 10 seconds. Environment TAC Xenta 913 TAC Xenta 701/711/721/731 Cause When using the Xenta Server as a Modbus slave, "!MBM  Timeout receiving request" message" is seen every 10 seconds in the Xenta Server vx log if there is no connection with the Modbus master.   (Note that when using the Xenta Server as a Modbus master, you will see the message "!MBM  Timeout receiving response" when there is no communication with the Modbus device.) Resolution In XBuilder, check that the modbus slave connection parameters and the device address are correct. This is not necessarily an error. In some cases the Modbus master will poll the slave very rarely (for example once every hour), and during that time a lot of timeout messages will be generated. The 10 seconds interval is hard coded and can't be changed.

Issue What is the procedure for moving personnel objects from the root or folder into a different folder. Environment CyberStation Cause For various reasons sometimes it becomes necessary to move personnel objects that have been created in different folders or at the root to one folder that will contain all personnel objects. Resolution Because CyberStation applications refer to the personnel objects in the database by id and not by path personnel objects can be safely moved using the procedure below. NOTE: Do not move area objects or rename their container folders if you are using the Personnel Information Manager (PIM) as doing do will break the functionality of personnel profiles used by the PIM application. Make a backup of the ContinuumDB as a precaution. Put CyberStation in offline edit mode. Click on the folder that contains the personnel objects that will be moved.  On the right pane, click one of the objects then using the ‘Edit’ pull down menu select ALL the objects. (or select only the ones you wish to move) Right click on the selected objects then drag and drop them on the destination folder. On the context menu that comes up select ‘Move here’ (DO NOT COPY). After the move operation is complete return CyberStation to online edit mode. If using the Personnel Manager you may need to change the path where new personnel objects are created by default.

Issue Is it true that WebClient does not support NAT. Environment WebClient NAT Cause WebClient is not functioning properly on the sites LAN environment. Resolution WebClient does not support NAT.  One work around is to use 1 to 1 NAT where the translation is always to the same address.

Issue Customer site security requirements do not permit web browser access via the http protocol to any device on their Ethernet network so they need to be able to disable it. Environment UNC-410 or UNC-520 Cause Government / corporate IT security regulations do not permit web browser access via the http protocol to any device on the Ethernet network. Resolution If creating a new station, do not select the "Web User Interface Service" in the Add Services dialog. If the station has already been created and is running, open the station in WorkPlace Pro and cut the "WebUiService" out of the Services container.  After cutting out the service, you need to restart the UNC.  If the WebUiService does not exist in the station, an http 400 error, "No Browser Support" error will be returned when an attempt is made to access the UNC station graphics via the browser.

Issue Want to be able to set up a user account where the user can reload controllers, but cannot edit or delete them. Environment CyberStation Cause Do not want certain users to be able to edit or delete controllers. Resolution When testing this with v1.93 it appears you have to give the user "View" and "Edit" access to the InfinityController object type in the security editor application if you want them to be able to reload from ContinuumExplorer. You can lock all the other attributes including the tabs. You can even lock "View" and let them open a Listview of controllers and reload from there - then they don't see the objects within the controllers either.

Issue Confused about which file is for the CX9680 Environment Xdriver Cause The two BACnet IP Xdriver files on the Extranet are called: bacnetip120000.xdr BacnetIP_bcx_122002.xdr When loading the first one in a CX9680 the controller reset. Resolution The file bacnetip120000.xdr is for first generation Continuum network controllers like the CX99xx, CX94xx, CX9201. The file BacnetIP_bcx_122002.xdr is for the second generation controllers like the bCX9640, CX9680 (aka NC2) and the ACX57xx. It is NOT just for the bCX controller.

Issue In Niagara R2 Workplace Pro, what's the default size of a Container's Workspace?  What are the maximum settings? Environment Niagara R2 Cause A large shadow object cannot be fully viewed in the Workspace due to the current width and height settings. Resolution The default settings are:  800 (width) by 550 (height). The maximum settings are:  1500 (width) by 1500 (height). To modify these values, right-click the Container properties, Visual tab.

Issue Is there a way to set both local and imported histories to update live when accessed in Niagara G3? Environment Niagara G3, versions 3.4 and higher. Cause User wants to display live data. Niagara G3 allows for the displaying of current history values (live data updates) buy using its On Demand history feature. Resolution The On Demand feature provides live updates for the History Chart or History Table views only. On Demand can be used for both local and imported histories. The On Demand feature provides a 'Live Updates' toggle button (check box in Hx view) on both the history chart and history table views. Click this button to start the live update process. Note: The following must be set in order for Live Updates to work with imported histories. These setting are normally enabled by default, but may have been changed. The imported history’s “On Demand Poll Enabled” property must be set to true. 1. Expand the NiagaraNetwork of the station and select the source station for the imported history 2. Expand the source station and then expand Histories 3. Right-click on the Remote history you want to view live updates and select Property Sheet 4. Make sure that “On Demand Poll Enabled” is set to true and save The On Demand feature provides a 'Live Updates' toggle button (check box in Hx view) on both the history chart and history table views. When you click the 'Live Updates' button, it initiates a history subscription that finds the source of the history and subscribes to that source component. If the source is a history import descriptor, then that descriptor starts polling at a frequency defined by its On Demand Poll Frequency property (described below). If the source is a local History Ext,

Issue Will changing the IP address of a BACnet/IP controller affect communication between BACnet objects on an established network? Environment Niagara R2 and G3, UNC-520, ENC-520, WorkPlace Tech Commissioning Tool, MNB-1000 Cause Niagara R2 and G3, UNC-520, ENC-520, WorkPlace Tech Commissioning Tool, MNB-1000 Resolution BACnet communicates using the BACnet device’s instance number, so changing the IP address of the controllers will not affects the communications between BACnet points. The BACnet/IP controller's MAC Address is comprised of its IP address and port number. This BACnet/IP Controller’s MAC address will automatically updated whenever one of the following tree procedures are performed, a “whoIs” is in R2, a “Discover” in G3 or a "Browse" of the BACnet/IP network in WorkPlace Tech Commissioning Tool.

Issue Is it possible to run Vista Webstation on a Windows 2008 server foundation.  Environment TAC Vista 5.1.7 Cause Windows 2008 server foundation is not one of the tested Operation systems for Vista so we don't know if Webstation works or not on it.   Resolution Windows 2008 server foundation is not one of the tested Operation systems for Vista so we don't know if Webstation works or not on it.

Issue The alarm handling between TAC Vista and Xenta 913, 5XX, 7XX acting as Xenta Servers stop after 50 days Vista will stop to receive events from Xenta 913, 5XX, 7XX acting as Xenta Servers after 50 days Environment TAC Vista Xenta 511 Xenta 527 Xenta 555 Xenta 913 Xenta 701 Xenta 711 Xenta 721 Xenta 731 Cause The reason for this issue is that TAC Vista sets a time reference to the computer’s internal tick count just before it’s about to rollover (which will happen every 49.7 days).   Resolution This issue has been fixed in TAC Vista 5.1.7 and a hotfix for TAC Vista 5.0.3 is also available upon request from Product Support Services.   Note: Restarting the Vista Server or the PC will also solve the problem, but only temporarily.

Issue In 2009, SVEA SE-843 was replaced by the SE-844 unit. What are the differences between these units? Environment SVEA SE-843 SE-844 43230-036 Warema LON SE III Cause Manufacturer Warema has updated the sensor unit in 2009. The former version SE-843 was a quite old product. Resolution The main differences/features are: Hardware: new housing (9 units) supply voltage for connected sensor changed from 12 VDC to 15 VDC additional input for combined senor (wind, brightness and DCF-77) real time clock serial EEPROM for error messages direct connection for key switch indication of DCF-77 reception via LED Software: all parameters configurable via CPs each object configurable separately type of most network variables changeable monitoring of wind sensors error messages permanently stored in the device large diagnose possibilities additional object for global irradiance sensor additional object for relative humidity additional switch object for detection of push-buttons These changes were made in 2009, since the 843 model was quite old. Also, in 2009, these products were no longer promoted or labeled by SVEA, and referred to the manufacturer Warema directly.