Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Tested the Viconics VT7600x1000x for Cool CPH set to 3.  Manually heated the thermostat and let it cool to cycle the cool stages and it cycled on and off 7 times before stopping the test.  According to the documentation it should have stopped after 3 on/off cycles. Product Line Field Devices Environment SSL SE7000 Cause Cooling/heating has to be within 15-85% of the proportional band. Resolution With the Viconics VT7600x1000x series products, the CPH only works when the cooling/heating demand is within 15 to 85% of the proportional band. The thermostat has a 2 degree proportional band (fixed) so at a setpoint of 72 and CPH of 3 (cooling CPH adjustable 3-4), if the temperature stays between 72.3 and 73.7 the CPH is at 3. Outside of that band the cooling/heating is allowed to cycle as often as needed.

Issue BACnet/IP port supported with EcoStruxure Building Operation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause Which BACnet/IP ports are supported with EcoStruxure Building Operation, and can there be more than one port? Resolution By default, the BACnet/IP network uses UDP port 47808 (0xBAC0), this is adjustable higher or lower. The BACnet/IP network supports a single BACnet UDP port, Additional IP networks can be created in the BACnet system as long as each network has a unique identifier (network Id and name) and UDP/IP port number. Refer to: Creating an Additional BACnet IP Network (se.com) and Best Practices When Configuring BACnet IP Networks and BBMDs for EcoStruxure BMS Servers Please note that BACnet/IP uses UDP as its transmission protocol. For more information read the BACnet/IP basic design criteria.

Issue Will J-Bus operate with Modbus RTU devices on the same bus? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation  Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause Compatibility of J Bus required. Resolution The J Bus protocol is supported by the Autimation Server, it runs on an RS485 network and uses a subset of the Modbus RTU protocol function codes. The J Bus devices addressing usually has an offset of 1 compared to the Modbus RTU standard, to apply this offset select "J-Bus Mode" = Yes in the Modbus Master Network Properties.   Verify that the devices to be used have a standard RS485 electrical connection and do not require any special electrical biasing, also ensure that all units connected on the bus have a unique ID/ address number. If this is the case then you should be able to connect both Modbus RTU and J Bus devices on the same Automation Server port connection but in the Modbus Master Network select the J Bus Mode setting to No. In J-Bus mode, the Automation Server will automatically reduce the polled register addresses by one, so if the AS is set to Modbus mode, you may need to manually set the register addresses of any J-Bus devices by minus one. With J Bus as with Modbus sometimes the point addressing needs to be offset by +1 or -1, but check with the 3rd party device supplier/ documentation to determine its specific point addressing requirements.  

Issue Import of BACnet/IP device is missing Device ID value. The device is indicated as offline and will not communicate. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause A device instance number is not preserved in an export. An imported BACnet device must be associated with a device.  Resolution Use the Associate with Device option on the BACnet/IP device object, refer to: Associating a BACnet Instance Number with a Device (se.com). Specify the device instance number.

Issue Setting the default BACnet priority levels for different applications avoids priority conflicts by normalizing which priority gets used for a specific action or within a specific application Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause Different EcoStruxure applications may act upon BACnet objects utilizing different BACnet priority levels. This may cause confusion and can keep the system from operating as expected. Resolution BACnet objects created with EBO (1.4 and higher) will have a default BACnet Priority of 16 unless specified otherwise. The default BACnet Priority can be changed to the customer's needs.   As a best practice, define the Default priority level prior to configuring the system. In addition, consider maintaining the same default priority level for multiple active systems at your site. For example, configure the same default priority level for the EcoStruxure Building Operation and fire protection system. In a multi-server system, you can only configure the Default priority level from the Interface Manager of the Enterprise Server. If you set a new priority level, the system propagates the change to the other automation servers in the network. Refer to: Default Priority Level (se.com) and Configuring the Default Priority Level (se.com)  

Issue Error: "Could not load file or assembly 'vjslib, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified." when starting TGML editor    Can not start TGML editor. Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Graphics TGML editor Cause TGML editor needs Microsoft Visual J#® 2.0 Redistributable Package to be installed on the machine for the TGML editor to run. If this for some reason is missing it needs to be installed. Resolution Go to the following link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?FamilyID=e9d87f37-2adc-4c32-95b3-b5e3a21bab2c Download and install the program

Issue Customer wants a customizable permanently installed touch-screen display instead of a computer and web based graphics for display of points from their network of I/A Series BACnet controllers.  They would like to accomplish this without having to create shadow objects in a UNC or ENC. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB family of controllers Optional ENC or UNC Cause Customer does not want to deploy computers that would be easily stolen but instead wants to have permanently installed touch-screen displays. Resolution The LoyTec LVIS-ME212 or LVIS-ME215 touch panels can be directly connected to any BACnet-IP or BACnet-MS/TP network and can be linked to any BACnet object on the interconnected BACnet networks including those objects accessible over attached BACnet routers such as an ENC or MNB-1000. Available through the Schneider Electric iPortal online ordering system as LOY-LVIS-ME212 and LOY-LVIS-ME215  

Issue A floating-point value is displayed incorrectly in a TGML graphic. The presentation field appears to show random numbers. The example shows how the value 11.60 is represented in a TGML graphic. 11.60 is actually stored as 11.600000381469727. In format presentation mode: In none presentation mode: The last 6 digits of the stored floating-point value are seen! Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.X TGML editor 5.1.X A presentation text bound to a floating-point value. Cause Vista uses the PC's default settings for number of decimals, when presenting values in TGML graphics. Resolution To resolve the issue, either set the format property to "Presentation" for the binding object or change the PC's settings to view fewer decimal places eg. 2.

  Issue When attempting to add a downstream device to an SSC the error "exception of type \'Feenics.Keep.DomainModel.KeepException\' was thrown" Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment  Access Expert V3 Cause The SSC has a limitation of 32 downstream devices no matter what port(s) are being used either RS485 or virtual.  Resolution The SSC specification data sheet indicates the SSC can manage up to 64 downstream devices. However, R&D has corrected our understanding of this limitation which is only 32 downstream devices. Attempting to add a 33rd downstream device will result in the   \'Feenics.Keep.DomainModel.KeepException\' error. An additional SSC or Mercury upstream controller will be necessary to commission greater than 32  downstream devices.   From R&D: "The SSC can support a Total of 32 downstream devices no matter what port they are connected to either RS485 or Virtual. The SSC can also support 64 doors total." SSC data specification sheet  *Note: The specification sheet will be corrected in the future by the Product Owner.

Issue What is the procedure for upgrading the I/A Series G3 software in an I/A Series ENC? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 Workbench software on computer (both the old version and new version need to be installed on the computer) I/A Series G3 ENC-520 or ENC-410 Cause Need to upgrade the software that is installed in the ENC. Resolution With the old version of Workbench running on the computer, backup the station running in the ENC.  All required graphic files, etc., stored in the ENC should also be backed up.  Note the station folder name for use in step 5, below. Verify that the license in the ENC is compatible with the new release to be installed. If not, use the License Manager (under the Platform) to install an updated license. If the correct version of the license is not currently available, it must be obtained and installed prior to beginning step 6, below. If the new release of the I/A Series G3 software has not already been installed on the computer, install it now. Verify that the Workbench computer has a license that is version compatible with the new release of the I/A Series software to be installed.  If the license is not version compatible, acquire a new license for the Workbench computer before continuing. Copy the entire named station folder (used in step 1) from the old release Stations folder to the new release Stations folder.  See NOTE below regarding the installation of a version downgrade. Run the "Install Platform Daemon" command from the Windows Start Menu folder for the new version of the software. Open the Workbench in the new version of the I/A Series G3 software and connect to the platform of the ENC to be upgraded. From the Platform menu, open the License Manager and verify that the ENC license has been updated to allow use with the new version of the I/A Series G3 software. Right-Click on the ENC platform in the Workbench tree and select Commissioning Wizard. Complete the commissioning process as documented in the Niagara AX Install and Startup Guide . On the first screen, select the operations to be performed.  The required minimum operations will normally be checked and shown in grey.  The "Install a station..." option needs to be checked if not already checked. Click [Next] to begin the commissioning process.  Continue through the various steps, as required.   When prompted, select the station copied in step 5. When prompted, verify that all required modules are available and are selected for installation. Allow the commissioning process to complete, following the prompts as required. The upgrade is now complete.  Start the station as required. NOTE: Do not use the process to directly downgrade the version of software installed in an ENC.  You must use the Platform "Distribution File Installer" to install the appropriate clean distribution (from the cleanDist folder under the software version to be installed.  Typically, only one clean distribution file will be available to be installed.  Select that file then click the [-> Install] button to downgrade the ENC software.  This process needs to be done as noted in step 5, above, after backing up the station but before beginning the commissioning of the device with the older I/A Series G3 software version.

Issue What is the maximum number of trend logs in a SmartX IP Controller? What is the maximum number of trend log records in a SmartX IP Controller? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Cause SmartX IP controller free object system memory is shared between objects and data in your application. There are no specific limits on the number of objects and/or trend logs that you can create. Several factors impact memory consumption: Every object added consumes a fixed amount of memory Memory is shared between objects and data. Adjustments to description fields or trend log buffer sizes will also impact the amount of memory consumed. Different controllers have different amounts of memory to start from. RPC controllers have roughly half of the memory of an MPC. Changes to EBO 3.X will also change the memory consumption, so upgrading your system may skew the memory consumption larger than it was in previous versions. Resolution After adding trend logs to the device consult the Free object system memory entry in the device report since this will help determine how much free memory is available. Trend log buffers are pre-allocated on creation of the trend object. The other place to find how much free memory the device have is in the device property page. This value can be put in a watch window, trended, or even bound to a low-limit alarm.     If the amount of free memory drops below 50 Kbytes, that is critically low available memory. A better target is to try to preserve 50% of available memory. Based on empirical testing, estimates of memory available inside a blank controller are: MP-C: 1890 Kbytes MP-V: 1780 Kbytes RP-C: 1115 Kbytes It is important to not overload the controller because the remaining memory can also be used for COV subscriptions (the last line in the table above). If there is no memory available, then opening a graphic which creates COV subscriptions could overrun memory or operate very slowly

Issue Alarm Pane not shown in Webstation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation Cause The User is viewing a Workspace which does not contain the Alarm Pane Resolution In the Top Left hand corner of the screen click View>Workspaces Select Engineering (or other applicable workspace)

Issue Unable to lock down access to AS WebStation to all clients Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Webstation Cause Required to forbid accessing AS via http or https.. Resolution Https is the default workstation communication channel to an SBO server and therefore cannot be locked down. 

Issue Information is needed regarding the content of the various license types Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause If a standard Workstation license and a Workstation Pro. license are purchased, and are loaded on to a License server, when is the professional license used? Resolution The difference between the standard Workstation license and the Workstation Pro. license is that the professional license allows the usage of the editors (Graphics Editor, Function Block Editor, Script Editor, Menta Editor, WorkPlace Tech Editor). The licenses can be seen as a bundle of license features that can be checked in and checked out separately from each other. When a workstation attempts to use any of these editors the license server is asked to check out the license feature for that editor and if successful, that feature is "taken" and cannot be used by any other Workstation until the first workstation leaves the editor. This means that if you have one professional license, only one Workstation can use the same editor at the same time, if you e.g. have 2 professional licenses you can have 2 Workstations using the same editor at the same time. However, any Workstation can use any editor as long as there is a free license feature for it on the license server.

Issue The script program always executes the first condition, whatever the condition is. The code is shown below: Numeric Input AirFlowMin,AirFlowMax,AirFlowRead Numeric OutPut FlowFactor Line Judging if AirFlowMin<AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3 then goto 1 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3<AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3 then goto 2 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3<AirFlowRead line 1 FlowFactor=1 goto judging line 2 FlowFactor=2 goto judging line 3 FlowFactor=3 goto judging After the above program saves successfully, whatever the value of AirFlowRead is, the program only goes to line 1 and sets the value of FlowFactor to 1, and never goes to the other two lines. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment B3s Script Program Cause Some expressions are supported in Continuum Plain English but are not supported in b3 Script programs Resolution Change the expression as shown below: Line Judging if AirFlowMin<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3 then goto 1 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3 then goto 2 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead  

Issue Microsoft Outlook is not emailing alarms. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum 1.XXX Microsoft Outlook 2XXX Cause The created Contact folder used by Continuum Alarms to send emails was not being shown first.. Resolution Open Microsoft Outlook Select Tools > Address Book Select Tools > Options Once opened, select  "Show this address list first:" (It defaults to the Global Address List) Ensure the contact folder with the distribution list created for Continuum Alarms has been selected (Contact) Also see online help: Email, Creating an Event Notification List

Issue When installing Enterprise Server an error is received at the end of the installation:  Clicking on the Details button the following error is shown:  -EnterpriseServer Service registration Starting Execute: "C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare 1.2\Software Administrator\SE.SoftwareAdministrator.exe" ES /Install --DatabasePath="C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare 1.2\Enterprise Server\db" --HTTPPort="80" --HTTPSPort="443" --TCPPort="4444" SE.SoftwareAdministrator.exe --install returned -532462766 -EnterpriseServer Service registration Leaving Completed In Software Administrator the Status of the Enterprise Server is indicated as Not Installed. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause It appears that the installation package has an issue with the authority to create the Enterprise Server Service, below are some options to try to rectify this.  Resolution SmartStruxure version 1.4 running on Windows 7 If this problem is encountered in 1.4 try the following steps Uninstall Enterprise Server software Restart PC Run the Enterprise Server installation software.  Use the Right Click "Run as administrator" option to ensure correct authority. Download and unzip this batch file Run the .bat file on the affected PC. Check the Software Administrator and confirm that the Server Status has now changed to "Running"   NOTE:  This batch file is only valid for 1.4 and will not work for 1.2 or 1.3.  Resolution #1 (Typically seen with SmartStruxure version 1.2) Changing the DCOM setting as described below has shown to allow for the installation process to complete. From the Start - Search programs and files entry type "dcomcnfg" and then select the dcomcnfg.exe file. Expand Component Services and also expand Computers. Right mouse click My computer and select properties and then select COM Security tab. Select the edit limits button from the  "Launch and activation permissions"  section. Select / Add the Everyone user and make sure all the permissions are set to allow   Reboot the computer. Then reinstall the Enterprise Server. Resolution #2 (Typically seen with SmartStruxure version 1.3) If Resolution #1 does not work or is not possible then you can manually add the Enterprise Server application manually.   Download and unzip this batch file Run the .bat file on the affected PC. Check the Software Administrator and confirm that the Server Status has now changed to "Running" NOTE:  This batch file is only valid for 1.3 and will not work for 1.2.  Alternative Workaround: Should neither of these options work.  You can run the Enterprise Server manually.  To do this: Locate the path: C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric StruxureWare\Building Operation 1.x\bin Double Click on the file name: SE.SBO.EnterpriseServer.exe A DOS Command prompt will open and display the Enterprise Server System log.  This window must stay open.  If you accidently close it, it will force the Enterprise Server to close and shutdown.

Issue How do you reset the Viconics VT7200, VT7300, & VT7600 LON series thermostats back to factory default values? Product Line Field Devices Environment SSL SE7000 Cause There's no button or command that sets the thermostat to its default parameter settings. Resolution Either set them manually or through the snvts available via a LON integration.  The Viconics Lon Integration Manual will help with identifying the proper snvts to use.

Issue Unable to have BACnet alarm trigger directly on a variable from a Function Block Program Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Cause Building Operation does not have the possibility for a BACnet alarm to directly monitor a variable from a Function Block Program.  The problem with doing this is that a Function Block Program is not a BACnet visible object (a BACnet client cannot see it, even as a proprietary object type), and we do not see any provision in the BACnet standard for an alarm object to reference something not visible to BACnet. Resolution The workaround is to create a BACnet point (a BACnet Value object would make the most sense), and bind it to the Function Block Program variable.   There is however an option which may avoid "double" work.  In Building Operation we have implemented intrinsic alarming on the BACnet points and values.  This means that the point can detect and report alarms without creating a separate alarm object.  (they still need to reference to a BACnet notification class just like normal BACnet alarm objects).   The only limitation is in the choice of algorithm: Analog objects (Input, output, Value) support the out-of-range algorithm (high-limit, low-limit). Digital and Multistate objects* (input, and value) support the change-of-state algorithm. *In Building Operation, we do not have digital or multi-state outputs with alarming, because we do not support "command-failure" type alarm that those require.

Issue Is the Continuum Cyberstation a B-OWS (BACnet Operator Workstation)? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation BACnet Cause Can't find reference to Continuum Cyberstation being defined as a B-OWS. Resolution The Continuum Cyberstation is a B-OWS and complies with ANSI/ASHRAE standard 135-2004.  However, the Continuum Cyberstation has not been BTL tested, please see the Schneider Electric BTL Listing of Tested Products.    The following selection is taken from the Andover Continuum Family of User Interfaces document describing Continuum's Cyberstation capabilities. Native BACnet B-OWS CyberStation communicates with the BACnet devices using BACnet/IP in strict accordance with ANSI/ASHRAE standard 135-2004 and is designed to function as a BACnet Operator Workstation (B-OWS) and BACnet Broadcast Management Device (BBMD). The CyberStation can communicate to all Andover Continuum BACnet Devices as well as any third party BACnet Device on the BACnet network.