Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue How to populate customized information on the SpaceLogic Sensor display Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SpaceLogic Living Space Sensor Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Building Operation Multi-purpose VAV Building Operation Room Controller (RPC) Building Operation Workstation Cause Additional information required on how to customize information to be displayed on the SpaceLogic sensor Resolution Note: This feature may not work in controller FW V4.00.x, due to know issue Custom value text is not displayed and/or updated on the SmartX sensor device, in this case please upgrade controller firmware to V5.00.1 or higher. Before starting, make sure the Integrator Menu icon and the custom information page have been activated: The Integrator Menu icon can be configured under "SmartX Sensor Device/ Display/ Button and Scene configuration" as shown in the screenshot below: Turn on "Allow custom information page" under "SmartX Sensor Device/ Display /Advanced" tab. By doing this, the custom information page is created under the Integrator menu icon of SmartX Sensor Display:        To show how to add custom information to the custom information page of SmartX Sensor display, create a sample script program, where DI1 is a digital input and Status1 is a string output. numeric input DI1 String output Status1 If DI1 = on then Status1="running" Else Status1="not running"​   In this program, when DI1 is on, the Status1 gets the string value of “Running”, otherwise the Status1 gets the string value of “Not Running”. DI1 is bound to a Digital Value (Green Arrows) under the Application folder and Status1 is bound to the CustomValueText1 (Red Arrows) as shown below:   Open the Watch pane, under the View tab, and add Digital Value and CustomValueText1 (access it through the “SmartX Sensor Device/ Display/ Basic” tab) to it.  When the Digital Value is Active the Custom value text 1 shows “Running”. On the SmartX Sensor, navigate to the custom page through the Integrator menu icon, this will show the “Running” string. Likewise the “Not Running” string would be populated on the SmartX Sensor custom information page screen when the Digital Value is Inactive.  

Issue How does BACnet point mirroring (COV subscription) work when the source BACnet controller is offline. Environment CyberStation BACnet controllers Cause Obtain information about the functionality of COV subscription when BACnet controller is offline. Resolution When you mirror a BACnet point between BACnet controllers via a pulling PE program using the (local point = remote point) syntax or the ReadProperty() function, Continuum subscribes the information in the COV Subscription Table of the source controller. Once the COV subscription is set up, low-level embedded code in the source controller checks the current value of the point and compares it to the COV Increment. When it finds the change is greater than the COV increment value, the source controller transfers the new value to the destination controller. In the destination controller, low-level embedded code receives the value from its transceiver buffer and writes it to its local memory. And now, the pulling PE program reads the value from the local memory and updates the value to the point object. As a result, the pulling PE program in the destination controller still reads the last value from its local memory even if the source controller goes offline. This functions the same way as the standard Continuum import/export.

Issue Are the Network 8000, DMS, and Signal manuals available in an electronic format? Environment Network 8000 DMS Signal Cause Option to view Network 8000, DMS, and Signal manuals in electronic format. Resolution The Network 8000, DMS, and Signal manuals are available from the Publication Zone via iPortal. They are, also, available on a CD. The "Legacy zip" link downloads and extract the files, if running the program from a computer or creating the CD. When running the program from a computer, launch "index.html" located in the extracted bin folder. Email legacy product documentation requests to be added to the Legacy CD, to Product Support.

Issue What are the proper steps for inputting people in the Datacard ID Works Program? Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Seven Datacard ID Works Video Badging software Cause A new user or personnel needs to be added to the access control system. Resolution Logging into the ID Works Program The default user name is lower case admin The user password is also lower case admin   Choose the badge project for the card you are going to print. If you do not see the Project in the window area, select the "More Projects" button to see the complete list of projects.   Once you choose the project, a window will pop up for you to log into the ID Works Project.   You have a choice on how to log in. You can either choose to check the box next to "Use Trusted Connection" or under the "INetThirdParty" Login ID the password is lower case passinetdb3p. Typical process is to select the "Trusted Connection" option.   Select a New Production Form to fill out   Fill in all the information listed on the Production Form including taking the photo.   Print the badge. On the top ICON line the second one in going from left to right is the "Print" icon. Before printing the badge, make sure the Blank cards in the printer magazine are the correct ones, then click the Print icon. Printing the badge will also save the information in the I/NET Seven system and the ID Works system.  There is NO need to save the info first, and then print the badge.   With the Production Form on the Screen, DO NOT choose the RED X (X) on the icon task bar to clear the page. See Step #9 for further information on this matter.   If by accident, the RED X (X) button is clicked, the following window pops up. If "Yes" is clicked, all of the information and photos entered in the previous steps will be deleted from the I/NET Seven System and ID Works system. If this pop up is encountered, be sure to choose "No."   In order to refresh the project, go to the top task bar and choose the "Record" option. In the drop down list choose the “New” option. Then select a new Project for the next badge, this process will open a new clean Production Form to fill out.

Issue Time Synchronization in Cyberstation  Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Multiple Cyberstation Workstations Cause Security or HVAC and want to have exact time stamp from two or more Cyberstation workstations Resolution Continuum uses the Workstation time for events and transactions which are recorded in the database. Time Synchronization with the Server is not critical since they have internal time logs with the SQL database.  Time Synchronization with the Cyberstations so they have the exact time stamp on events and transactions is done by synchronizing the Windows workstation time to either a Network Time Server (NTS) (see Public time sync Servers for the United States) or by a third party software or device. Recommended is the Windows time which automatically synchronizes with the Domain Controller when logging in. If the computer(s) is not on a domain, double click on the clock in the lower right hand corner. This opens up the time settings and has a third tab as shown in image below: Select to synchronize with the Static IP Address of a primary workstation which can be seen by this computer. Visit Google and search for "Synchronize the time with Windows Time service" for your operating system If Internet access is not available, there are 3rd party USB and PCI devices available which synchronize with the Atomic Clock via radio frequency. Check your local listing to see if available.

Issue Problems with the speed a script was appearing to run. How to adjust the Variable Connector. Environment StruxureWare Building Operation site with BACnet or LON  Cause Definition of a variable connector Problems with the speed a script was appearing to run Resolution Definition Variable connectors The SmartStruxure system has a base philosophy where different objects and properties are connected using bindings. Bindings do not usually cause any significant load to the system, but in some cases the bindings need to be driven by an external object called a variable connector. The user does not create variable connectors. The system creates variable connectors either when there is no obvious direction of the binding (analog value to analog value, for example) or when passing data between protocols (LonWorks to BACnet or LonWorks to Modbus). Due to load caused by the variable connectors, limit the number of variable connectors according to the variable connectors table above. It is possible to increase this number, but close monitoring of CPU load and memory consumption is needed. Release 1.4 Anticipated removal of Variable Connectors and replaced with a Binding Table. Variable Connectors cannot be removed. The maximum number of variable connectors is (Used when the binding has no obvious direction or when passing data between protocols) Enterprise Server: No practical limit known Automation Server:500 There are 'variable connector' objects in the system folder underneath the server that have a polling time associated with them and these are applied to both incoming and outgoing script variables. They default to 10 seconds polling time so regardless of the setting of a script cycle time it is subject to these polling times. Note: The default value of 10 seconds polling time for values regardless of BACnet, LON or otherwise.  Variable Connectors are automatically created when the bound values themselves are of a kind that lack the logic needed for polling. Editing the binding (by clicking the pencil icon next to the binding list path) indicates that there is a variable connector associated with the binding.   Below is a screen capture for Variable Connector Settings. Transfer Value Click the Force value button and enter the value that you want to force onto the binding. Type Select how the binding is updated. Periodic polling updates the destination value at regular intervals. Change of value updates the destination value only when the source value changes, and only when the change is significant enough. Interval Select the number of seconds between updates. Propagation delta for value changes Enter how much the source value must change to trigger an update of the destination value. Retransmit interval(s) Enter the number of seconds between forced updates. In most cases, you bind a source value to a destination property that is an input variable in a program. The binding is direct, and the input variable actively reads the source value during every execution cycle of the program.However, not all bindings have a destination property that is an input variable in a program. When you create a binding, with a destination property that cannot read or poll the source value, StruxureWare creates a variable connector. Most bindings do not need variable connectors, but when they do, StruxureWare creates them automatically. There are basically three things you can do with a variable connector: Configure polling method Configure polling rate Force the bound value In a direct binding, you do not need to concern yourself with the polling of a bound value. There will be a program execution cycle involved that manages polling. With a variable connector you can configure the default polling settings in the properties of the variable connector. For more information, see Configuring a Variable Connector . Also, in a direct binding, you may be able to force the bound value in the destination property. With a variable connector, you force the bound value in the properties of the variable connector. Variable connectors and their properties are accessible from the Control Panel. There is a Variable Connectors list in the System folder of each server. Variable connectors are also accessible from the Binding point list. LonWorks network variables and configuration properties can be bound to each other in LonWorks bindings. They can also be bound to most points in StruxureWare, such as programs, graphics, alarms, and trend logs, but then StruxureWare bindings is used, not LonWorks bindings.

Issue Enterprise Network Server BTL Certification Environment I/A Series G3 3.6.35 BACnet Advanced Operator Workstation (B-AWS) I/A Series G3 3.6.35 BACnet Operator Workstation (B-OWS) Cause The PIC statements for the I/A Series G3 Enterprise Network Server for BACnet Advanced Operator Workstation and BACnet Operator Workstation is available from Schneider Electric. However, they are not listed on the BTL website under Schneider Electric.  Resolution Schneider Electric is focused on maintaining BTL listings for servers and controllers that are an active part of the SmartStruxure solution. There are no plans to add or renew BTL listings for products that are only supported by TAC I/A Series systems at this time. Existing listings that don't apply to SmartStruxure solution will remain on the BTL website until they expire. Schneider Electric product BTL listing can be found here.

Issue When mapping the EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) Trend Logs to EcoStruxure Energy Expert, not all trend logs are visible in the ETL Tool 'Load Sources'. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Energy Expert Cause The EBO user credentials entered into ETL for connect to the EBO Database must have access to BOTH the trend log itself, and the point which the trend log is logging. Resolution Edit the EBO user which the ETL is using to connect to EBO and give a minimum of Read Only access to both the Trend Log in question and the Point being logged  and then in the ETL re-run 'Load Sources'.  The additional points which were missing before should now be available for mapping

Issue What is the A/D resolution of the Inputs and Outputs on the Xenta product line? Environment Xenta 28x Xenta 30x Xenta 4xx I/O Modules Cause Due to project specifications and requirements it is important to know the input and output resolution of the Xenta product line. Resolution The Xenta Product line has resolutions for inputs and outputs accordingly: Controller Thermistor Inputs Universal Inputs Analog Outputs 281 12 bit   12 bit 282 12 bit   12 bit 283 10 bit   12 bit 301 12 bit   12 bit 302 12 bit   12 bit 421A/422A   12 bit   451/452 12 bit 12 bit   451A/452A   12 bit 8 bit 471   12 bit   491/492     12 bit

Issue Upgrading to a MicroNet 50 series, the  option is grayed out in VisiSat. VisiSat version 2.0 stencils held no information regarding the 50 series controllers. Product Line Satchwell MicroNet Environment VisiSat version 2.0 VisiSat version 2.1 Cause VisiSat 2.1 introduced the option to upgrade a MicroNet legacy controller (MN300, MN440, MN500, and MN620) to a 50 series type (MN350, MN450, MN550 and 650). When the original project was created in version 2.0 VisiSat or older, the option was grayed out. Resolution Updated June 2019 The MicroNet 50 series range MN350, 450, 550, 650 LCD and Touchscreen have been withdrawn from sale. The IAC 420, 600 and Touchscreen have now also been withdrawn from sale. No direct replacement is offered. Further information on these changes can be found in PA-00495 - Notice of Withdrawal - Satchwell Sigma and PA-00528 - End of Commercialization - Satchwell Sigma. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save the MicroNet *00 series controller's configuration to disk. Delete the controller. Drop a new MicroNet legacy controller onto the main page. Address the controller with the original address. Load the configuration saved in step 1. Now the option to upgrade is available.

Issue How to estimate the thermal load (BTU/hr) that your controllers and equipment will produce. Environment All electrical equipment. Cause Need to know what the thermal load of our equipment will be for calculating air conditioning capacity. Not all of our equipment has this information provided in data sheets. Resolution It is possible to calculate the thermal load based on the power consumption of each device. See here for an online calculator. You can calculate the BTU/hr using the following formula. BTU/hr = Power (W) * 3.1412141633 As an example, looking at the Continuum AC-1 I/O module's datasheet, we see that it consumes 2.6W without the attached reader (you would need to add the power from the reader as well if it is being powered by the AC-1). Which gives us; AC-1 = 2.6W * 3.412141633 = 8.87 BTU/hr Use this same calculation for any other devices that you require the thermal load for.

Issue Micronet BACnet (MNB) AV and BV objects in G3 are purple indicating they are overridden. The AV and BV objects are read only, how can they be overridden? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara G3 Micronet BACnet MNB-300 MNB-VAV MNB-1000 Cause Purple BACnet values (I/A Series R2 and G3 graphic override color) are internal BACnet points that can not be modified (display only). This behavior is normal and began to appear in MNB controller firmware versions 1.2 and higher. Per the BACnet specification, read-only type points must be set to indicate an override condition. The root cause is a design change required by the BACnet specification to bring the controllers into compliance for BTL certification. The ASHRAE BACnet Specification 135-2004 specifies that the "read-only" type objects (e.g. Analog Value, Binary Value, etc.) OVERRIDDEN flag is: Logical TRUE (1) if the point has been overridden by some mechanism local to the BACnet device. In this context "overridden" is taken to mean that the Present Value property is not changeable through BACnet services.In this case, the override is meant to indicate to Niagara that the point is locally overridden (by the controller) and cannot be changed by the Niagara BACnet service (or user).When the ENC learns the device it reads what "Protocol Services" it supports. If it supports COV then the "use COV" flag is set to true in the device object and when the proxy points are brought in they are defined as COV and once subscribed they will send their present value and status flag values to the ENC. In this case the AVM & BVM (being read only) objects will show overridden along with their value and be purple by default. Resolution All MNB devices support COV so the use COV property is set to true when they are discovered in the ENC.If the use COV property of the Device object is changed to false the ENC will use readPropertyMultiple (if supported in the device) to poll for data. If readPropertyMultiple is not supported in the device the ENC will read one property at a time. Now when the points are learned they will be defined as polled and when polled only the present value (PV) is requested (by default). Hence the AVM & BVM objects will show their value but not show overridden because their status flags are not known at the ENC. If the use COV device property is set to true after the AVM and BVM proxy points are defined in the ENC they will show overridden and purple after they are successfully subscribed. Turning the use COV property in the device to false at this point will cause these objects to be polled but their status is already known so they will continue to show overridden along with their present value. The only way to change that is to delete and re-learn them while the device use COV property is sent to false.

Issue While PSS does not write PE for partners we do in some instances provide sample PE code for guidance. This article provides sample PE code for optimized Start/Stop routines. Environment CyberStation All CXs All b3s All i2s Cause Complex PE routines may be difficult to implement without sample. Resolution See Self-adaptive Optimized Start and Optimized Stop Routines Sample PE Code.pdf

Issue Has the AC256 Xdriver been qualified or modified to work on any second generation controllers (NC2, bCX)? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment bCx9640 CX9680 Xdriver AC256 LA-1 Cause With the obsolescence of the NetC (CX99xx), will the AC256 Xdriver be updated to work with NC2 and/or bCX controllers? Resolution There are no plans to upgrade the AC256 Xdriver for the NC2 and/or bCX. One option, if a site only has AC256 IOU boards, is to use the NC2 and the LA-1 LBus Adapter module or the NC2 with built in LBus support (on comm4 or comm1 with an RS232-to-RS422 converter) to communicate over the LBus with Plain English programming in the NC2. Note: If you configure the controller for Lbus (using the LA-1 or directly to comm1 or comm4) you cannot use Continuum IO modules on that controller. For further information on X Driver compatibility and how to request new drivers/ upgrades, please see Will Continuum communicate with a third party system?

Issue When trying to upgrade a database to version 1.5 or 1.6 the upgrade fails Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Enterprise Server Automation Server Cause There can be various reasons for the upgrade failing. At this moment there are two known issues: Issue with specific LonWorks devices such as the T-Stat T7300 Too complex or long list of email addresses in notification objects Resolution Solution for issue 1: Issue with specific LonWorks devices such as the T-Stat T7300 Contact Product Support and ask for hotfix 1.5.0.4801 Solution for issue 2: Too complex or long list of email addresses in notification objects Make a search for all email address objects searching for "EmailAddress" - You can import this search object to do it. Copy all rows to this Excel sheet Check the "Count" column - it counts the characters in the "Property value" column. There's no exact max character count as it also depends on complexity of the addresses, but a good indicator is if the count is over 270. In SmartStruxure, delete the content of the objects having more than 270 characters. Carry out the upgrade (if the upgrade fails, go back to step 3 and delete the content of all objects where the count is 260) After upgrading copy the property content from the Excel sheet back to SmartStruxure

Issue ES connect to 3rd party BACnet devices in StruxureWare Building Operation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment StruxureWare Building Operation site with Enterprise Server. Connection to BACnet devices such as ACX. Cause Desire to use ES rather than AS Resolution As of StruxureWare Building Operation 1.1 the ACX with BACnet I/P xDriver with the ES, we can see the points, load them into the BACnet interface, and view them in tgml. The BACnet IP xDriver and User Guide is available on The Exchange Download Center. The following screen captures are from the ACX where a simple Infinity Numeric is setup called ACXdevice:   Next the xDriver for the ACX is loaded and setup as Server with the following settings: (Note the IP Address references the IP of the ACX controller)   Next a simple Numeric is setup called BacTest1 with the following settings: (Note the IP Address is left blank)   Next another Numeric is created called CocaCola1 with the following settings:   Next from the Enterprise Server, a 'Find New BACnet devices' is done to find the ACX and the two Numerics created:  

Issue I/A Series G3 BACnet Server (Export) Operation Environment I/A Series G3 Cause Integration to I/A Series G3 from a 3rd party BACnet system Resolution If the I/A Series host (ENS or ENC) is licensed as a BACnet server, you can export any number of selected types of objects in the station (regardless of location) to appear as BACnet objects. As such, these objects can service client requests from any networked BACnet devices. Exporting of Niagara schedules and calendars is included. Histories can be exported also, where they appear externally as BACnet Trend Log objects.  The following I/A Series G3 objects can be exported as BACnet objects (extracted from the Niagara Ax BACnet Guide).    You use the Bacnet Export Manager to export Niagara objects for BACnet. To access the Bacnet Export Manager, go to 'BacnetNetwork' > 'Local Device' and double click on the 'Export Table' under the Local Device.  You can find details on using the Bacnet Export Manager on pages 4-57 to 4-71 of the Niagara Ax BACnet Guide. The Niagara Ax BACnet Guide is installed with G3 and can be found in \niagara\niagara-3.x.xx\docs.   can be exported also, where they appear externally as BACnet Trend Log objects. from any networked BACnet devices. Exporting of Niagara schedules and calendars is included. Histories can be exported also, where they appear externally as BACnet Trend Log objects. (regardless of location) to appear as BACnet objects. As such, these objects can service client requests from any networked BACnet devices. Exporting of Niagara schedules and calendars is included. Histories can be exported also, where they appear externally as BACnet Trend Log objects.

Issue The following error is displayed in the browser several times when connecting to an MPM Not Found (Error 404) DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">404 Not Found After clicking through the errors the login page displays, however only English and French languages are selectable.   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment SmartStruxure Lite Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) Firmware revision 2.10 and later.   Cause In versions of MPM firmware prior to 2.10, language support was provided by installing a languages.json file in the root of the MPM. This file when present causes the error in firmware 2.10 and later. Resolution 1. After login to the MPM select the File Manager tab and look for the languages.json file 2. Right click the languages.json file and select "Delete" 3. Logout of the MPM 4. No errors are displayed and the full selection of default languages are available.

Issue Material specification for nickel plated brass sensor pockets Product Line Field Devices Environment Sensor pockets Cause Some customers require a specification on the material used for the sensor pockets in nickel plated brass. Resolution Brass nickel plated: Turned part: Ms 58 (Cu Zn 39 Pb3) Pipe + lid: Ms 63 (Cu Zn 37) Surface nickel plated. Guidelines for nickel plating: Galvanica nickel plated ( ca. 6 – 12 µm)  

Issue The automation server was added successfully; however, it never appeared in the server list. It did, however, get added to the communications tab. The System Tree server list varies from the Communication tab list of servers. No servers shown under "Servers" List in System Tree but is seen in Communications tab Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Cause This is typically caused by the Group account not having permission to access the root path.  To verify this is the issue, log in with the "admin" user account and verify that the server lists match.    Looking at the screenshot below: If the Add (+ icon) option has been used to add the ES-1 Path Permissions, no server will be visible.  Additional Path Permissions need to be added for each server. If the Add System (Hierachial icon) option is used (the default for the local admin account group), this is the System's top-level path. Then, all servers will be seen.       See online WebHelp topic User Account Group – Software Permissions Tab Resolution Depending on which method is required by the end user. If using the Add (+icon) option  Login into the Enterprise Server with the local admin account Navigate to the Group(s) that need access to the server list and select the Permissions tab Add (+) the Automation Server(s) to the path permissions as shown below: Repeat the above step for every server Each time a new Automation Server is added, repeat all steps.  If using the Add System (Hierachial icon) option Login into the Enterprise Server with the local admin account Navigate to the Group(s) that need access to the server list and select the Permissions tab Add System (Hierachial icon) to the path permissions as shown below: Users must log off and log on to see any of the implemented changes.