Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Unsure how to use the settings in the VAV Flow object Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment SmartStruxure Lite Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) MPM-VA Cause Cannot change the units of the output Resolution For Variable Air Volume (VAV) Flow configuration, it is recommended to use the Kf method when setting up an MPM-VA In the PFC calculation, the Kf factor represents the flow (Q) for a measured dP on the flow ring of 1 Pascal (Pa). The flow sensor on the MPM controller (AI21) measures dP in inches of water column (in w.c.). With a conversion of 1 in w.c. = 250 Pa, we obtain this formula: Kf = Q [cfm] / (sqrt(250 x dP[in w.c.])) or, Q [cfm] = Kf * (sqrt(250 x dP[in w.c.]))   Calibration/Balancing: A typical VAV box should have a theoretical Kf factor provided by the manufacturer. This Kf value must be used in the in the PFC object when balancing VAV systems. Next, using instruments such as an air flow capture hood, technicians must compare the output flow from the PFC object and the actual measures air volume. If the values do not match, the measured value along with the value of AI21 must be entered in the above equation to produce a new Kf factor. The new Kf value will then be used in the PFC object to finalize the calibration For example if the measured air volume is 200 cfm and AI21 is 1.2 w.c., the new Kf will be: Kf = 200 / (sqrt(250 x 1.2)) =11.55 Important notes: -Even though the Kf units show "Liters per second", the "Flow output value" will be in "Cubic feet per minute" (CFM) if the value of Kf is based on CFM values. If the Kf is based on LPS, the output will be in LPS -Every time the Kf factor is changed in the PFC object in the MPM, it will take up to 2 minutes before the output flow changes to the new value

Issue I/NET Seven elevator control configuration and setup. (Traditional versus Extended elevator control) Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Seven Extended elevator control: DPU Firmware 3.20 or above. (DPU7920 with 48K MIP or SCU1284) Cause There are two types of elevator control that you can implement within TAC I/NET: Traditional Elevator Control – Tradition elevator control allows each elevator to support up to 62 floors. This type of control has been used for as long as elevators have been supported within TAC I/NET. Extended Elevator Control – Extended elevator control does away with floor mapping and allows you to assign floors directly to tenants. Using this type of elevator control, each elevator can support up to 79 floors. Resolution Elevators The Elevator control function will work with the access control parameters and personnel schedules to control access to banks of elevators. Activating () the elevator option in the Door Extension editor will cause the DPU to process each reader transaction as though it were an entry into an elevator cab. Note: An elevator DPU will support only one door reader. Changing a Door from elevator to non-elevator, or vice versa will cause the DPU to purge its database. In addition to supplying the above parameters at the door (DPU) level, it will also be necessary to supply the DPI/MCI with the information required to associate an elevator cab with the discrete output points that enable the floor relays, and the discrete input points that monitor the button selection. There will be an elevator extension on each door point in the DPI/MCI that is assigned as an elevator. After adding the extension to the point, you must define the Elevator parameters such as floor selection time, floor designation description, button enable point, and button selection point. Elevator Control Schemes There are two types of elevator control that you can implement within I/NET Seven: Traditional Elevator Control – Tradition elevator control allows each elevator to support up to 62 floors. This type of control has been used for as long as elevators have been supported within I/NET. Extended Elevator Control – Extended elevator control does away with floor mapping and allows you to assign floors directly to tenants. Using this type of elevator control, each elevator can support up to 79 floors. You can use either type of control, or a combination of both, to implement elevators within your system. By allowing you to mix both types of control, I/NET gives you the ability to begin using extended elevator control without reconfiguring your traditional elevator control system. The following sections describe each elevator control type. Traditional Elevator Control Traditional elevator control allows each elevator to support up to 62 floors. To implement this type of control, you assign the elevator door point to one or more tenants. You then create floor maps that associate floors with personnel schedules (see “Defining Floor Maps”, below). After performing these tasks, any individual (or group) assigned to the elevator can gain access to the floors that are associated with their personnel schedule Assigning the Elevator to Tenants Traditional elevator control requires you to assign the elevator to one or more tenants. Until you perform this task, the Floors button in the Elevator editor will not be available (i.e., it remains grey). Defining Floor Maps Floor maps are only necessary when configuring your I/NET system for traditional elevator control. Floor maps determine which floors are enabled during each schedule that a tenant defines for the elevator. For example: Tenant 1 has a personnel schedule named “24 Hour” defined for the elevator. This schedule provides 24-hour access, seven days a week. The elevator’s floor map associates the floor enable points for floors 1 and 2 with Tenant 1’s “24 Hour” schedule. This allows Tenant 1 individuals using the “24 Hour” schedule to select floor 1 or floor 2 at any time. Use the Floors button in the Elevator editor to create floor maps as follows: Choose a tenant. Select a schedule from up to 31 personnel schedules defined for the elevator. Select an entry from up to seven access intervals defined for the schedule. Assign floor enable points to the schedule’s access interval. Floor enable points cause the elevator buttons for those floors to be enabled for selection by the key/card holder. Up to 62 floor enable points can be assigned to each access interval. Any floor enable points beyond 62 are unavailable when using traditional elevator control. These higher floor enable points are only available for use with extended elevator control, as described below. Note: Extended elevator control is only available with the 7920 48k DPU. Repeat these steps as necessary to create floor maps for each of up to 31 personnel schedules assigned to the elevator by a tenant. Extended Elevator Control I/NET Seven now offers an alternative to the traditional elevator control just described. Enhancements to the I/NET system support up to 79 floors per elevator. Instead of assigning the elevator door point to the tenant, you can implement extended elevator control by assigning floors to the tenant. The DI/DO pairs that you add to an elevator from the Elevator editor are listed in the Tenant editor, much like normal door points. Select the floors that you wish to assign to the tenant. Implementing Elevator Control Note: Extended elevator control is only available with the 7920 48k DPU. Adding an elevator extension to the door point provides access to elevator-related features and editors within I/NET and allows floors to be assigned. Each floor assigned to an elevator must have an associated DO and DI point. The DO point enables the elevator button for the specific floor. The DI point provides feedback indicating whether the floor button has been selected. Preliminary Requirements Before defining an elevator, you must do the following: Define a door point as an elevator in the Door Extensions editor. Use the Resident I/O Points editor to define a floor enable point (DO) and a floor selection point (DI) for each floor that will be assigned to an elevator. Use the Personnel Schedules editor to define up to 31 schedules for the selected elevator door point. Adding an Elevator Extension Use the following procedure to add an elevator extension: Select Edit Controller Elevators from the main menu. The system displays the Resident I/O Points Editor. This screen lists the available door (elevator) points. Choose a point that does not have a Y in the EL column and select the Add button. The system displays the Elevators window. Enter a Floor selection time (sec) (1 to 255). This is the amount of time in seconds that the key/card user has to make a selection from the floor buttons in the elevator cab. The default is 5. Select Add. The system displays the Elevators - Floor Parameters window. This window allows you to define the floor index attached to this elevator extension. Enter the Floor index number (1 to 62). This is the line number in the list. Enter the Floor designation (up to two characters). This identifies the floor. For example, the first level of a basement could be represented as B1. For each elevator floor extension assigned to a point in the DPI/MCI, there must be an associated DO and DI point attached to the elevator extension. This association of DO and DI points produces closed-loop feedback allowing the controller to identify an elevator floor selection with each successful key/card reader access. In the Button enable field to choose a point from the drop-down list of all possible discrete output points in the controller  In the Button selection field, choose a point from the list of all possible discrete input points in the controller. Select OK. The system returns to the Elevators window. How you proceed from this point will depend upon the type of elevator control you are implementing. Use the appropriate steps below: Traditional Elevator Control: From the Elevators window, select Floors. The system displays the Tenant Selection window. Choose a tenant from the list and select the Select button. The system displays the Elevators - Floor Schedules window. Choose a schedule from the list and select the Select button. The system displays the Elevators - Access Intervals window. Choose an access interval from the list and select the Select button. The system displays the Elevators - Floor Map editor. Choose the DO points which enable the floor selection buttons for the appropriate floors. Points marked with "[X]" will enable their respective floor selection button in the elevator cab. When you have finished choosing the appropriate DO points, select OK. The system returns to the Elevators - Access Intervals window. You may continue assigning floors to access intervals, or you may back out of the elevator functions by selecting Close at each window. Extended Elevator Control (See also article Extended Elevator control (Step by step instructions) ) From the Tenant Editor, assign floors (i.e., door enable points) to the tenant. Assign floors to individuals and/or groups as necessary.

Issue User Definable Buttons and Tools Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Seven site Cause How to make user-defined buttons that will allow the user to set up shortcuts for reports and events Resolution Configuring User Buttons I/NET now has the ability to add a User-defined button that will allow the user to set up shortcuts to reports and events. I/NET displays this editor when you select Tools Define Buttons from the main menu. Use this editor to create up to 16 user-defined buttons. Configure user buttons as follows: Highlight one of the 16 user button entries from the list and select Modify. The system displays the User Tool Configuration editor. If the desired tool has already been configured, highlight it in the list and select OK. The User Tool Configuration editor closes and the selected tool is added to the user button. Skip the following step and proceed with step 4. If the desired tool has not already been configured, configure the user tool now (refer to User Tool Configuration). Then highlight the user tool and select OK. The User Tool Configuration editor closes and the selected tool is added to the user button. Select OK to accept these settings. The button is now available when you select Tools from the main menu. Configuring User Tools I/NET displays this editor when you select Tools Define Buttons from the main menu, or when you highlight a button entry in the User Button Configuration editor and select Modify. Use this editor to define tools that you can assign to any of 16 user-defined buttons, or that you can activate from live graphic pages. Two kinds of tools are available: Event – Use this tool to execute an event sequence defined in a controller. Shortcut – Use this tool to launch another application, open a file, visit a website, etc. Options The following options are available in the User Tool Configuration editor: Add – Use this option to create a new tool. The system displays the User Tool Type dialog. Delete – Delete a tool by choosing a tool from the list and selecting Delete. The system prompts you to confirm the delete request. Select Yes to delete the selected tool or select No to cancel the Delete request. Modify – Use this option to modify an existing tool. Highlight a tool in the list and select Modify. The system displays the User Tool Type dialog. Copy – Use this option to create a new tool by copying the selected tool. The system displays the User Tool Type dialog.

Issue Cannot register LonMaker plugins Product Line TAC Vista Environment LNS, LonMaker, NL220 Cause If you are having difficulty registering plug ins in LonMaker then you may have corrupted LNS credits. Resolution To check your LNS credit status, run the LNS Server License Wizard which is found at C:\LonWorks\bin\LnsLic.exe If you run the wizard and it displays the Max Credits at zero and Credits Available as zero as well, then your LNS credits have become corrupted. To correct this, select Next in the Wizard so that it displays the PC Key. The wizard provides a button titled "Copy to Clipboard" which when selected will allow you to paste a form letter into an email or text editor. After filling your specific contact information you will want to check the "No Charge" box and the "Replacement Use" box. Before you send the form via fax or email, you also need to provide evidence that your LNS credits have been corrupted. Select Start > Run > and type "cmd" to reach a command prompt. This command will check the status of the LNS credits: checklic nsseng.exe The output of this command should either be printed and sent with the fax or included in the email to the address or phone number shown at the top of the form letter. You should then receive instructions or an application key to correct the problem.

Issue Launching Menta by opening an MTA file causes a Buffer Overrun Error The error message: "Buffer overrun detected ... A buffer overrun has been detected which has corrupted the program's internal state. The program cannot safely continue execution and must now be terminated." Product Line TAC Vista Environment Menta Cause Menta's buffer for opening files is limited; if the file you are trying to open by double-clicking has a very long path (of 142+ characters), you will receive the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library Buffer Overrun error message. Resolution Work arounds: Shorten the path to the Menta file. If it is possible to decrease the number of subdirectories or the length of the directory names to make the total path length less than 142 characters, this will correct the problem. Note: Never modify a Menta file name within Windows; only change Menta file names using the Menta application by using "Save As..." from the File menu. (See "Cannot open file" error when opening a Menta file for resolution if this occurs.)   If it is not possible or practical to change the path to the file, files with long paths can still be opened by launching Menta using the Start Menu or a desktop icon. Select File > Open and browse to the Menta file, then click "Open". Opening the file via this method will expand the path length limitation to over 200 characters.

Issue When attempting to get the trace or system logs through WorkStation, you get the following error "Application not found" Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WorkStation Detected in version 1.6.1 Windows 7 or below Cause The program or editor associated with the file type *.log can not be found on the PC. Resolution Associate a valid program with the filetype *.log 1. Create a new text file e.g. on the desktop 2. Change the file extension on the file from .txt to .log - refer to the following instructions if the file extension is not visible 3. Double click the file, and select a new default editor 4. Get the trace log from WorkStation

Issue 527/913 Hostname in I/NET Environment I/NET site using Xenta Cause getting generic serial number station name using 527/913 Hostname in I/NET Resolution The Xenta 527/913 will show up in the Station Summary report in I/NET, but if you have not configured it correctly it will show up with a generic serial number station name. To define this name you need to specify the hostname of the Xenta controller. This can be done with the setip command with HyperTerminal or via the Web Page in the Configuration\Network\TCP/IP page. Once you have changed this setting you will need to reboot your Xenta controller for the change to take effect.  

Issue How do I promote a Client PC in the I/NET Seven System? Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Seven site Cause How to promote a Client PC in the I/NET Seven System Resolution The attached link will explain the procedure of promoting a client PC within the I/NET Seven System. How to promote a Client PC.doc

Issue Is there a way to backup a Niagara R2 UNC or Enterprise Server station from a web browser? Environment Niagara R2 UNC Enterprise Server XML-capable browser (IE 4.x or higher) Cause Need to save the station's database on the PC for possible restoration. Resolution Yes but note that this method will only backup the station database.  It will open the entire station database in XML format on the webpage.  Depending on the size of the station it may take a long time.  It is best to use this method if Workplace Pro is not available. Follow the steps below to create a station backup of a UNC or Enterprise Server via a web browser: Log into the station via a web browser Navigate to the following URL:  http://[ip-address]/prism/backup. Watch the lower left hand corner of the web browser.  The web pager loader indicator must finish. Once the web page indicates that it is done, save the page as a XML file to your PC.  Use the “Save As” choice to do this step. For more information review Appendix B of the Niagara Browser Access Guide.

Issue Following an attempt to update firmware, some MNB MS/TP controllers appear to be in a locked-up condition (ie: the status LED is red and blinking). Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB controllers Cause The device was interrupted before completing the update, which cause the controller to be in bootloader mode. Resolution To perform a successful firmware update it is imperative that once the update has been initiated it must not be interrupted until complete. A successful firmware upgrade must be completed to get the controller out of bootloader mode. However, in most cases when this issue occurs the unit is no longer displayed in the WorkPlace Commissioning Tool device list.  Therefore it cannot be selected for an upgrade. To get the unit to show up in the list, it must be added as an MS/TP slave. This is done under the WorkPlace Commissioning Tool menu selection: File – add MS/TP Slave. The network number and the controller's MS/TP physical address must be known. Once defined as a slave it will appear in the list and can be selected for a firmware upgrade. Note: If a controller shows up in MS/TP slave mode and indicates it contains the latest firmware it will be necessary to downgrade it to the previous firmware version to recover the unit and then upgrade to the latest firmware.  To downgrade the firmware in an MSTP device open its Device Properties, go to the Firmware tab and click on "Update firmware".  On the Update Firmware window check the box next to "Check here to preview or modify the updates to be applied and click "next".  On the Update Details window click on the change button and a window with available firmware versions for that controller will be displayed.  Select the "bin" file for the previous firmware revision and click on the Open button.  Now click on the Start Update button to perform the firmware downgrade.  If successful the controller will show up in the WPCT device list and can be upgraded to the latest firmware. If suspect communications are what caused the update failure, it must be remedied prior to attempting another update. Once a successful firmware update has been completed the unit will boot normally.  The status LED will be green and it will appear in the Device list.

Issue Which Modbus driver is required for a Niagara R2 UNC to support Modbus RTU RS-485? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 UNC Modbus RTU RS-485 Cause The correct Modbus driver must be installed to allow communication between Niagara R2 and Modbus RTU RS-485. Resolution The Modbus drivers can be installed on the UNC-510-1 and UNC-520-2 models with a maximum supported baud rate of 19.2k for the UNC-510 and 76.8k for the UNC-520. The part numbers are: IA-DRV-MOD (master) IA-DRV-MOD-S (slave)

Issue Transactions stopped working after an Upgrade. No Transactions or Controller Events in AMT after a Station restore. These are received though, when directly connected to the serial port of the controller. When using direct connect and communication is lost between the controller and I/Net PC, the access control system still functions correctly, but once the communication is restored back to normal none of the buffered messages are seen the I/Net AMT (database). Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Seven rev 2.13 and above Cause There is a feature called Reliable Tap that was introduced with I/NET Seven release 2.13 that sometimes needs to be reset on the controller in order for these events to be passed through from the controller to the Host PC.  It is also required to be set correctly when using a Direct Connect profile, in this instance the reliable Tap setting is used to ensure buffered messages are stored by the correct TAP (i.e. the onboard TAP which the Host PC is connected too).   Resolution Start I/Net and Connect to the controller that has the issue Select Edit, Controller, Configuration In the Distribution Parameters section (top right), change the selection for Reliable Tap from either “none” to the address of the tap, controller or NPR. Reset the controller by pressing the Red Reset Button or cycling the power. Check the Transactions Window and all the stored events should appear now. If the Reliable Tap feature is NOT required then change this back to 'None" and reset the controller again. Repeat this for any other controller having the same issue.

Issue Running a listview is giving a mfc error Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Listview Cause mfc42.dll version conflict Resolution Turn off Anti-Virus and the Windows Firewall during Cyberstation installation Turn off Anti-Virus when using Listviews to see if it is affecting operation If that isn't helping, run a virus and a spyware scan on the hard drive and determine that the drive is clean. If the hard drive is virus and spyware free and the issue remains, search the hard drive for the file mfc42.dll. Start > Search > For Files and Folder > All Files and Folders More than likely several of the files will show up including in the Continuum folder. Check the versions of these files by right clicking on the file > select properties > version tab. If there are at least 2 different versions, rename all of the mfc42.dll files to mfc42.old, except the one in C:\Windows\System32 Retry the Continuum listview to verify this fixed the problem. There are a few programs that install mfc42.dll which may create a version conflict including Norton Utilities, 3D Mark 2001 and SE, HP printer drivers and software, Nero Easy CD Creator, Max Payne, Ulead Photo Explorer, Logitech Mousewares, Creative SBlive Playcenter, some Creative Labs drivers and others.

Issue Error "Entry Point Not Found" when starting I/NET Environment I/NET Cause One or more .dll files have been overwritten by another Windows Application on the PC Resolution Verify that the I/NET files .exe and .dll are all the same build by doing a right click, properties and check the version tab Save all files and graphics, then reinstall I/NET again to put back the correct rev of. dlls that are compatible with the I/NET Software.  

Issue TGML numeric presentations rounded to integers with no decimals displayed. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation Vista Server   Cause Depending on the component being used to display the numeric data, it may be as simple as a property not set to display decimals. It may also be due to presentation values. Resolution If using the default Numeric Presentation from the provided Snippets library, change the property in TAC Graphics Editor for 'Decimals' to the number of decimals to be presented i.e. 4 decimals = .0001, 2 decimals = .01, etc. If not using this Snippet, check to see if getPresentationValue() is being used in a script, or if the binding itself has the Format attribute set to Presentation instead of None. Presentation value will inherit all formatting from the Vista database and not from the TGML source file.

Issue Is there an easier way to get log information out of a Niagara R2 Enterprise Server station other than by using a web browser, saving the data, and importing it to Excel? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series R2 (Niagara) station with logs. Cause Tech tip. Resolution There is no easier way to get log information than to use a web browser, save the data, and import to Excel. However, by default, a query to the archived log limits the number of records to 2500. This limit can be changed by adding $limit=xxxx.  Note:  Attempting to query a large number of records (> 7500) may cause the process to fail due to timeouts. A review of the cloudscape2excel document provides some details.

Issue Lifecycle margin versus actual station database resource count in Niagara R2. Environment Niagara R2 Cause When pasting objects that are over the maximum allowance size, it will not paste the object because the copy or cut maximum size is depend on the Lifecycle margin. Resolution The UNC-410, UNC-510, and UNC-520 platforms all have a resource count limitation of 600,000.  The TRD-NXT has a resource count limit of 2,500,000. The total number of available resources is the same regardless of support for Web services. The (Search > Resource Count) function under the WorkPlace Pro Search menu item will count the number of resources used. The count is performed from the object currently selected on the JDE tree and includes all child objects. By selecting the station's root name, the resource value for the entire station database will be provided. The dialog box with the information provides the calculated actual Resource count and also will indicate the Lifecycle margin: 20,000. The Lifecycle margin is a JDE term that specifies the maximum size (in resource count) of any “cut” or “copy” permitted in a running station. A cut or copy effectively creates a temporary new tree of objects within the memory of the host. This mechanism is used to support the JDE's “undo” operation (Edit > Undo). As an example, try to cut & paste something and it won't be allowed because of resources.  After checking, for instance, that there is a 43,000 resource count with a lifecycle margin of 20,000, what is happening is that the cut and paste has a total resource count higher than 20,000 which is the max. Perform the cut and paste in smaller portions.

Issue Changes to COV and ReadProperty in bCX from v4.500048 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment bCX b3 Controllers Cause New feature to allow user flexibility for using Forced Polling and not COV Resolution From bCX version v4.500048, all Controllers will have the option of forcing a poll of points from other Continuum and third party BACnet controllers. This new feature: allows programmers to decide which data exchange method to use by the syntax in which they write their data-sharing programs. provides a method for forcing point-to-point polling from a device that does not support COV and sends an invalid error message when the subscription is attempted. This previously caused Continuum to reject polling, resulting in a failure to share data. allows programmers to decide to poll a point only when needed, even if the device supports COV subscriptions. This ensures that data from a device is only sent when necessary instead of always being sent on a “change of value”. The following Plain English formats force polling: "Local point = Infinity Remote Point Value" "Local point = BACnet Remote point Value" "Local point = ReadProperty(BACnet Remote point Value)" The second argument, Value, ensures that polling is commanded – now for BACnet, as well as Continuum/Infinity. (The third example shows the use of Plain English’s ReadProperty system function.) If the Value argument, shown in these examples, is left out, Continuum BACnet will operate as it always has – always attempting a COV subscription and only falling back to the polling method if the target device sends the appropriate COV subscription failure message. Caution: If you have a device that does not support COV subscriptions or you have chosen to use the polling syntax, you must be careful how you write your Plain English programs. A program that runs every scan and polls a point from another controller will cause major problems. For instance, if your scan is running at 100 milliseconds and you try to poll any BACnet device at that rate, you will most likely knock the device offline. It will also cause the program to disable and seriously slow down the scan in your controller that is requesting the data (since the scanner waits for an answer to a poll before continuing). You should also use a line E in your programs, since any communication problem to the target device will cause the polling program to disable.

Issue When attempting to perform maximum or minimum Flow Balance on a MNB-V1 controller, ;an error appears: "Invalid flow setpoint values. To balance the selected flow setpoints...." Product Line TAC IA Series Environment MNB-V1 Controller Cause The MNB-V1 is a cooling only controller and does not have the Reheat properly disabled. Resolution Check the date code of the MNB-V1 controller. If it is between 0902 and 0913 see TPA-RKFD-09-0007.01 on The Exchange Download Center for details. If it is outside that date code range contact Product Support Services for assistance.

Issue CNT block in XBuilder Xenta 700 Menta is replaced by a PI block. Environment Xenta Server Xenta 701, 711, 721, 731 XBuilder Menta Cause Differences between the regular Menta and the XBuilder Menta for Xenta 700 programming. Resolution The CNT block is replaced by the PI (Pulse input) block in XBuilder Menta. In XBuilder, connect the PI to a Binary or universal input where the sensor type is set to counter.