Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Need information on programming holidays and special dates Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Hosted software V3 Resolution Programming Holidays and Special Dates   Overview   Holidays are exceptions to a normally scheduled interval. Feenics has made several fundamental changes to the holidays within the Keep by Feenics System. This article will walk through how the new holiday sets work and how to implement them. The holidays apply globally to all schedules.   Updating    The launch of the new holiday system requires a system upgrade within your instance. This upgrade only needs to occur once and is irreversible. To upgrade, click the "Update Holidays" button.   Note: Before you begin converting holidays, there can be no more than 8 holiday sets in the older system for the update to work.   Once that button is clicked, a warning will pop up letting you know that the process is irreversible. Click OK and your instance will be updated.     ***Note: Customers within an Enterprise instance will need to apply this update to ALL shared instances and the Enterprise instance separately.   Adding Holidays   Holidays are added to the system through the "Add Holiday Duration" button. This will add a holiday interval to the system. Holiday Durations   Holiday Durations are days in the system on which, the schedules should not activate. To add a Holiday, click "Add Holiday Duration", then name the day. This day will prevent all schedules from activating unless added to the "Always Active On" column in a schedule. Holiday durations are limited to 255 per instance.  Display Name: The name of the holiday interval, i.e. Valentine's Day, Halloween, Veterans Day. Start Date: The date the holiday interval begins on. End Date: The date the holiday interval ends on. (If the start and end date match, the holiday will be for that day only). Special Date: This flag inverts the behaviour. If this holiday interval is assigned to a schedule interval (via Holiday Groups), the schedule interval will activate for that day. Holiday Group: This selection allows the user to group holiday intervals into sets.  Tags: As in the rest of keep, tags allow for organization and permissions to be set by these groupings.   Holiday Groups   Holidays can be grouped together by using holiday groups. These groups are edited by selecting the "Edit Holiday Groups" button and modifying the Group Name. Holiday intervals are then added to the group by assigning them in the Holiday Group column of the holiday interval. ***Note: The shared holidays between groups should be in their own group. This will allow the non-shared holidays to be applied to schedules correctly.   Applying Holidays   Holidays apply globally to all schedules. A holiday Group can be added to a schedule interval to tell that interval to ignore that holiday.   ***Note: If a holiday exception is added to a schedule interval, the schedule will activate on the day of the holiday, regardless of the day selection on the schedule interval. Special Dates   Special Dates can be used to activate a schedule interval for a day or group of days regardless of the other intervals within the schedule. To add a special date, open the Holidays page and add the day(s) as a holiday interval, then check the "Special Date" box. Add the special date(s) to a group on its own.

Issue 3rd party BACnet device can send a reinitialize device request to an EBO server. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause EBO servers support the "ReinitializeDevice-B" Bacnet device management service. This allows BACnet clients, such as BACnet browsers or operator WorkStations, to initiate ReinitializeDevice requests, i.e. Warm Start or Cold Start. Resolution EBO currently does not support passwords for the ReInitializeDevice service. It is possible to create a whitelist for the EBO server and exclude a 3rd party BACnet device from that list, but this will block all communication with the 3rd party BACnet device.

Issue Information for User Permissions using Access Expert is needed Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert V3 Hosted Cause Access Expert User Permissions Overview  Resolution Overview User groups and permission are set by an Administrator to manage and control what aspects of the system an operator has. There are no default user login credentials. The user group (permissions) determines what areas of the software a user can access as well as what type of actions they can execute (i.e. update, delete, etc.).   User Groups A key aspect of the Keep permissions engine is the ability to explicitly Deny a trait or option for an operator. This Deny approach allows Administrators to quickly and easily create a new Permission group like an Administrative level operator but without a specific item.   User Group Lists From the General Configuration tab, click on the Groups icon in the Administrative section. This will open a list of all the Permissions currently available in your system. Every system comes with a single System Administrator permission level and there is no limit to the number of Permissions a single system can have.   Adding User Groups To add a new Permission: Click “Add Group”. Assign a Display Name. Assign a Description. The Description should be concise but also provide enough information about the functionality this role will have. Add desired Permissions. Click "Save" or "Save & Close". ***IMPORTANT: The minimum permissions to log in are read on the Instance.   Keep Objects Begin by adding rights to the new Permission Group. Note this process starts with the first available tab at the bottom of the screen which is the Objects.   Click Add Permission – This will start the process of building out the rights for this type of operator. A full list of Object Types will be provided at the bottom of this article with the associated Linking options. Key Terms: Object Type – the type of Keep object to be assigned. Object types follow the menu structure of the Keep system such as Access Levels, Badge Design and Controllers. Selecting the All Types option will provide full access to all aspects of the Keep system. Create – Allows the user to create new objects. Read – Allows the user to read the objects. Update – Allows the user to modify existing objects. Delete – Allows the user to delete the objects. Publish – Allows the user to publish events with the object type specified. Advanced Actions - Allows the user to enable advanced actions for integrations such as HID Origo and Single-Sign On. Linking – When an object type is selected the Linking column will become active. Each object type has a unique series of possible linking traits. When Linking traits are available, the Linking window will display “…”. By clicking the “…” the operator will be presented with the full list of possible traits that can be Added or Removed by checking the available boxes. Tags – A keyword applied to a series of objects within Keep to help provide additional separation of permissions. An example: an operator can be provided with Administrative level permission but only for items with a specific keyword. Applies To – Allows the administrator to limit controls to a specific device or series of devices. When being used simply click the “…” icon and the operator will be presented with the ability to choose the devices needed by clicking the Assign Object. Multiple objects can be added. Once the Assign Object icon is pushed simply start typing in the name of the device(s) needed. Type – Allows for Granting or Denying rights for the object type in that line. The second portion of setting up a new Permissions Group is to determine the Event Types that the operator will be able to interact with. Event Types is a very dynamic list because the available options will be determined based upon the integrations deployed on your system. The Event Types section is focused on the types of messages that an operator will be able to see as well as the type of commands the operator will be able to take. Key Terms: Application – the specific service associated with an application in the system such as Mercury Controllers, Allegion Locks, Video Expert, Mobile, and LDAP. Event Types – The specific traits associated with the Application. Each Event Type will be different and the options available will be determined by the integrations deployed on your system. Tags - a keyword applied to a series of objects within Keep to help provide additional separation of permissions. An example: an operator can be provided with Administrative level permission but only for items with a specific keyword. Type - Allows for Granting or Denying rights for the object type in that line. Object Types Each object type has a unique series of possible linking traits. When Linking traits are available, the Linking window will display “…”. By clicking the “…” the operator will be presented with the full list of possible traits that can be Added or Removed by checking the available boxes.

Issue How to read and understand the accuracy and repeatability on CO2 sensors. The sensors shows 380 ppm, is it defect? Product Line Field Devices Environment CO2 Sensors Cause Accuracy +- 30ppm +-2% of measured value Repeatability +- 20ppm +-1% of measured value Resolution   Accuracy The accuracy of a unit is defined as the tolerance between the actual absolute gas concentration and the measured value. For example, if a unit has a specified accuracy of ±30ppm, this implies that the displayed value will be within 30 parts‐per‐million of the actual gas concentration under standard ambient operating conditions. If the gas concentration in a room is 400ppm, then the sensor is operating within rated parameters if it reads anywhere between 370ppm and 430ppm on average.   Repeatability Repeatability is closely related to precision. Repeatability is defined as the variance in measured values of a known, unchanging gas sample upon repeat measurements. To put it another way repeatability is the range of acceptable values the sensor will read, relevant to a previous measurement, when measuring a gas, independent of the actual gas concentration.  For example, if the gas concentration in a room is 400ppm and the sensor has a rated repeatability of ±10ppm, then if originally the sensor reads 420ppm, upon future measurements the sensor will read between 410ppm and 430ppm.  Repeatability is generally specified as having a tighter tolerance than accuracy. Even if a sensor is reading a value that is slightly high when compared to the actual gas concentration, it is likely that it will read close to the same slightly higher value upon repeat measurements.   How to understand the accuracy and repeatability Accuracy +- 30ppm +-2% of measured value Repeatability +- 20ppm +-1% of measured value Accuracy at 400ppm:                     Min =  – (30 + 400*0.02) = -38                     Max = + (30 + 400*0.02) = 38 Repeatability at 400pm:                     Min = - (20 + 400*0.01) = -24                     Max = (20+400*0.01) = 24   This means that in a 400ppm environment, the sensor output can vary between                     400-38-24 = 328 ppm                     400+38+24 = 462 ppm Finally, based on the explanation given above, 380ppm would still be in spec. However, another reason could be that the calibration was done in an environment that was not the “purest” and by doing so, an offset was created on the 400-baseline explaining why values below 400ppm are reported.   As said 380ppm is still in spec but the customer could try to recalibrate the CO2 sensor to see if it changes anything.

  Issue Is it possible to use the RP-C relays to control LED Light?  The specification sheet does not specify the maximum inrush current. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Room Controller (RPC) 24 V Building Operation Room Controller (RPC) 230 V Cause RP-C is not designed for switching light loads, and especially not LED loads. LED loads will result in a very high inrush current and require relays that are designed for that. Furthermore, the light application often requires relays that keep the light on in case of power failures which is not the case for RP-C. Resolution The CRS light modules and the Hotel Relay modules have that type of relays and can handle peak currents up to 800A, which is typical for LED loads. If using the CRS modules is not an option for the customer another possibility is to use a contactor connected to the RP-C.

Issue The Zenitel integration to Access Expert provides the ability to add Zenitel ICX-500 controllers and stations for interaction with intercom devices and monitoring Zenitel events. In the Access Expert Windows Client, Zenitel Exchanges are accessible from the Intercom tab within the Hardware Provisioning section. The associated list of stations will appear when selecting and opening an Exchange. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Hosted software Cause While trying to integrate a Zenitel intercom system to Access Expert there are some very specific steps that need to be followed Resolution Zenitel Exchanges Exchanges are used to group together and connect a specific set of Zenitel Stations. Through the Exchanges list, the following functionalities and properties are accessible: Add an Exchange: To add an Exchange, navigate to the Exchanges list and click “Create Exchange” in the upper left-hand corner. A dialogue will appear, prompting for a Display Name and MAC Address. Additional properties and information are available for viewing on the Exchange document once it’s been added. Note: It is important that the MAC address is valid. This is how the stations connect and populate in the instance. Note: The MAC address is not editable in the Exchange document after creation. Stations List: Each Exchange document has a read-only list of Stations connected to it. The system automatically populates the list based on Stations with a connecting MAC Address. This list is automatically updated with the most current available stations.   Zenitel Stations Stations are used to make calls. Stations can be accessed via the Exchange to which it’s connected, the global search bar, or the hardware tree. The Station contains the following properties: Display Name (Editable): This is the editable display name associated with the station. Connected To (Read-Only): Display name of the connected Exchange Configured Name (Read-Only): This is the non-editable original display name of the station configured by the ICX-500. Exchange Number (Read-Only): Number of the associated Exchange. Directory Number (Read-Only): Number to dial to reach this station. Connected Reader (Editable): Reader associated with the Station. Users may specify a reader in case they need to perform actions on surrounding hardware. Cameras/Views (Editable): Multiple cameras and views may be added via the Cameras tab. Reader functionality: Within the Stations form, users may specify a connected reader. Associated functionality to the reader is accessible directly through the “Actions” dropdown list or in the context menu when right-clicking a station that has a connected reader attached.   Functionalities for the associated readers include: Pulse Connected Reader Turn Connected Reader to Online Mode Unlock Connected Reader Lock Down Connected Reader Reset Connected Reader Floor Plans Edit Floor Plan: Stations may be added to floor plans. In the left-hand list of Available Hardware, all stations within the current instance will appear and may be added using the plus button to the right. At the top of the available hardware, a station icon exists for filtering.   View Floor Plan: When viewing a floor plan with connected stations, the station's alarm status will appear in real-time. The appropriate statuses and line states of the stations are also displayed and changes occurring with the stations are updated on the floor plan accordingly.   Hardware Tree Stations can be accessed via the hardware tree and can be filtered from the top of the list via its icon. The color of the Station object is used to determine its state (Green for Online, Red for Offline). Status is also viewable via an icon that appears on the Station (Black “X” indicating that a station is busy, grey phone symbol indicating that a station is in a call). Since a standalone list of all stations is not available via the Windows client, the hardware tree is the only place all stations within the current instance can be viewed at once.   Licensing Licensing of the Zenitel integration is based on the number of stations. Instances may be licensed for any number of specified Stations and thus, the system will not allow Stations within the instance to exceed the amount in which it’s licensed. If the instance is not licensed for any stations, the “Intercom” section in the Hardware Provisioning tab will not be visible.

Issue Creating an email notification within Access Expert can be challenging if the correct steps are not followed.  Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Premise Software Cause If you don't follow specific steps, email notifications can be very difficult to write. Following the steps below, you can use pre-canned expressions which help to automate your notifications based on specific parameters. Resolution *Note* though you can add the Expressions tab by customizing the ribbon, no expressions can be found or used without following the process below. If you need to edit the notification to add more parameters then you will need to create a new template as editing an existing one will not expose the expressions. Trigger an event or alarm for what you would like a notification on. Right-click on the event or alarm in Event Viewer or Live Monitoring and select Add Email Template This will open up the template editor for you where you then will be able to select the necessary expressions based on your needs  Type the email message you would like to receive when the alarm triggers, click save    Type in the name you would like to use for the template and what you would like in the subject line of the notification you receive        Click on Alarm Actions, Add Alarm Action, and then Notification  Within the next dialogue box: Create a label for the notification Check the box next to "Send Email" Select the appropriate template Select Add Recipient Type in the name of the recipients you would like to receive the notification Click Save

Issue Unable to use SE8650 to control heat pump with a two Stages Furnace (auxiliary heat) Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server SSL SE8000 Cause Only one output is available in the SE8650 for Auxiliary heating Resolution A simple solution would be to Wire both Furnace W1 and W2 to the SE8650 W1 terminal, and both will be on at the same time Both furnace stages will be activated as a single stage from the same output Or a more advanced option would be to use a LUA Script to control the second stage of Auxiliary heating. See the below example using the SE8650 UO11 terminal  

Warning Potential for Data Loss: The steps detailed in the resolution of this article may result in a loss of critical data if not performed properly. Before beginning these steps, make sure all important data is backed up in the event of data loss. If you are unsure or unfamiliar with any complex steps detailed in this article, please contact Product Support for assistance. Issue SigmaX checks prior to transition into EBO Product Line Satchwell Sigma Environment SigmaX Cause Programmable Object checks required prior to transitioning Sigma to EBO. Resolution Programmable Object checks steps to be taken to check a Sigma database is free of more than one type of RETURN statement is used prior to a transition to EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO). This video will demonstrate how to use SigmaX to find and create a report of any Programmable Objects that are using more than one type of RETURN statement. This video with SigmaX is the third of three videos, the first SigmaX Quick Help Video will check for Database Errors and the second video will check for Duplicated Names.     When launching the SigmaX application, see the Knowledge Base articles for Side by Side errors and errors regarding missing SigmaX files should they occur.

Issue After a Sigma transition into EBO, alarm clears are requiring acknowledgements. In the Sigma Interface, the object alarm and hardware alarm 'Type of Acknowledgement are set to 'Extended' and cannot be changed to 'Single' Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Satchwell Sigma Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Satchwell Sigma Cause Alarm Clear Controls are incorrectly set in Sigma Alarm Manager. Resolution During the Data Import into EBO, the settings of the Sigma Alarm Manager is checked and the alarm clear acknowledgement type is set to a specific type. If acknowledgement on alarm clears is no longer required in EBO then it will need to be changed on the Sigma server,   To change to 'Single' so that alarms only are able to be acknowledged, in Sigma: Open the Alarm Manager and go to the menu options: Configure > Alarm Controls.   Uncheck the 'Alarm Clears Acknowledgeable' box.   Redo the Data Import, the 'Type of Acknowledgement' is now seen to be set to 'Single'. However, If it is now showing 'No', then the KB article Type of Acknowledgement set to 'No' on Sigma Interface object alarm will explain how to change this.

Warning Hazard of Electric Shock: Remove all power from all devices before removing any covers or doors of the system. Disconnect power at the device and at the power source.   Issue STC300 terminal detail is different to Specification Sheet and Installation Sheet and there are several versions of the same device. Product Line Field Devices Environment STC300 Cause STC300 terminal detail is different to Specification Sheet and Installation Sheet and there are several versions of the same device.   Example of incorrectly wired device. Two versions of the STC300 device are shown.   Resolution On each version of the devices, there is a printed termination legend adjacent to the terminals, follow this.   24Vdc from the power supply is wired to 24V Loop+ on the device. Signal to controller is wired to Loop- on the device.   On the controller, the RET is wired back to the 24Vdc supply using the GRD or RET terminal, see power supply specific wiring detail.    

Issue Where can we order pluggable/screw terminal block replacements? Product Line Security Expert Environment Security Expert Controller Cause Pluggable/screw terminal blocks are not available for order Resolution SE does not sell pluggable terminal blocks because they are readily available online Find part number etched on side of the terminal block.   For example:2EDGK5.00-04P14   Full pluggable terminal block catalogue 

Issue Unable to find firmware update instructions in the SP-MNR2 installation guide Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Controller Security Expert SP-MNR2 Cause TFTP is needed to upgrade firmware Resolution What you need: TFTP WinAgent software (tftp.exe) PRT-MNR2-DIN firmware Download these files to the same folder(ex c:\fw) Steps: log into SP-MNR2's built-in web interface (default: 192.168.1.3) (if you are having trouble connecting to the interface, review the SP-MNR2 installation guide p.16-18) Browse to the MNR2 module and select the ‘Device’ page. Put the module into boot mode as seen below Open Command Prompt (Win key+R; cmd, Enter) Type: cd c:\fw Then Type: tftp -v -i <MNR2_IP_address> PUT <MNR2_Firmware_Filename.bin>   The command window should fill up with ‘packet received’ messages while the file transfer is being processed. Bring your SP-MNR2 back online. You should find that the firmware version is now updated

Issue Need to place the ADv3 Display remote from any AS-P.  Requires USB connection, as WIFI is not allowed. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Advanced Display Cause The standard for USB 2.0 provides a maximum cable length of 5 meters (16 ft 5 in). The standard for USB 3.0 provides a practical maximum cable length of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). Resolution Schneider Electric has only tested with standard cables. It may be possible to find third-party solutions like Active USB cables or bridges. These solutions are not tested, nor supported by Schneider Electric.

Issue Importing Security Expert controllers' serial numbers will break the import process and result in only creating default templates for the controllers. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Security Expert Data Sync Service Cause Security Expert controllers' serial numbers are displayed in hexadecimal. However, in the SQL database they are  stored as decimal values. So the Data Sync Service is expecting a decimal integer and is instead receiving a string.  Resolution Convert the serial numbers in the .CSV import file from hexadecimal to decimal. This can be done in excel using the  "HEX2DEC" function. E.g. if the controller serial number is "ABCDEF12", it must be converted to decimal value "2882400018" before importing to Security Expert. 

Issue When importing Security Expert controllers into Security Expert Server using the Data Sync Service, the Register As Reader Expander address field is different from the value in the CSV file. The address field is incremented by 1. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Security Expert Data Sync Service Cause Register As Reader Expander values in the Security Expert SQL database are stored as integers where indexing starts at 0, whereas in the Security Expert Client the same values are displayed as integers starting at 1. The Data Sync Service updates the database values directly, which is why the values differ between the CSV file and the user interface. Resolution In the CSV import file, decrement values in the Register As Reader Expander column by 1. For example: If the address in the user interface is '1', the value in the CSV file should be changed to '0'. See screenshot from Data Sync Service (left) and Security Expert Client (right) below.  

Issue For EBO Active Directory (Windows Domain) integration, do EBO support usage of "nested groups"?. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause EBO are using Windows API and ask if the user is a member of a certain group.  Resolution Windows API should respond “yes” if the user is part of a group that is part of another group, which is configured in EBO. So this is up to how the Windows AD responds to the Windows API and not on the EBO side.   For more information, please see Integrating Windows Active Directory user accounts with EcoStruxure

Issue What is the b2 and i2 Controller Object Format property used for? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Continuum Conversion i2 Controller objects b3 controller objects Cause i2 and b3 Controller objects include a a Format field for objects created using the Continuum Conversion tool. What is this used for and how does the value effect the operation?     Resolution These Format values are propagated through the Continuum Conversion Tool for reference only and have no impact on operation in EBO. The values cannot be modified. In EBO there are two ways to configure numeric display formats. -In WorkStation property pane and watch window, the number of decimals displayed to the right of the decimal point is inherited from the WorkStation PC's regional settings. This setting applies to all values displayed in WorkStation except for values in graphics. -In graphics, the number decimals displayed to the right of the decimal point is configured value-by-value in the Graphics Editor.   The format value is not stored in an EBO export and if objects are manually created, then standard formats are used for the type of object created .

Issue Does the JACE-645 come with 128 MB or 256 MB like the ENC-520? Environment I/A Series, JACE-603/645 Cause Not sure what it comes with after reviewing announcement PA-251. Resolution A JACE-603 or JACE-645 comes standard with 128 MB of RAM with the option to upgrade to 256 MB.  The part number for the optional memory upgrade is TRD-NPM-256. This part number modifies the license which enables the factory-installed memory (license line:  maxHeap=true).

Issue When attempting to use the Door Entry Requires Verification option in a Door Type the verification window does not pop up when a User badges at the door. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Cause This option requires a Camera record to be assigned to the Door record even if there is no physical camera at the door. Resolution Create a Door Type that has the Door Entry Requires Verification option enabled. Door Type Create a Camera under Monitoring | Setup | Cameras and set the Type to Direct Camera and URL to any value (this needs to be set even if it is not correct). Camera Configuration In your Door set, the Door Type to the new one created earlier and the Camera (Entry) to the camera just created. Door Configuration Operation: Badging a valid User at the Door will create an Entry Verification event (1) that pops the camera window that includes an Unlock Door button (2) allowing the Operator to manually open the Door (3) once visually identifying the User. Operator Verification