Building Automation Basics for the HVAC Tech w/ Phil Zito

HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

Bryan Orr

Training, Careers, Airconditioning, Self-improvement, Hvac, Business, Education, Refrigeration, Heating, Ac, Apprenticeship

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2017

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Phil Zito of Building Automation Monthly comes on the podcast to discuss building automation and what HVAC techs should know about it.

Automation essentially refers to control systems; we started off with pneumatic control systems, and then we went to analog and electromechanical control systems over time. Building automation refers to the process of automating controls on a larger scale, such as for an entire building. As long as you can read electrical and mechanical diagrams, you can work on automation systems; you don't need to know about IT or robotics.

Large buildings like malls may require HVAC automation. In other structures like university buildings, you may also end up automating lights and other electrical functions. Automation makes other systems talk to each other, and it does that by controlling on/off schedules and set points. These building automation systems consist of sensors, switches, conductors, and decision-making logic (such as simple desktop servers).

Regardless of the automation system, the sequence of operation will always go in the following order: server, supervisory device, field controller, and input/output. A communication bus transmits messages between field controllers; it works like floating controls or pulse-width modulation. You don't need to know the binary communication of the computer; you just need to know how to measure voltage with your multimeter to work on a communication bus.

An HVAC tech may also be interested in knowing that building automation has an air side and a water side. These systems may also interface with package RTUs and VAV systems.

Phil and Bryan also discuss:

How Phil got into building automation
Servers
User and web interface
Resistance vs. analog values
Barriers to getting into BAS careers
Installation vs. service
Taking initiative and being resourceful
How BAS and HVAC workers can make each other's lives easier

Visit Phil's website HERE.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is made possible by Carrier and Testo, as well as Dan Foss.
0:12.4	And I wanted to mention again about the Dan Foss refrigerant
0:14.5	slider app. You can find that app by going to Dan Faust.com
0:18.2	forward slash cool apps. But one use case for the slider app that you may not consider because a lot of guys are like well I can get my saturation temperature just by looking at my gauge
0:27.0	But let's say you have a junior tech who calls you and he's discussing a particular
0:31.3	liquid pressure a particular suction
0:34.2	pressure maybe on a refrigerant that they're not used to. You can pull up that
0:37.6	refrigerant slider app and you can find very easily what you're contensing
0:41.2	temperature over ambient or your evaporator
0:43.3	design temperature difference is by using the Refrigerant Slider app. I did this
0:47.3	just the other day when I was teaching these techniques to a technician. Also when
0:52.2	you're doing these sort of measuring temperatures without
0:55.8	connecting gauges which we've talked a lot about in recent days and a lot with
0:59.5	Jim Bergman in his episode, the Testo Smart Proes app is really great for that if you utilize
1:06.1	the Testo Refrigerant Smart Probes because you have your two temperature
1:09.5	clamps that you can use Bluetooth and you can look at them right on your screen
1:12.1	but then if for some reason you do need to connect and check you can use Bluetooth and you can look at them right on your screen.
1:12.7	But then if for some reason you do need to connect and check your
1:15.1	pressures you can do it with your smart probes and you'll have less losses
1:18.4	than you would by filling up your hoses on a traditional manifold.
1:21.8	A couple things for you to think about there. But again, thank you to
1:24.0	carrier, Testo, and Dan Foss for sponsoring the podcast.
	...

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