Internet of Things for HVAC systems

Jason gets a frantic call from Simon, the owner of ACE Meat Packing Plant in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their refrigerated storage space went down over the hot summer weekend and the temps in the room are rising. They didn’t discover the issue until they opened that morning and Simon is calling Jason to fix it ASAP before the temperature rises beyond their ability to keep the inventory from defrosting. Luckily the fridge retained enough of the cold over the weekend to keep the meats frozen, but they are running out of time. 

Jason arrives a half-hour later and installs a new nano programmable logic controller (PLC) to manage the temperature. The entire ordeal caused the plant to lose six hours of processing time, and had they gone another day, they could have lost thousands of dollars in inventory. 

Simon is relieved and Jason explains that the PLC he installed provides messaging capabilities. This will ensure that should there be another issue with the HVAC system, both Jason and Simon can be alerted in real-time which allows them to act immediately.

In a world that’s more wireless, more automated, and more self-diagnostic, customers are expecting the same of their HVAC equipment. 

Much like in ACE’s case, many facilities with complex HVAC systems often don’t have the skilled labor on staff to address issues as they happen. And if these occur during closing hours, being slow to react can cost time and money. 

This underscores the need to predict breakdowns, diagnose and communicate malfunctions, and allow for remote support as being critical for keeping a business profitable. 

Automatically diagnosing and trouble-shooting system faults remotely require a network of sensors that can communicate and interact with others over the internet.

This is where the Internet of Things (IoT) comes in. IoT for HVAC systems is the organization of devices that allows for the transfer of data over a network without human interaction. 

Many useful features are incorporated with IoT, and a few of most popular are:

• Email – if a fault is detected, the system sends an email to designated personnel with critical system information in an instant 

• Connectivity – if a fault is detected, designated personnel can remotely access the system and address the issue real-time

Sometimes critical mechanical failures occur, and instant information is needed to understand what is causing the fault. A nano programmable logic controller (PLC) can provide the insight need in the following ways: 

The nano PLC has an email function that works with an email server to send customized emails to predefined groups, or individual email addresses. 

The emails can be triggered when the program is deleted, the operating mode changes, an error occurs, or a user-specified situation selected with an alarm function block in the program. 

For example, when a motor fault occurs the nano PLC detects the issue and automatically triggers an email sent to maintenance staff to alert them of the problem and where it occurred. This allows them to make decisions about how to address the issue and likely circumvent further more expensive issues.

There are a plethora of benefits to being able to access your system from your device when a fault is detected. These include:

1. The ability to diagnose and troubleshoot issues from a distant location. Facility engineers who travel or are not currently at the facility are able to remotely access the network and view errors or look at data to assess the causes of the failure. 
   
2. Programmers can then access the nano PLC’s program to make changes to values when they are not in the facility, saving thousands of dollars on travel costs. 
   
3. Remotely access component specific information such as firmware level to ensure devices are running the correct versions.