NEW BERLIN, WI, June 3, 2005 -- The ABB drive for HVAC applications, the ACH550, is the first and only drive, to date, to be BACnet Testing Laboratories (BTL) approved and listed. BTL, an independent lab that tests devices for conformance to the BACnet standard, confirmed the listing to the ABB, Low Voltage Drives, U.S. office in New Berlin, Wis., the week of May 23.
Serial Communications, Sans Gateway?
"We are honored to have an independent testing organization provide this stamp of approval," said Jeff Miller, HVAC sales manager. "Our internal R&D work has been to build into these drives this final piece of serial communications, and to eliminate, for the first time, the expense and challenges of hardware and gateways. BACnet replaces those with one language, able to work in real time, anywhere."
Officially, BTL has listed the ACH550 as a BACnet Application Specific Controller (B-ASC).
System Tested for Compatibility with All BACnet Devices?
"This gives an end user a very high degree of confidence that the ACH550 will inter-operate with other BTL-listed devices," notes Mike Olson, manager, HVAC applications, for ABB.
The controller also complies with the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2004, he said. The ABB drive features a standard connection that is MS/TP, RS485-based; and it supports all BIBBs defined by the BACnet standard profile for an Application Specific Controller (B-ASC), Olson said.
The listing is available for review and reference at the main BTL page http://bacnetassociation.org/btl/default.htm.
The ABB drive is listed at:
http://bacnetassociation.org/btl/Listings/ABB/ABB.htm.
Or, review the shared B-ASC page at
http://bacnetassociation.org/btl/Listings/Profiles/Application Specific Controller.htm.
In addition to the U.S. BACnet Testing Laboratory office in the U.S., BACnet products also are being tested at a lab in Germany.
ABB Inc. Low-Voltage Drives (www.abb-drives.com), is a leading supplier to the U.S. HVAC market, and has connected tens of thousands of drives to building automation systems via serial communications. In the USA, ABB, New Berlin, Wisconsin, supplies a complete line of energy-efficient electric drives and motors to HVAC and commercial customers through an integrated channel of sales representatives. Products manufactured include AC and DC variable speed drives from fractional to 500 horsepower. HVAC single-motor drive applications include exhaust fans, fume hoods, re-circulation pumps, condenser fans; multiple-motor applications include multi-cell cooling towers, paralleled chilled water, and booster pump systems.
ABB (www.abb.us) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 115,000 people. The company's U.S. operations employ about 9,000 in manufacturing and other facilities in 40 states.
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