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Fixed and Configurable Controllers from ebm-papst - You have control!

Fixed and Configurable Fan Controllers from ebm-papst

You have control

There are many fan applications running today using a basic single speed fan where the fan is always running at full speed or the only control is to switch it on or off. Demand control, in this case, can be achieved manually with an on/off switch or automatically based on the temperature sensed by a thermostatic switch.

Thermal management systems, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heat-Pump equipment do not always require full performance from the fans.

Where the fan is used to provide fresh air as in a ventilation application, occupancy levels may only require the air extracted from a room to be lowered to a trickle. When a room is unoccupied it may not be necessary to have maximum airflow from an extract fan. The air being extracted during periods of absence is preventing build-up of volatile organic chemicals given off by the internal room’s furniture, fixtures and fittings. As this type of air pollution accumulates slowly, the fan should be able to extract enough air when running at lower speeds to keep the pollution levels below safe levels. If the room is occupied or the bathroom is being used or if the occupants are cooking in the kitchen, the extract fan may need to exhaust the moisture laden air to outside, lower the CO2 level or maintain a mould and odour free, healthy environment. As the seasons change, the ventilation, heating and cooling requirements will change. The change in demand means that the fan may not be required to run at full speed

During the winter months, the fan in a heating system will be working more than a fan in a cooling system. In the summer the demand will be more from the cooling system rather than the heating system. Heating and cooling systems can benefit from optimising fan use, reducing power consumption and noise by using variable speed control. Variable speed control can match the delivery of air with the demand from the application / situation.

There are a number of benefits when using variable speed instead of a fixed speed design fan:

  • When the speed of a fan is reduced to 80% of its maximum speed, the power consumption will reduce by 50%.
  • Reducing the operating speed of the fan to 80% of maximum speed will also reduce its noise level by approximately 5dB.
  • Running the fan at a reduced speed will lower the running temperature of the motor, extending the life expectancy of the bearings.

There are additional benefits of using a controller to vary the speed of the fan.

  • When using a variable speed fan with a feedback signal, the controller can compare the set-point with the actual performance data. If there is a significant deviation between the intended value and the actual value, the controller can trigger alarm outputs and/or emergency operation modes based on whether the fan has failed or is wearing out.
  • Being able to communicate with the fan via its controller allows flexibility of operation tailoring the cooling or ventilation system according to current needs. On more sophisticated controllers, communication with other devices via a network (Smart Building Control or the Internet of Things), may allow control profiles to be manipulated according to local environmental conditions.

Adding in the flexibility of operation not only provides service on demand, it can save energy when systems are not in use, provide a more comfortable/adaptable environment, provide early warning feedback to facilities management systems as well as provide visibility to smart building/system energy management systems.

What controllers are available now

For a variety of control systems that interface with ebm-papst compact and ventilation fans, RS Components stock a range of fixed profile and user configurable control products:

  • CPC – DCP Temperature based fan speed controller with open collector PWM output
  • CPC – A2P Analogue 0-10V input to open collector PWM output fan speed controller
  • CEC – Temperature based fan speed controller with 0-10V DC analogue output
  • CGC – User Configurable Temperature / 0-10V based fan speed controller – one fan output
  • TMSB - TMS User Configurable Temperature / 0-10V based fan speed controller – four fan outputs

 

CPCXX – DCP Temperature based fan speed controller with open collector PWM output

The DCP fan controller operates ebm-papst 4-wire PWM controlled fans from the same supply voltage as the fan. The controller can operate from a range of power supplies between 11 and 57V DC (one controller variation only required). The controller comes with two pre-programmed temperature control ranges of 20 to 40oC and 35 to 55oC.

The controller includes

  • Fan monitoring
  • Pre-set temperature profile controls the fan from 15-100% speed
  • Alarm output
  • Compatible temperature sensor on 2m lead

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RS Components part numbers:

  • Supply voltage 11-57V DC & Control range 20-40oC – CPCXX2040SC-R See RS (165-1397)  
  • Supply voltage 11-57V DC & Control range 20-40oC – CPCXX3555SC-R See RS (165-1398)

 CPCXX – A2P Analogue 0-10V input to open collector PWM output fan speed controller

The Analogue to Digital (A2P) fan controller operates ebm-papst 4-wire PWM controlled fans from the same supply voltage as the fan. The controller can operate from a range of power supplies between 11 and 57V DC (one controller variation only required).

The controller includes

  • Fan monitoring
  • Pre-programmed control response
  • 0V input = 0% PWM output (signal low)
  • 10V input = 100% PWM output (signal high)

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RS Components part number:

  • Supply voltage 11-57V DC & Control range 0-10V input 0-100%PWM Output – See RS (165-1401) – CPCXXVV10UN-R

CECXX – Temperature based fan speed controller with 0-10V DC analogue output

The CEC Electronically commutated (EC) fan controller that uses the +10V DC power supply from the integrated DC power supply output from ebm-papst EC fans. The controller comes with two pre-programmed temperature control ranges of 20 to 40oC and 35 to 55oC.

The controller includes

  • Fan monitoring
  • Pre-set temperature profile controls the fan from 15-100% speed
  • Alarm output
  • Compatible temperature sensor on 2m lead

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See RS Components part numbers:

  • Supply voltage +10V DC with Control range 20-40oC – See RS (165-1399) CECXX2040SC-R

  • Supply voltage +10V DC with Control range 20-40oC – See RS (165-1400) CECXX3555SC-R

 

CGCXX – User Configurable Temperature / 0-10V based fan speed controller – one fan output

Fan controller that combines the features of both the CPC and CEC product ranges with a Microsoft Windowsâ„¢ based Graphical User Interface (GUI) software package to allow the controller to be configured according to requirements. The controller includes

  • Wide operating voltage range (+10V to +57V DC)
  • Configurable control input (Thermistor / 0-10V DC analogue signal)
  • Configurable output signal (Open collector PWM / 0-10V analogue signal)
  • Configurable set-points
  • Simple control profile (4 program points)
  • Multi-point profile (up to 256 program points)
    • Minimum speed cut-off
    • Programmable Open Collector Alarm Trigger (Fan fail / Over temperature / Under temperature)
    • Maximum fan speed limitation

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See RS Components part numbers

  • Supply voltage +10V to 55V DC User configurable controller – RS (165-1402) CGCXX00000

  • Controller configuration lead – RS (769-2726)   210-HAR11887

  • Graphical User Interface and instruction manuals (Free to download)
    See ebmpapst.co.uk/cgc

 

Thermal Management System (TMS) Controller

The Thermal Management System controller is fully configurable and can speed control 4 fans independently based on either a temperature sensor or an analogue 0-10V control signal input. The fans can either be 4-wire open collector PWM control or 4-wire 0-10V analogue control.

The control signal response curve can be individually tailored for each fan output providing set points to switch the fan on and off, define the minimum and maximum operating points (oC / 0-10V) and set the minimum and maximum fan speeds. There are two switch inputs which can activate control responses as well as alarm outputs which can trigger on high or low temperature points, thermistor or signal failure and fan failure. When an alarm is triggered the TMS can be configured to run the fans in emergency operation mode as well as change the alarm relay output status (Signal high or signal low). For further detail see the section on the graphical user interface below…

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See RS Components part numbers

  • Development Kit with +12V to 57V DC User configurable controller – RS (769-2732)   TMSB11111-01 
  • Boxed controller only +12V to 57V DC User configurable controller – RS (769-2722) TMSB00000-01 
  • Controller configuration lead – RS (769-2726) 210-HAR11887 

Thermal Management System – Graphical User Interface

The Thermal Management System controller available from RS Components has a new, smart front end, Graphical User Interface software package. This new software makes it simpler to configure system requirements. Using Microsoft Windowsâ„¢, the GUI software uses several individual tabs to configure the input/output characteristics, fan operating details, response profiles, alarm responses and provides visual feedback of what is happening on a real-time dashboard when connected on-line to a controller.

Real time fan and alarm monitoring dashboard

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The user configurable TMS controller is a proportional band controller that will regulate the fan speed of up to four fans based on a programmed temperature profile. Some of the operating points that can be configured include: Temperature at which the fans switch on

  • Minimum speed setting
  • Temperature at which the fans reach maximum speed
  • Maximum speed setting
  • Minimum speed cut off
  • Over Temperature alarm
  • Under Temperature alarm
  • Fan fail alarm & response
  • Input signal fail and response

 Multipoint speed control profile                                           Alarm Conditions and responses

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The Thermal Management System (TMS) controller has two sensor inputs that can accept either a NTC thermistor or a 0-10V signal input. The controller can be configured to respond to these inputs by providing by either selecting a 0-100% PWM or 0-10V DC signal output to a maximum of four fans. There are two switch inputs which can be configured to change the operation of the TMS controller along with 4 alarm outputs. When an alarm is triggered it will put the TMS controller into emergency operation mode, overriding the current fan speed and indicate an alarm on one of the alarm relay outputs.

Advanced features include the ability to configure individual response profiles for each fan, modify the controller output signal response rate and a multi-point temperature profile (up to 7 fan speed control set points can be configured for each fan).

The windows based GUI software is a free download which is available from www.ebmpapst.co.uk/TMS along with operating instructions and a driver for the TMS programming interface. The software can be used either on or off-line to create and save configuration files for download to the TMS when connected.

The TMS controller is available as a development kit (TMSB11111-01) which includes a programming lead, power lead, thermistor leads, alarm leads and fan leads or the basic version (TMSB00000-01) which is supplied as a boxed controller only.

The voltage range of the TMS controller is 12 to 57V DC and it can supply output signal for DC PWM controlled compact fans and larger EC Axial and Centrifugal fans with analogue input. Compatible 4-wire open collector PWM controlled compact fans and 0-10V DC analogue input fans are also available from RS components – see the website for details.

The latest versions of the TMS controller have Modbus RS485 RTU capability built in. For details on how to communicate with this controller via Modbus please contact ebm-papst UK Ltd.

 

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My background is in Mechanical & Production Engineering however working for ebm-papst that has expanded into electro-mechanical, some electronic and acoustic engineering. When it comes to acquiring and passing on knowledge, I try to keep it as simple and as least painful as possible. I am happy to receive feedback and if there are any questions that arise from anything that gets published. If I don't know the answer to your question immediately, I am sure that I know someone that can help.
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