New Toshiba ac controller
4th April 2014
Toshiba Air Conditioning has introduced a new control and monitoring system called Black Pear, which it claims is one of the most powerful and versatile on the market.
Black Pear connects directly to the hvac control bus, providing instant connectivity to bBuilding management systems, and overcoming the need for a central controller and separate interface.
Its built-in LCD display gives field engineers local control over units, and is said to enable fast and accurate commissioning following installation with USB-based software. It can also be used on systems with a central control for added flexibility.
Black Pear is compatible with all the major communications systems, such as Automated Logic, Modbus, BACnet and Trend, enabling virtually universal application for Toshiba air conditioning equipment with all types of building management systems.
When the controller is powered up, it scans the network to identify connected units. The local keypad can be used to directly control all indoor units within a building. In the event of a BMS failure, this feature is very valuable as it maintains communication across the network, enabling individual units to be controlled despite the BMS failure.
A single Black Pear module can connect up to 64 indoor units, meaning it can cater for large applications without having to be doubled up or multiplexed.
The system is the result of a project between Toshiba UK and control specialist Microtrol, whose other clients include British Aerospace, Ford Cosworth, GSK and Star City.
