News from Sentera HVAC control solutions

Ventilation and indoor air quality are always important aspects of a building. In some areas, they are even essential for maintaining the functionality of the space.

In recent years, the importance of efficient ventilation systems in buildings has become increasingly clear. Poor ventilation not only leads to discomfort for occupants but also has negative impacts on their health and wellbeing. One way to ensure efficient ventilation is through demand-based ventilation, which adjusts ventilation rates based on the occupancy and activity levels in a building. This is where sensors for demand-based ventilation play a critical role.

When desgning a ventilation system, we often come across the terms "VAV", "CAV" and "Constant Pressure Control". In this article I would like to explain what these terms mean exactly, when which option is used and what you need to pay attention to when designing and adjusting an automated ventilation system.

Since 1997, Sentera has been a leading manufacturer of fan speed controllers for ventilation systems. However, over the past decades, Sentera has also invested heavily in the development of control systems, sensors and Modbus network equipment. All these individual devices are excellent examples of Belgian top technology. However, combined in our Sentera Solutions, they form high-performance control systems for the most diverse ventilation applications.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas that mixes with normal air. It remains present for a long time and does not break off spontaneously. Inhaled CO is absorbed into the blood through the lungs, just like oxygen. This disrupts the transport of oxygen to the cells and causes a lack of oxygen.

Many motors today are designed to be as flexible as possible when it comes to speed. A three-speed motor has three field windings and a rotor, all in one housing. Each field winding is designed to spin the rotor at a different speed. This enables one motor to be used for a number of different applications. A three-speed motor usually has four wires, the three speed wires and the common wire. Power is supplied to the common wire and any one of the speed wires for a certain speed.

Which sensors should I use in my building? This is the question that is regularly asked these days with most people spending up to 90 % of their time indoors. Due to Corona and the ever-improving insulation of our buildings, the importance of good ventilation is becoming increasingly clear. Along with this advancing insight, additional questions arise.

Sentera is best known for its fan speed controllers, but did you know that we expanded our product range with a wide range of sensors? This since 2011. Sensors for all kinds of purposes, in all kinds of situations and with lots of possibilities. They range from measuring temperature and humidity to measuring LPG (parking garages) and soil moisture (agricultural applications).

Sentera has grown into a leading manufacturer of, among other things, fan speed controllers and sensors for HVAC and ventilation systems. For 25 years, our products have been used worldwide - visibly and invisibly - to monitor and optimize the air quality in living rooms, schools, conference rooms and industrial or agricultural buildings. Ventilation and ventilation controls are an indispensable part of our daily lives today. So it's time to look at our 'favorites' from a different perspective.

Just as winter is approaching, the current unprecedented energy prices are forcing us to use our energy even more consciously and efficiently. The most obvious measure is to lower the room temperature in our buildings. After all, if the thermostat is set a few degrees lower, a considerable saving will already be realized. However, in rooms with high ceilings, additional savings can be achieved through destratification.

Summer has finally arrived and soon we will all be leaving for our favourite holiday destination. After an intensive day of vacation, we often like to put our feet under the table in an authentic local restaurant to enjoy the local specialties. As soon as the fragrant dishes appear on the table and stimulateour senses, we realize (as an HVAC professional) that the kitchen is most likely equipped with an efficient ventilation system.

Potentiometers with minimum and maximum limit, working from low to high speed or vice versa, with 0-10 volts, 0-20 mA or PWM output, infinitely adjustable or with adjustable steps (…) were already part of our assortment. Today we have expanded our potentiometer family with the SDP-M010 series that are equipped with Modbus RTU. As a result, not only are the settings available via the Modbus registers, but from SenteraWeb or your Building Management System you can also read the position of the potentiometer and even overwrite the output.

For the open house at one of our customers, we built a VAV demo unit in which various Sentera product groups are incorporated to work together as one solution. To explain the complete operation of this installation step by step, we have made a detailed video which you can watch on our Youtube channel. Check out the full article for more information.

Sentera has a wide range of products and solutions to control fans and monitor indoor air quality. Our product range has a modular structure, which offers enormous advantages. Sentera products are easy to install and they can work stand-alone. If the need changes, additional components can be added afterwards. The connected devices exchange information and work seamlessly together.

With the ErP-directives becoming more and more important, there will be a shift from AC-motors towards EC-motors which are much more energy efficient. We are therefore constantly developing new products and revising existing products to be able to control these EC-motors as accurately as possible.

The use of an efficient ventilation system in livestock farming not only improves animal welfare, but also improves returns. After all, such a ventilation system takes care of the removal of ammonia, maintains the relative humidity and regulates the temperature. Sentera offers numerous solutions in the form of sensors and fan speed controllers with an IP54 or IP65 classification. Our equipment can be used under the most demanding conditions and enables an efficient and demand-driven ventilation system.

The purpose of ventilation is to supply fresh outside air and extract stale air and pollutants from inside. The supply of fresh air can be seen as the first step towards good indoor air quality. However, a ventilation system is not a guarantee for good indoor air quality. In this article, we discuss some important points to consider.

The Sentera ACT-H-125 is a round motorized control damper for air ducts with a diameter of 125 mm and is equipped with an RJ45 socket and a classic terminal block. The damper blade position can be controlled by analog signal or Modbus RTU communication. The ACT-H-125 can be combined with many Sentera sensors. This ensures optimal demand based control of the ventilation system.

Internet of Things - or IoT - refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, all collecting and sharing data. The IoT is a giant network of connected things and people – all of which collect and share data about the way they are used and about the environment around them. The Internet of Things is making the fabric of the world around us more smarter and more responsive, merging the digital and physical universes.

The Sentera DPS differential pressure sensor guarantees the display of the actual and real air flow rate in function of the occupancy rate of a room or building

Given the current circumstances (Corona virus, polluted air, ...), monitoring indoor air quality is strongly encouraged. CO2 meters are particularly suitable for controlling a ventilation system because they indicate whether there is sufficient fresh air in the room. Suddenly you can buy CO2 meters on every street corner. They are available in different price categories, sizes, types, etc. How do you select the right CO2 sensor for your project?

CO2 and VOCs are generally known as 2 factors that contaminate the air that we breathe. Now studies find that yet another substance, hazardous to our health, moves about airborne: toxic ‘forever chemicals’ or PFAS.

Sufficient fresh air supply is not only important for the feeling of well-being and for optimal functioning - it is also essential for your health. In closed indoor spaces, sufficient ventilation is necessary to minimise the risk of spreading the Coronavirus. Providing ventilation in existing buildings is, however, not always easy. Therefore exhaust ventilation can be a good solution in many cases.

HVAC sensors monitor indoor air quality. Based on specific measurements supply and exhaust fan speed is regulated to guarantee sufficient fresh air supply and to optimise the energy efficiency of the ventilation system.

Why is air quality in hospitals so important? A hospital is a place where both weak and healthy people come into close contact with each other. In Corona times, that is a frightening scenario that requires many precautions to make this possible in safe conditions. Monitoring indoor air quality is one of these precautions.

Sentera CO2 meters help to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus in this school in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Continuously measuring CO2 concentrations in classrooms provides certainty about indoor air quality. Good indoor air quality is essential to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.