Written by Deepan Patel, Industry Manager- Infrastructure
With Niagara 4.11 recently released, I have some new innovative features that are now available from our Infrastructure solutions to share with you. Don’t take these solutions only for Building Automation projects, we can do so much more with Niagara. Speak to me today and I can explain how!
Our ILC 2050 controller now offers,via its Shell environment, the ability to create IP Static Routes. For those networking experts this reduces the requirement of a Layer 3 switch. Now that’s a game changer offering benefits in cost & time saving in your projects.
Further improvements in CPU utilisation.
Have you ever wondered how you can install your projects with the least amount of wiring in retrofit applications? Have you ever struggled with how to turn legacy buildings into Smart Buildings?
The reality is we must take some essential steps in order to arrive at the correct safety solution and put it into action. That is where we can help.
Phoenix Contact defines Functional Safety as a Safety life cycle. The safety life cycle shows 8 phases dependent on whether safety related software is used or not.
Here are a few examples of what these stages involve.
Written by Gareth Chamberlain, Product Manager- Cyber Security & IT Automation
Hello again! This time instead of talking about discontinuations I’ve got some great news about new products. Looking to further strengthen our Ethernet switch offering, we produced a range of IP67 switches. They are the FL SWITCH 2600/2700 and they really extend what we can offer to you as a package.
The switches are produced using the FL SWITCH 2000 firmware, it is a tried and tested firmware with application successes across the country and around the globe. The housing is a zinc die cast wall mountable design making it rugged and impact resistant in heavy work areas. It can be connected using traditional M12 connections or Phoenix Contact’s M12 Push/Pull connectors. Power connections can be daisy chained to another switch reducing the need for a 24v PSU on each device and making your network more flexible.
Written by Gary Nelson, Senior Product Manager- Device Connections
The chances are that you either already have or are on the allocation list to be upgraded to smart meters within your home. This means you no longer need to supply regular meter readings to the energy provider as they obtain this directly from the meter itself. You also get a display monitor that shows you how much energy you are using at any time of the day and contains historical data about your usages, so you can see when you are using the most energy. The bill you receive however is still based on an estimated annual usage and not based on your actual usage each day, week, or month.
Written by Fraser Cowie, Product Manager – Interface
The CONTACTRON CSS Speed Starter is Phoenix Contact’s new device class in the market of drive technology for asynchronous motors. In terms of functionality, this new class can be positioned between hybrid motor starters and today’s standard frequency converters.
This compact and economical solution for achieving different speeds combines the characteristics of the Contactron hybrid motor starter with a variable speed drive and an intuitive operating concept.
Written by Andy Neat, Senior Product Manager – Marking & Identification and Toolfox
Morning and welcome to another blog from the world of marking & identification. First of all I hope you are all safe and well as we get closer to normal life.
Andy Neat- Senior Product Manager
As some of you readers may or may not know, I’ve been Product Manager for Marking & Identification since 2013 and it’s grown a lot since then- nearly 10x in turnover my rough calculations tell me! I don’t mean that to sound ‘braggy’, it’s just a good example of what a bit of product focus (or a tall, skinny guy talking a lot about it on LinkedIn) can do over time.
In that time Marking has grown more and more popular in the UK as the need for faster, easier marking solutions has grown with the demand for faster, leaner production times. With any application Marking is an integral product but it can be the one that takes most time to install. This is where we succeeded in helping customers and, of course, we are cost effective in the market too which has helped us grow year on year.
But now, in 2021, we are at a point where a tall guy from Telford talking on LinkedIn, ploughing through emails, and charging up and down the M6 wasn’t enough anymore. Basically, we needed help!
So after doing interviews on Microsoft Teams, training whilst staying 2 meters apart and no shaking hands, I’m pleased to introduce a brand new Marking & Identification team in the UK.
With myself staying as Product Manager, we have two new Sales Engineers covering the North and South of the UK. This move now allows Phoenix Contact UK to have a structured focus on service and support, as well as sales, of course. The two new team members are at hand to show our market leading marking systems and offer a helping hand at setup and support. All of which is backed up by myself, giving support to the team and customers further with tech-support and software training to keep Phoenix Contact’s Marking brand as slick as it is innovative.
Written by Scott Mulholland, Product Manager- Industrial Components
I’ve had a number of queries recently regarding coding for our Heavycon range of heavy duty connectors. Coding can become a good idea when your application has a number of similar, or identical, connectors in close proximity like the ones on the side of this panel in this image:
Written by Mark Lloyd, Senior Product Manager- Power Supplies & Surge Protection
I have been involved with UPS systems for more years than I care to think of, and I can say that if a customer ever has a problem with a UPS more often than not it is the battery that is the issue.
At the end of the day a battery is essentially a box full of chemicals and they have to be treated with a certain amount of care. If a battery is left on a shelf in storage for too long without first being charged, the battery will self-discharge. It depends on the size of the battery (AH) but, typically, the larger the battery capacity, the longer the time you have before the battery needs to be recharged. Once it is charged you have a similar amount of time before it needs to be charged again if it is not put to use right away.
Written by Deepan Patel, Industry Manager- Infrastructure
In my previous blogs I have talked a lot about some of our great solutions for Building IOT. If you haven’t checked them out, you can here.
When it comes to designing Building Automation solutions, it is difficult when you have old hardware to work with or you are integrating many systems. For example:
HVAC – AHUs, VAVs, etc.
Smart Meters – Energy meters, flow meters, heat pumps, etc.
Security – Access control, fire panel, etc.
Lighting control
Workplace environment – Room booking, room control, etc.
