Berner International, New Castle, Pa., North America’s leading air curtain manufacturer and HVAC innovator, has added adaptive settings and true BACnet compatibility to its Berner AIR to better support client sustainability goals. The Berner AIR is a smart controller and app platform that elegantly connects end-users to their commercial doorway air curtains via the Internet for programming, operating and monitoring.
The North American air curtain industry’s first app-based adaptive setting feature boosts energy efficiency by automatically calibrating the airstream performance, according to the weather. Berner AIR’s onboard Intelliswitch controller reports local weather conditions (via the Berner AIR’s Internet connection), the doorway temperature (via an onboard sensor) and air curtain model data every 20 minutes to factory servers. Factory engineered software then uses proprietary algorithms to determine the best volume, velocity and uniformity (VVU) balance for the given moment and adjusts the fan speed based on the current weather. Pinpointing the most energy-efficient of 10 available air curtain fan speeds helps buildings meet energy conservation, sustainability and carbon footprint goals, while also supporting thermal comfort.
The newly-added BACnet communication capabilities is standard on Berner’s premium Architectural Elite 8 and 10 models, and optional on all other Architectural Series air curtains when ordered with the Berner AIR. BACnet allows programming, operating and monitoring from the Berner smartphone app or the building management system (BMS).
The BACnet feature allows control of:
- Preset programming (Comfort Plus, Auto, and PureAir);
- Fan speed;
- Time delay; thermostat temperature set point and type;
- Time/day set;
- Lock PASScode;
- and start/stop time
Berner’s advanced technology platform began a decade ago with the development of the Intelliswitch, a digital controller that later served as a foundation for the 2017 introduction of Berner AIR, the North American HVAC industry’s first air curtain mobile app. Berner AIR 2.0 was added last year. The new secure, fully-encrypted platform provides the Berner AIR app for both Android and Apple devices, and allows over-the-air system updates.
Other newly-added benefits:
- Adaptive settings set-up simply requires a smartphone, Berner AIR app download, a secure wireless Internet connection, pairing the app to the air curtain Intelliswitch and the location’s zip code;
- OpenWeather API provides local real-time wind speeds and eliminates sensor installations building and envelop penetrations;
- BACnet feature enables management of multiple air curtains across multiple facilities;
- BACnet capabilities comply with ANSI / ASHRAE Standard 135;
- Allows factory technician secure access for calibration and troubleshooting
