HOW COMFORT GETS DONE !
Thanks for visiting our site. This site provides information on the ecMModulator and FanHandler controls. These controls are designed to eliminate comfort complaints that are common to most heating and air conditioning systems. They are designed so that just about every residential and small commercial heating/cooling system can be vastly improved to give unmatched comfort and efficiency. They can convert any furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump to eliminate the old fashioned off/on/up/down cold floor/hot ceiling/ clang/bang/thermal shock from room to room/level to level systems into modern comfort machines that deliver smooth, quiet, draft-free, comfort from room to room, floor to ceiling, level to level and moment to moment. Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality are vastly improved.
If you are a homeowner experiencing drafts, high-speed air noises, uneven temperatures from one part of your home to the other. If you have a Lexus in the driveway and electric heaters in the kids rooms. If your definition of "roughing it" is setting the electric blanket to medium. If you have to turn up the volume on the TV every time your heat or air conditioning system comes on. Then this web site will be of vital interest to you.
If you are an HVAC and/or indoor air quality contractor and want to knock the socks off your competition; then you'll want to study this site carefully.
You are no longer stuck with equipment that doesn't allow you to use your training and talent to provide a truly comfortable, daft free, noise free and efficient indoor environment for your customers. AND you can even eliminate the inefficient zone bypass dampers!!
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Now, everyone can have ECM efficiency and true modulation comfort without having to buy a new HVAC system
Until the ecMModulator, control of ECM motors was haphazard, not uniform and definitely not standardized. Equipment manufacturers often change control schemes that differ from their previous attempts. Once a system is purchased, substitutions can be difficult when failures or system changes occur. System upgrades such as the addition of zoning introduces complex problems. When an ECM motor or its control system fails, there is often a long wait for the required, specific, matched motor and controller replacement (if available, even at GOTCHA prices).
Heat exchangers, coils burners etc. are mostly identical between standard equipment and the “high end” ECM models. The only difference being the blower motor and controls. Many HVAC contractors asked us to design a standalone ECM controller. In turn, we asked about 500 contractors to send us a “wish list” of features that they wanted in their “dream” ECM control. We listened. The resulting ecMModulator control has set the new comfort, efficiency and adaptability industry standard. It is low voltage; computer based and can be programmed for applications that we don’t yet know about.
NEW INSTALLATIONS
If you purchase a standard psc equipped furnace, you might order it without the psc motor or you can take out the psc motor and install the AO Smith Premium Comfort motor and the ecMModulator from us so that you and your customer will enjoy the unmatched ecMModulator features. You can use the psc motor that you replaced as a service motor.
EXISTING SYSTEMS
Many homeowners can’t afford a new furnace and/or air conditioner. Their present equipment is in good condition and doesn’t warrant total replacement. Their original ductwork design was matched to their present equipment. The ecMModulating control is the common sense response to ECM equipment matching and retrofit problems. The ecMModulator eliminates affordability and system conflict issues that heretofore left many homeowners deprived of access to ECM comfort and efficiency. This control and motor combination isn’t cheap, but it is very inexpensive when compared to a full system change out. The additional comfort and energy savings offered by the ecMModulator make the transition to the new technology the best home improvement value available. The ecMModulator control and motor can be easily installed in any existing equipment. No dip switches, no guessing, no trial and error. Just install it and go home. Your customer will barely notice the slight interruption of heat or cooling while you install. The ecMModulator control and motor combination will then match or beat any efficiency claims. It will absolutely beat any comfort claims. The ecMModulator brings “breakthrough” state of the art HVAC within easy reach of many millions of deserving families.
SYSTEM UPGRADES
A typical system upgrade might be that when an air conditioner fails, but the furnace is in great shape, you can replace the AC with a two stage unit. All you have to do to meet the variable speed blower criteria is to pop in the AO Smith ECM motor and the ecMModulator. The result is that your customer has never been so comfortable, and their system has never been so efficient and you didn’t have to waste time with complicated halfway measures.
Another application where the ecMModulator excels is when you install a zone system in a new or existing HVAC system. By adding a pressure transducer to the ecMModulator, the duct pressure in the zoned system can be controlled within 0.1” wc. Thus you eliminate the need for bypass dampers or dump zones. The results are much better humidity control in air conditioning. You also eliminate water blow-off from the coil. The fan can be set to run continuous even in the most humid climates. Once you’ve made your first ecMModulator installation on a zoned system you’ll agree that no zoned system is complete without it.
LIGHTS TELL THE STORY
We’ve included 8 lights that tell you what mode the ecMModulator is operating in. There are lights that indicate the blower’s speed by changing the blink rate. You’ll know pretty close to where the delivered air temperature is by the color of the light and the blink rate.
IN SHORT, THE ecMModulator MAKES A “HIGH END” JOB ACT LIKE ONE!!!!
Some of the ecMModulator features
Further explanation of the ecMMmodulator’s features graph.
1. Minimum speed setting. Now you can run the blower full time so that the air in the entire home is kept fresh and mixed. All of the add-on equipment such as mold and germ killing UV lights operate at peak efficiency. Filters and electronic air cleaners operate at much greater efficiency. The minimum speed is adjustable wherever you want. The best minimum speed is set (when the system is not heating or cooling) to move enough air to wave a tissue at a register, but slow enough to not be felt at a foot from that register.
2. The furnace heat line shows the relationship between the delivered air temperature and the speed of the air being delivered to the living area when operating on a furnace, or fan coil.
3. The heat pump temperature/speed response is very important. A common problem with heat pumps is that they blow cool air at high speeds for what seems to be forever, before they deliver warm enough air for even minimum comfort. This problem often results in occupants setting the thermostat to a higher level to counteract these drafts. Or they turn on the auxiliary heat in an attempt to warm the delivered air. These actions destroy heat pump energy efficiency. The ecMModulator will not allow the blower to deliver cold air. You get heat right away. The air delivered to the home is always warm (an average of about 15° warmer than before), always in control. Always efficient. On most installations the heat pump’s efficiency holds up in colder weather than before the ecMModulator was installed. There are two terminals that, when not connected, will put the ecMModulator in the furnace mode and when jumpered will put it in heat pump mode. Or if you are working with a hybrid system, you can use a real dry contact to switch between the two modes to match the heat/temperature response to match the operating mode.
4. The highest speed that the system’s blower can achieve is easily set. Some smaller systems might require less maximum air flow. We have chosen not to program the control to increase the maximum speed. If you want a higher speed we can program the motor to deliver the maximum speed you want, when you order.
5. The air conditioning speed/temperature response line is the opposite of the heating line. When the air conditioner starts, the ecMModulator senses the temperature change and makes the blower run faster as the delivered air gets colder. This temperature speed relationship has been developed over the last 50 years of blower modulation experience. It provides the best average balance between the blower’s speed and the efficient operation of the machine. Because the blower starts out slow, the air conditioner’s coil gets very cold very quickly. This sets up a condition where the coil allocates a larger share of the coil’s cooling capacity to capturing the latent load. (Moisture). It only takes a few seconds for the air flowing through the coil to quickly cool. As soon as the ecMModulator senses this cool air, it begins increasing the blowers speed. Instant speed response keeps the air conditioner’s coil temperature above saturation temperature. That means NO SLUGGING.
6. HVAC experts who are big time into the fine points want the ability to adjust the speed/temperature ratio to more closely fit their local conditions. We have included a terminal that can be jumpered, or to accept a signal from a humidistat, or can be permanently jumpered, that will allow the technician to set the airconditioning temperature/speed response wherever desired. HVAC contractors in high humidity areas can now adjust the speed/temperature ratio to achieve the coil temperature that works best for their conditions. (Rule of thumb = every 10% reduction in humidity is the comfort equivalent to a 3° reduction in temperature.) Another very important point is that: when the thermostat stops the air conditioner compressor, the temperature of the delivered air immediately increases and drops the blower speed to about half speed. At that point, the refrigerant pressure equalization process continues to produce a cooling effect and continues to capture humidity. Because the blower’s speed has been reduced, it can’t blow water off the coil and into the ducts. Because the coil is also cool, re evaporation is a negligible percent of the amount of water being captured and sent down the drain. Now it is possible to to do what was thought to be impossible! It is now possible to operate continuous fan even in the most humid climates. This will definitely reduce the indoor humidity at least 10%. 30% plus has been reported many times.
7. When installed in conjunction with a zone controlled system, the ecMModulator allows the blower to react to both delivered air temperature and duct pressure. By adding a pressure transducer, the blowers speed can increase up to the (adjustable) pressure setting of the transducer. If some zones close down and the duct pressure attempts to exceed the pressure setting, the blower stops increasing in speed. This is a monumental breakthrough in zoning comfort and efficiency. The ecMModulator eliminates the need for inefficient, ineffective and wasteful dump zones and bypass strategies.
8. The blower speed is directly proportional to the amount of air delivered to the home. For every speed/temperature combination, there is a point where it is difficult to feel air movement (especially on the lower blower speeds). The result is draft free quiet comfort. Occupants are never hit with a cold draft followed by overheating. All speed changes are smooth (no steps). The blowers speed may never reach full speed on a mild or intermediate winter day. And the blower’s speed may never go to the lowest speed on a very cold day. Heat is delivered in proportion to the need. Always warm during heating weather. Always cool during airconditioning weather. Always smooth. Always quiet. Always in control. Always proportioned to the need. Never drafty.
9. Shows the temperature of the air leaving the furnace/air conditioner or heat pump. As this temperature increases for heating or decreases for air conditioning the blower speed shown at number 8 increase smoothly and quietly.
SELLING POINTS
IT NOW WORKS ON THEM ALL
Our latest control feature makes the ecMModulator so easy to sell that it sells itself. Let’s say one of your customers already has an ECM motor on their present system. Just unplug the 16 pin communication plug and plug in the ecMModulator plug. Run thermostat green and common 24 volts to the ecMModulator. Turn the fan on constant fan. Tell the homeowner that you’ll be back in a couple of days and they have the choice of paying you $$$$ or unplugging the ecMModulator and plugging the old control back in. It isn’t coming out, period!!!!!!!
In conclusion, the ecMModulator is an all encompassing, all voltages, comfort and efficiency control that can be afforded by most budgets.
We haven’t even touched on the ecMModulator’s ability to control frequency drives with all of the same characteristics.
We are constantly selling controls for the solar industry. Sometimes we program special units to meet special experimental and development needs.
Controlling pump speeds is something that is showing a lot of promise. Some applications are: Controlling the speed of the ground water pump to control head pressures for ground water heat pump systems. Controlling the pump speed in water solar collectors. Controlling the pump speeds rather than using a three way valve. Even controlling the pump speeds in hot water boiler loops. Etc. etc. etc.
FanHandler Inc. Dallas, Oregon
