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HVAC-R Manufacturers Talk Connectivity, Shelf Life
Smart tools continue to grow in the HVAC-R industry, spurring manufacturers to create connected, digital devices that will make work in the field less manual and more automatic.
“Technology is key in everyone’s business today, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re a contractor, technician, or just the young millennial coming through high school and into trade school or community college: We are all now device driven,” said Patti Ellingson, director of industrial sales – North America for Cooper Atkins, recently acquired by Emerson. “It’s a huge transition in the labor force. There’s still a manual element, but it all relates back to a comprehensive app: something that is collecting the data, making the job easier.”
Connected Contractors
With so much buzz about the future of automation (think smart homes, self-driving cars, and artificial intelligence), it’s important to keep in mind that just as with manual tools, not all smart devices are created equal. The most successful smart HVAC-R tools have two things that set them apart, said Ellingson: They’re easy to use and have multiple functions.
“Smart tools help us work smarter, not harder, because they’re actually able to connect instead of [the user] having to run back and forth” during a project, Ellingson said. “They’re outside, and they’re hooking up the probes to the refrigerant line or the condensing unit, and then they come inside, and they’re adjusting the thermostat. It takes two people, where you’re radioing to the guy inside doing spot checks.”
Smart tools like Bacharach’s PCA® 400 allow technicians to control and monitor testing from a safer or more convenient location.
Data collected via a smart reader can be pushed to the app, the smart device, and the cloud-based system. It can be stored in all three areas — or put to immediate use, which saves time for contractors. “It can be exported into a CSV file, like an Excel sheet or PDF, and you can print it out and hand that to the customer on the spot,” said Ellingson. “Versus in the past, they’d have to leave it in their truck, go back to the office, take data written down and enter it, then send it to the customer. It makes the technician seem more competent, being able to provide data to the homeowner or property manager.”
Smart tools also help increase competency by reducing the need for manual calculations, helping technicians avoid human error. “You can plug in what refrigerant you’re dealing with — 22, 410 — and it’s already giving you what your pressure should be,” Ellingson said. “The charts are right there at your fingertips, in the app, so you don’t have to go to a second location to check temperatures and pressures for the refrigerant, [which introduces the risk of miscalculation].”
Tools like Sporlan’s SMART and SMART Pro/R sensors and apps, two lines of Bluetooth-enabled pressure and temperature sensors, provide automatic calculation of superheat and subcool measurements for over 130 refrigerants. “These tools save time and money on the job by making calculations quicker, reducing steps by showing all sensor data on your mobile device, allowing data sharing with other experts to help solve the problem at hand, and reducing callbacks to the job,” said James Ruether, product manager – electronics, Sporlan.
“Using a mobile app and Bluetooth connectivity, a technician can place an instrument in an optimal testing location and remotely control and monitor the instrument from a safer or more convenient location.”Harry Ostaffe, Director of Product Management & Marketing
Taking out some of the manual work can also make for heightened safety. That’s something that Bacharach is doing via products that measure the combustion and emissions from sources, such as furnaces, boilers, generators, and engines. Their PCA® 400, a four-gas, handheld combustion analyzer, uses Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology and pre-calibrated B-SMART sensors, eliminating the need to apply any calibration gas, keeping the units in the field and in proper service condition.
“Using a mobile app and Bluetooth connectivity, a technician can place an instrument in an optimal testing location and remotely control and monitor the instrument from a safer or more convenient location,” said Harry Ostaffe, director, product management and marketing, Bacharach.
Shelf Life
In addition to diagnosing issues with HVAC-R equipment, smart tools can also diagnose themselves. Ruether believes this will lead to a longer shelf life for the tool. “We are already seeing more users attracted to tools that can advise the technician they are performing the service properly… in the form of indicator lights, audible tones, mobile app feedback, mechanical interaction,” he said. “When tools are intelligent enough to inform the user when something is wrong or it needs calibration, it can prevent unnecessary and unplanned downtime.” In many instances, he added, these tools could be handed down to the next generation of technicians.
Ostaffe put the average shelf life of a smart tool at 10 years or more. “Embedded processing and wireless capabilities makes it possible to add new features over time, which may further extend the life of the instrument,” he said.
Michael Oswald, head of innovation, Refco, agreed. “We feel the shelf life of smart tools will increase because the tool can help the technician maintain the device accordingly,” he said.
Ellingson, on the other hand, said shelf life depends on a number of factors, including how well the devices are cared for physically — something a manufacturer ultimately can’t control. “With the old manual tools and test instruments, you could throw it in your bag, and it could take a beating,” she said. “With smart tools, it’s similar to how you can’t leave your cell phone out in the rain… it creates problems. At Cooper Atkins, we’ve tried to set ourselves apart through a lot of field testing: how waterproof or watertight can we make these handhelds.” That’s in response to feedback from technicians who’ve said they’ve sometimes forgotten a device outside, only to get home and remember it after a rainstorm hits the area. “When you start talking about electronics and utilizing them in the field, most smart devices and smart tools are coming with a one- to five-year warranty,” she said. Five-year warranties are standard, but a lot of smart devices out there are sticking with one-year warranties because of it being electronic, she added.
Like anything digital, smart tools are in a continuous cycle of upgrades. Updates to the app are more frequent; updates to the actual device come when the next generation of the tool is released. “Most of the updates themselves are done through the app, because what is driving the actual tool itself is predominantly the app,” said Ellingson. She put the typical number of app updates to a smart tool anywhere from one to three times a year, depending on feedback from the field and changes in the industry: security, a new feature, or a new requirement or parameters in the marketplace — like a new drop in refrigerant.
Software updates can be pushed out through the app that comes with the tool, said Ruether. “With Sporlan’s SMART and SMART Pro/R sensors, the updates are as painless as letting your mobile device automatically update the app,” he said. “These updates can add new refrigerants, improve the user interface, and offer new features without having to do anything to the sensors themselves.”
Cooper Atkins’ Blue2 line is currently on its third version of the device; however, the software remains the same. “With those three versions, each time we improved — it’s good, better, best — but they all run on the same app,” Ellingson said. “Anytime there’s an upgrade, it’s a 50/50: sometimes in-app, sometimes for shape or for ergonomics. What initially set it off from competition was that our probe was interchangeable: you could utilize any type of k-type probe with it… and it used not only the Cooper Atkins app, but allowed, for example, a large chain that does a lot of receiving of produce and food — like Amazon or Walmart — to integrate it within their own existing computer software.” Version 2.0 added a display to show the readout on the handheld tool as well as on the device that the data was being pushed to. The latest version includes an infrared laser for speed of receiving and spot-checking products, making the tool more versatile across industries, including food processing and gas and oil.
“There are occasional, optional firmware updates, but we do not force anyone to upgrade their firmware to use the latest upgrades of the software or the app.”Harry Ostaffe, Director of Product Management & Marketing
Ostaffe emphasized that with smart tools, it’s the software that counts. “There are occasional, optional firmware updates, but we do not force anyone to upgrade their firmware to use the latest upgrades of the software or the app,” he said. Upgrades like these are driven largely by feedback from the field… Continue Reading
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