New fan controller for energy renovation projects

The latest electric drive in the OJ range of supporting products was created specifically with energy renovation and retrofit projects in mind.

‘Like so many HVAC controls created by OJ, this was directly prompted by customer demand,’ explains Preben Jessen, Product Manager for Drives at OJ Electronics. ‘A lot of our customers work with energy renovation and retrofit projects where they want to cut out a single, large fan and replace it with several smaller ones around the system – which also allows them to introduce differentiated control rather than just a simple on-off switch. Systems of that kind are much more energy-efficient than the old set-ups, but of course you’ll need a controller for the new fans. That’s where the new OJ-VCH HMI electric drive controller comes in.’

Growing range of supporting products

‘The new controller perfectly sums up our policy of making a range of supporting products that precisely matches our customers’ real needs. Essentially, we were asked if we would make one!’ explains Preben Jessen. ‘It’s dedicated to ventilation set-ups, so we’ve been able to make a very simple device that still does everything you’ll need in most retrofit projects’.

The functions you need

‘Even though it lets you control up to 32 fans, the controller itself is very compact and simple to use,’ says Preben. ‘You can control the speed of the fans directly, or you can let the fan speed be governed by the flow or pressure in the ventilation system; whatever works best for you! Similarly, you can control the speed, pressure or flow directly from the 3.5” touch display – or via a 0-10V analogue signal if you prefer. It also comes with a digital input that you can configure as a start/stop signal if this is the best option in a given situation. And speaking of options: if you want alarms in the event of system faults, you can fit a relay option module in just one of the connected drives and select it from the on-screen menu as a shared alarm relay that covers the entire system’.

‘At the end of the day, we set out to make a device that would make energy renovation projects simpler. So we included the features that would make that happen – and left out all the things you don’t need for ventilation projects. We think it will prove very useful for many clients, enabling them to bid on and carry out more efficient retrofit projects in future.’

The new OJ-VCH-HMI in brief

  • Dedicated controller for ventilation renovation/retrofit projects
  • Controls up to 32 drives/fans
  • Powered via the drive
  • Intuitive menus (English & German)
  • Modbus communication
  • 3.5” colour touch screen
  • Fan speed options – including flow and pressure
  • Control via display or 0-10V signal
  • Digital input – start/stop
  • Alarm relay option

You can find details and specifications on the new OJ-VCH-HMI drive for energy renovation projects here