Dive Brief:
- Schneider Electric introduced two variable speed HVAC drives it says are engineered to deliver more than 30% energy savings while improving system uptime and integration into building management systems.
- The Altivar drive family is intended to help original equipment manufacturers serving commercial and mission-critical buildings ensure reliable operation, Schneider said in a March 10 release. The drives have the capability to operate from -10 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit to help HVAC systems maintain airflow, temperature stability and building performance while ensuring uninterrupted performance when deployed in rooftop units, plant rooms and outdoor enclosures.
- “We engineered the range to support long-term sustainability and safety, from responsibly sourced materials to firmware upgradeability,” Xiao Hu, senior vice president of industrial controls and drives at Schneider Electric, said in a statement. “These capabilities help customers reduce downtime, protect equipment, and meet evolving energy and environmental regulations.”
Dive Insight:
The Altivar HVAC drives are a part of Schneider Electric’s HVAC ecosystem, which also includes Modicon controllers and Harmony Human Machine Interfaces, or HMIs. The ecosystem hosts built-in application libraries and integration into building automation systems that help operators and system integrators reduce commissioning time, streamline design and ensure long-term operational performance, according to Schneider.
Cybersecurity is another focus, with the drives offering IEC 62443-4-2 Security Level 1 certification, secure firmware integrity checks and upgradeable firmware, the release says. Ensuring systems are cyber secure is table stakes today, according to Sadiq Syed, senior vice president of digital buildings at Schneider Electric.
“It’s no longer a differentiator or a special thing that is done,” Syed said in an interview. “Whether it’s a hardware product or software, the moment anything is connectable, it needs to be super cyber secure. If that’s not the case, then it has massive implications and disruption to the operations or [is] significantly expensive to mitigate. So it’s not even a point of discussion when it comes to our investment in making sure our products are cyber secure.”
The Altivar Drive family includes the ATH200 and ATH600. The ATH200 drive is optimized for OEMs and compact HVAC equipment and designed to help shorten engineering cycles while meeting sustainability standards, the company says. The ATH600 is designed for mission-critical and high-performance buildings like hospitals, airports and data centers that require advanced control, continuous operation and deeper system integration, Schneider says.
The drives simplify installation with built-in electromagnetic compatibility filtering, integrated motor thermal protection and native Modbus and BACnet communication, “eliminating the need for external contractors and reducing wiring complexity,” Schneider says in its release. The drives also have a 200 millimeter cabinet size and use REACH, RoHS and ASI-compliant materials that can support faster deployment and more sustainable building practices, the company says.
The drives also feature A2L certification and A3 refrigerant readiness up to 25 horsepower, which the company says supports today’s low-global warming potential and next-generation refrigerants used in modern chillers, heat pumps and HVAC systems.
