For greater HVAC airflow control accuracy, see Distech Controls’ easy-to-install Smart Air Control Valve

by Brianna Crandall — May 4, 2022 — Distech Controls, a provider of intelligent building solutions, recently announced the launch of the Smart Air Control Valve solution, designed to replace a traditional Variable Air Volume (VAV) box, offering greater airflow control accuracy and a much wider operating range, all while delivering increased energy savings and a more comfortable environment. The Smart Air Control Valve is an innovative, packaged air control solution that can achieve an “incredible” 100:1 turn down ratio and measure airflows as low as 1.5 cfm, says the company.

Distech Controls Smart Air Control Valve

The Smart Air Control Valve solution, designed to replace a traditional Variable Air Volume box, offers greater airflow control accuracy and a wider operating range. Image courtesy of Distech Controls

According to Distech Controls, the Smart Air Control Valve solution can measure and control airflow far better than traditional VAVs, which have limited efficiency below 30% of their maximum airflow. This precise control and extended airflow operating range eliminates the need to select from a long list of multiple VAV box sizes, allowing for standardization and simplification of engineering design tasks, while making all buildings future-ready for new tenants’ layouts and space requirements.

Jim French, VP, OEM and Sales Support, stated:

We are able to offer much fewer sizes thanks to the combination of a Distech Controls ECLYPSE VAV Controller and a more precise and responsive way of measuring airflow than typically seen in VAV applications. Eliminating the need for many different sizes that are required to support various cfm ranges, the Smart Air Control Valve cuts down on the complexity while still guaranteeing the same comfort and airflow requirements, if not better.

The Smart Air Control Valve comes fully assembled, pre-pipe (reheat model) and with a factory-installed ECLYPSE controller loaded with the preferred EC-gfxProgram project. This combination greatly reduces the coordination between different trades and time spent on site, points out Distech. For system integrators, it represents a new revenue opportunity while reducing or eliminating controller mounting, programming, commissioning, and air balancing time. The solution is easy to use, says the company; all that programming technicians need to do is to replace their traditional “K Factor” block in EC-gfxProgram and replace it with this airflow block.

Charles Pelletier, VP, Product Management, added:

The Smart Air Control Valve brings major innovation to the Variable Air Volume market, a commercial HVAC application that has not seen much evolution in decades. What is most impressive about the Smart Air Control Valve is its high turndown and low flow accuracy where standard VAV solutions don’t perform well. This provides an opportunity to change the way HVAC systems are designed and operated, resulting in many benefits, including simpler system design with a standardization of box sizes, low velocity system design resulting in energy savings and a less noisy solution, better pressurization control of spaces, and more. The Smart Air Control Valve truly has the potential to have a lasting impact on the energy performance of our buildings and fits well into our “Smarter, Safer, Greener” strategy.

To find out more about the Smart Air Control Valve solution, visit the Distech Controls website. A subsidiary of Acuity Brands, Canada-based Distech Controls serves multiple market segments through worldwide business divisions, service offices and a network of Authorized System Integrators and Distributors.