Did you know that the first air conditioner was invented in 1902 by Willis Carrier? Since then, air conditioning technology has evolved dramatically, and today, many buildings rely on Rooftop Units (RTUs) to maintain comfortable indoor environments. RTUs handle more than just heating and cooling — many also manage humidity and air quality to keep conditions just right.
To keep these essential systems running smoothly, Functional Devices, Inc., offers the Trifecta — a versatile, all-in-one solution that combines a relay, current sensor, and power supply into a single compact device.
How Functional Devices' Trifecta Supports Your RTU
In most RTUs, you'll find a fan to pull air from the building and heating and cooling coils to condition the air before that same fan pushes the air back down into the building. At the heart of all this equipment is the control system. The control system takes readings from sensors and tells the equipment how to react to create a comfortable environment for the occupants.
Functional Devices' Trifecta is the perfect set of accessory components to include in your RTU applications to power the control system, enable equipment, and verify operation.
The power supply, as the name suggests, supplies power to the control system. The controller and all the accessories use 24 volts AC. The power supply reduces the voltage from 120vac to 24vac, but it also has a few extras to make life easier for the installers and technicians who work on the equipment. For example, a PSH75A will have a breaker to protect the transformer in the event of an overload. It also has terminal strips for the wiring to land on, and it even has a 120 vac receptacle for a service technician to plug his laptop into, in case he needs to make adjustments to the control system.
Relays are used to switch equipment on and off from the control system. You'll find a relay enabling fan contactors, stages of heating or cooling, and sometimes commanding dampers open or closed. You can even mount the NEMA 4 rated RIB2401C-N4 to the outside of a control cabinet so you can see the LED indicator without opening any of the panels, which makes troubleshooting a faulty unit easier.
When the fan command is sent, the controller will often look for a status before enabling heating or cooling stages. The RIBXKTF is a cost-effective current switch that can be installed on one of the fan's current-carrying conductors, watching for current flow. Once current is detected, we know that the fan is running, so the controller can enable heating or cooling.
These are just a few examples of how our most popular categories of devices can help control things we see and use every day. With Functional Devices, Inc. 's commitment to quality, we know those devices will remain in control for a long time to come. I, for one, dread the thought of returning to those days before Carrier had that great idea in 1902.
About Functional Devices, Inc.
Functional Devices, Inc., located in the United States of America, has been designing and manufacturing quality electronic devices since 1969. Our mission is to enhance lives in buildings and beyond. We do so by designing and manufacturing reliable, high-quality products for the building automation industry. Our suite of product offerings include RIB relays, current sensors, power controls, power supplies, transformers, lighting controls, and more.
We test 100% of our products, which leads to less than 1 out of every 16,000 products experiencing a failure in the field.
Simply put, we provide users of our various products confidence and peace of mind in every box.