When the software is set up appropriately for both the event provider and the device interface(s), you may proceed to configuring equipment items. Before you can complete the equipment configuration, however, you should have done some up front work in defining how you will be overriding existing equipment schedules (See Strategies for Overriding Existing Schedules), and also you should have a list of equipment and their end points that you will need to control, along with rooms that will be assigned to the equipment for scheduling. There are some Excel spreadsheets that you can download from the website to help organize this. It is strongly recommended that you compile and have readily accessible all of this information prior to starting this step.
What is an equipment item?
An equipment item can be anything controllable using one of the device interface protocols supported by Events2HVAC and installed in your software instance.
In Events2HVAC, equipment items have two functions: a) as a container for actions that will be sent to HVAC equipment; and b) as the internal link between those actions and the rooms affected by the commanded equipment. They can also be considered HVAC zones.
Typically, you will add equipment items that correspond to devices in rooms that will be mapped to the event system. Examples are:
• Air handling units (AHU)
• Roof top units (RTU)
• Room or zone Variable Air Volume (VAV) boxes
• Room exhaust fans
• Room lighting
• Door access control
Note: The types of equipment/devices you can interface with is dependent on the device interfaces available and purchased with your Events2HVAC software. Some of the examples above might not apply.
Note: If equipment is assigned to multiple rooms, make sure it can be turned off completely (or set to unoccupied mode) without disrupting the environment in other rooms that aren’t included in the event system. For example, if an AHU serves employee workspaces that are not scheduled and two conference rooms that are scheduled in the event system, assigning the AHU to be scheduled from the event reservation system might set the employee workspace to undesirable conditions if the conference rooms are not in use.