WINDOW AUTOMATION + CONTROLS
Control systems engineered around how the building needs to operate.
EBSA develops window and facade control systems from the required sequence of operation — considering actuator loads, groups and zones, ventilation functions, smoke-control priorities, local controls, sensors, monitoring and the interfaces with the wider building.
The D+H control range allows that architecture to scale from compact local natural-ventilation control through to multi-zone, networked and project-engineered smoke and ventilation systems for complex commercial facades.
The control platform follows the project requirements. The building should not have to be forced into a predefined controller architecture.
PROJECT REQUIREMENT
CONTROL ARCHITECTURE
BUILDING INTERFACES
REQUIRED OPERATION → PLATFORM → COMMISSIONING
01
APPLICATION FIRST
Building operation before controller family
02
SCALABLE ARCHITECTURE
Compact local control through to multi-zone networked systems
03
BUILDING INTERFACES
Sensors, BMS, mechanical and fire-system coordination
04
COMMISSIONING + SUPPORT
Configuration, functional testing, diagnostics and lifecycle support
SEQUENCE OF OPERATION
The control architecture follows the required operation — not the other way around.
The most effective control-system design starts with a clear description of how the facade and the building need to operate. That operating sequence determines the actuator groups and zones, priorities, inputs, outputs, monitoring requirements and interfaces that the control architecture has to support.
Normal ventilation, purge operation, weather response, local user control, smoke-control modes and building-system commands can all place different requirements on the same operable facade. Resolving those relationships early allows the control platform to be selected around the project rather than making the project fit the limitations of a preselected controller.
01
REQUIRED OPERATION
02
ACTUATOR LOADS + OPENINGS
03
GROUPS + ZONES
04
INPUTS + PRIORITIES
05
CONTROL PLATFORM
06
INTERFACES + NETWORKS
07
CONFIGURATION
08
COMMISSIONING
OPERATING MODES
Define the normal, automatic, local and emergency states the system is required to support.
PRIORITIES
Establish which commands take precedence when user operation, environmental controls, mechanical systems and smoke-control functions interact.
INPUTS + OUTPUTS
Identify the signals exchanged with sensors, BMS, mechanical systems, fire systems and local controls.
STATUS + DIAGNOSTICS
Determine what operating information the project needs to see and where that information needs to be available.
Control-system selection is the result of the operating strategy, not the starting point.
CONTROL PATHWAYS
Select the architecture around the application and system complexity.
01
NATURAL VENTILATION CONTROLS
Control day-to-day ventilation, purge strategies, environmental response, weather functions and local user operation using an architecture matched to the number of openings, groups, zones and building interfaces.
02
SMOKE CONTROL PANELS
Coordinate smoke-control operation, emergency power architecture, actuator groups and zones, fire-system inputs, monitored functions and day-to-day ventilation where the project requires both operating modes.
03
PROJECT-ENGINEERED CPS-M
Develop modular, networked control architectures for complex projects requiring multiple zones, project-specific logic, interfaces, monitoring and coordinated commissioning.
SENSORS + OPERATOR CONTROLS
Connect weather devices, environmental sensors where applicable, switches, touch interfaces and other field controls into the selected operating strategy.
Explore Sensors + Operator ControlsBMS INTEGRATION
Exchange commands, status and operating information with the building management system through the low-level or high-level interface architecture appropriate to the project.
Explore BMS IntegrationWINDOW CONTROL SYSTEM SELECTION GUIDE
Understand the engineering questions that determine the appropriate level of control architecture before individual controller families are considered.
Use the Selection GuideD+H CONTROL RANGE
From compact control to project-engineered systems.
EBSA works across the broader D+H Mechatronic control range used for natural ventilation, smoke control and combined applications. The appropriate platform depends on what the building has to do, the actuator load and voltage, the number of groups and zones, the required inputs and interfaces, and the level of monitoring and communication the project needs.
The controller families below represent typical pathways through that range. They are not preselected answers to a project requirement.
01
COMPACT LOCAL NATURAL VENTILATION
VCM and PS-VFM1 provide pathways for compact single-group and local controlled-natural-ventilation applications.
02
MULTI-GROUP 24 V NATURAL VENTILATION
GVL platforms provide compact through modular control for 24 V DC natural-ventilation applications requiring additional groups or functions.
03
230 V NATURAL VENTILATION + CENTRAL WEATHER
WRZ provides a pathway for 230 V AC ventilation drives and coordinated ventilation groups with central weather functionality.
04
SMOKE + DAILY VENTILATION
RZN-T and RZN-M provide scalable control pathways for smaller and multi-group smoke and ventilation applications.
05
COMPACT / HIGHER-CURRENT SMOKE CONTROL
CPS-B and CPS-P provide additional pathways where the smoke-control application requires a compact architecture or substantial actuator capacity without a fully modular networked system.
06
COMPLEX MULTI-ZONE / NETWORKED SYSTEMS
CPS-M provides the high-capability modular control architecture for complex smoke and natural-ventilation projects requiring project-specific zoning, networks, interfaces, monitoring and configuration.
The product family is selected after the project requirements and control architecture are understood.
NATURAL VENTILATION CONTROLS
Control when, how far and under what conditions the facade opens.
Natural ventilation controls determine how automated windows or louvres respond during day-to-day building operation. Depending on the project, that can range from local user control through to sensor-driven ventilation, multiple zones, weather response, purge strategies and coordination with the BMS or mechanical services.
EBSA develops the control approach around the number and type of openings, actuator voltage and load, groups and zones, environmental inputs, user functions and the interfaces required by the wider building.
Typical D+H pathways include VCM, PS-VFM1, GVL and WRZ, with CPS-M available where multiple zones, project-specific logic, networks, interfaces or combined smoke-control functionality require a higher-capability architecture.
NATURAL VENTILATION OPERATING RELATIONSHIP
01
LOCAL CONTROL
User operation
02
SENSORS
Environmental inputs
03
WEATHER
Safe automatic response
04
ZONES
Coordinated openings
05
BUILDING INTERFACES
BMS + mechanical
SMOKE + VENTILATION CONTROL
Carry the emergency operating sequence through to the facade.
In smoke-control applications, the fire-system input, control panel, backup-power architecture, actuator groups and zones, monitoring and operable facade elements need to respond as one coordinated system.
The control architecture also needs to establish the relationship between emergency operation and any day-to-day ventilation functions that share the same windows, louvres or actuators. EBSA develops the groups, zones, priorities, interfaces and commissioning approach around the project’s required operating sequence.
The D+H smoke and combined smoke/ventilation range includes RZN-T, RZN-M, CPS-B, CPS-P and CPS-M, allowing the control architecture to scale from compact applications through to complex networked systems.
EMERGENCY OPERATING SEQUENCE
01
FIRE SYSTEM
02
CONTROL ARCHITECTURE
03
GROUPS / ZONES
04
OPERABLE FACADE
05
STATUS
PROJECT-ENGINEERED CPS-M
Built around the project, not adapted to it.
CPS-M sits at the high-capability end of EBSA’s broader D+H controls offering. It provides a modular platform for projects that require multiple zones, networked control, project-specific functions, extensive interfaces, monitoring and coordinated smoke and natural-ventilation operation.
EBSA develops the CPS-M architecture from the required sequence of operation, then carries that intent through project-specific shop drawings and documentation, panel manufacture in Australia, configuration, interfaces, commissioning and lifecycle support.
EBSA is authorised by D+H to manufacture CPS-M control panels in Australia. The value of that local capability is not simply where the panel is assembled; it allows the organisation engineering the control architecture to remain connected to the documentation, manufacture, configuration, field interfaces and commissioning of the system.
We don’t force the project into a predefined control architecture. We engineer the control architecture around the project.
CPS-M is the high-capability solution where the project requires it — not the default answer to every control application.
BUILDING INTERFACES
Connect the control architecture with the wider building.
Facade automation may need to exchange simple commands and status signals or participate in a richer networked building-control strategy. The appropriate interface depends on what information the project needs to exchange and how the overall system is intended to operate.
Low-level hard-wired interfaces can provide straightforward commands, enables, inhibits and status. Higher-level communication can support projects requiring additional control, monitoring, diagnostics or data exchange through the selected controller, network and gateway architecture.
EBSA control systems can incorporate Modbus and applicable D+H communication and gateway technologies where the selected project architecture requires them.
FACADE / CONTROL ARCHITECTURE
↔
WIDER BUILDING
Control Systems answers what control architecture EBSA can provide. BMS Integration explains how that architecture interfaces with the building.
CONTROL SYSTEM SELECTION
The controller family is the result of the engineering, not the starting point.
Two projects with the same number of automated windows can require very different control systems. The appropriate architecture depends on the electrical load, operating modes, zoning, interfaces, feedback, communications and commissioning requirements that sit behind the openings.
01
ACTUATOR LOAD + VOLTAGE
Determine actuator quantity, operating current, supply voltage and the capacity the control architecture needs to support.
02
GROUPS + ZONES
Organise openings around the way the building needs to operate, control and monitor them.
03
VENTILATION + SMOKE MODES
Define whether the system supports daily ventilation, smoke-control operation or coordinated use of both modes.
04
SENSORS + USER CONTROL
Resolve weather inputs, environmental sensing where applicable, switches, touch controls and defined user functions.
05
FIRE + BMS INTERFACES
Identify the commands, status and operating information exchanged with other building systems.
06
STATUS + FEEDBACK
Determine the level of operating state, position information, monitoring and diagnostics required by the project.
07
NETWORK + COMMUNICATION
Establish whether the control system is local, distributed or networked and what communication architecture the project needs.
08
EMERGENCY POWER
Coordinate the backup-power requirements of applicable smoke-control architectures with the actuator loads and operating sequence.
09
COMMISSIONING + DIAGNOSTICS
Plan how the complete sequence will be configured, tested, demonstrated and supported after handover.
The Window Control System Selection Guide will bring these factors together as a practical specifier resource for comparing typical control architectures by application.
CONTROL SYSTEMS IN PRACTICE
Different buildings require different control architectures.
The value of control-system engineering is clearest on projects where multiple openings, zones, operating modes and building interfaces need to work together. EBSA project experience demonstrates how the control architecture changes with the building requirement rather than following one standard panel solution.
FEATURED PROJECT
ATLASSIAN CENTRAL — SYDNEY
Distributed facade controls across stacked habitat zones.
Across Atlassian Central’s habitat floors, EBSA’s facade automation package combines thousands of actuators, distributed controls, field wiring and project-specific system architecture to coordinate natural ventilation, smoke relief and building operation at tower scale.
SECONDARY PROJECT
NORTHERN BEACHES CHRISTIAN SCHOOL — SYDNEY
Natural ventilation controls coordinated across a multi-stage campus.
Across multiple project stages, EBSA delivered automated facade systems using D+H actuators, CPS-M controls, touch-screen operation, weather stations, sensors and mechanical-system integration to support the campus natural-ventilation strategy.
SECONDARY PROJECT
PHIVE — PARRAMATTA
Operable facade controls connected to the building ventilation strategy.
EBSA supplied thermally broken glass louvres and a CPS-M control system for PHIVE, connecting the operable facade with the building management and ventilation strategy around the project’s thermal-chimney concept.
TECHNICAL RESOURCES
Control-system guidance for project teams and specifiers.
EBSA’s technical resource library is being developed around the engineering decisions that determine how automated windows, louvres and control systems operate within the wider building.
01
WINDOW CONTROL SYSTEM SELECTION GUIDE
Compare typical control architectures by application and understand the loads, groups, zones, modes and interfaces that drive final selection.
02
BMS WINDOW CONTROL GUIDE
Understand the difference between low-level and high-level interfaces and the information facade automation can exchange with the building management system.
03
WINDOW AUTOMATION ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS
Coordinate power supplies, field cabling, voltage drop and communication requirements around the selected automation architecture.
04
SMOKE VENTILATION DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Understand the key relationships between operable facade elements, controls, fire-system inputs, zones, backup power and commissioning in smoke-control applications.
CONTROL STRATEGY
Start with what the building needs the facade to do.
Whether the project is defining a new window automation system, natural ventilation controls, smoke-control operation, a BMS interface or an upgrade to an existing installation, start with the required operating sequence. EBSA can help identify the appropriate control architecture and the technical pathway needed to develop it.