HVAC Zone Controls & Zoning Dampers
The latest form Honeywell ARD dampers is a nice looking product and works nicely with ecojay SmartZone. Wire as shown below. Other damper wiring at www.zoningsupply.com/blog
SmartZone has the simplest setup and best features of any zone control. Find out more about SmartZone and why it's the smart choice: www.zoningsupply.com/buy-smartzone/
There are many different models of 24VAC dampers available on the market. Some have 2-wires, some have 3 wires, some have 5 wires and some even have 8 wire terminals. Nearly all of these can be used with the SmartZone products (2L, 2X & 4X). Both 2 and 3 wire dampers are straight-forward to wire and even shown in the installation guide that comes with SmartZone. However, some of the less common types of dampers (4, 5, 6 & 8 wire) require a little more understanding. How to wire some of them are shown below.
If you have any other type of damper, please contact us and we will help you.
Better dampers available from ZoningSupply:
There are two basic types of dampers available in mass today. Although, there are other damper types such a “balloon” type and pneumatic controlled dampers (used more commonly on DDC systems not included), for this context we will discuss these two main types of dampers:
Power Open & Power Close (Power Damper)
Power Open /Power Close dampers use three wires to either power open or power close. They zone panel is responsible for supplying a 24VAC signal to either the PO (Power Open) or PC (Power Closed) terminal of these dampers. This type of damper was traditionally reserved for “higher-end” or commercial applications because of the cost. In recent years, however, motor prices have decreased and power dampers have become much more affordable (often no more expensive than the spring equivalent especially when labor and reliability are factored in.) Primary advantages of Power Dampers include lower power consumption, quiet operation and more reliable parts. Given the choice, Power Dampers, are almost always preferable. The only exception to this is when code requires Spring Dampers.
The way Spring Dampers work is they have a motor that, when energized by the zoning panel, it closes the damper. When the damper is ready to open, the motor stops powering the damper closed and a spring opens the damper blade back up. Spring Dampers have been used in an “economy” application for many years. The two primary advantages of a Spring Damper are: 1. If the system loses power they “fail” open… but if the system loses power, the equipment isn’t going to be running either and therefore will not matter in MOST cases. 2. They only require two wires for operation. One of the negative arguments against Spring Dampers has historically been reliability. This mostly a result of one of its benefits… the cost. The inherent lifecycle of any spring actuated mechanism (even if it is in the millions) is less reliable than a system that doesn’t include this potential failure point. In addition to this, the motor that is used has to be a very specific model that allows for running backwards without damage yet still has to be powerful enough to overcome the spring trying to pull the blade in the opposite direction. This leads to probably the BIGGEST downfall of using a Spring Damper - the power consumption. Most Spring Dampers on the market use 3 to 4 times the power of the equivalent Power Damper (10-12 VA vs. 2-3VA). This could be the difference in using a standard sized transformer and having to go to a very large (and expensive) over-sized transformer. In summary: spring dampers are NOT recommended unless absolutely necessary for some reason.
A Zoning System consists of 4 primary pieces:
Thermostats
Zoning Control Panel
Dampers
Equipment
Thermostats are used in just the same way that a typical thermostat is used except with a zoning system there is ONE thermostat located in each area or “zone.” Instead of connecting these thermostats to the equipment like a typical application, with zoning all the thermostats are connected to the Zoning Panel. Suggest purchasing on Amazon.com or from wherever 24VAC thermostats are sold.
The Zoning Panel is the “brains” of the operation. This computer-like electronic board, reads the calls from all the thermostats and makes decisions about what to energize on the equipment (heat, cool or fan) AND which dampers to open or close. Zoning Control Panels come in MANY shapes, sizes, and colors but with SmartZone you are just selecting the number of zones)
Not only are the thermostats connected to the Zoning Panel but so are the dampers. A damper is to airflow in the duct like a faucet is to water in a pipe. In other words, the damper acts like a valve in the duct system to divert air to the zones where it is needed.
Finally, the Equipment is also connected to the Zoning Panel. The equipment refers to the heating and cooling (HVAC) unit. This can come in many shapes, sizes, and configurations. In order to apply zoning to any equipment, the correct zoning Panel mush be chosen. Some Zone Panels are very specific and can only be used with certain types of equipment while some are much more versatile and can be used on almost ANY type of equipment used.
The above four parts make up the pieces of a Zoning System, but since in a standard system you already have two of these parts (THERMOSTAT and EQUIPMENT). The addition of a zoning system really consists of adding only two different parts, a ZONING PANEL and DAMPERS. This makes zoning one of the easiest and affordable ways to gain the much desired improvement of comfort and efficiency. With these parts installed properly a user can enjoy the ability for both added comfort and increased energy savings.
ZoningSupply is now offering the BEST quality Spring-Open damper available. If you have had any experience with SPRING type dampers you already know that they have been known to have a lower reliability than SUPER-DUTY power dampers. However, the Spring dampers that we are offering have been designed with precision and heavy-duty parts.... they are NOT the typical low-cost damper available from other companies. If you are not sure that this is the best spring-damper you have every used, send it back and we will refund your purchase price.
REPLACES:
Honeywell ARD
EWC RSD
ZoneFirst RDS
DuraZone NSPRD
Braeburn 129 ***
AprilAire AVD 66**
& MANY MORE... ANY 24VAC 2-Wire Damper can be replaced with the ECOJAY SmartZone DSUS.
Also available SUPER DUTY POWER DAMPER
