Automation for energy efficiency

For Airvent to be a successful demand-controlled ventilation systems provider, we have to design and develop our own control and software solutions.

Airvent aims to develop and provide carefully designed, user-friendly, integrated ventilation system solutions, which are able to automatically provide healthy, energy-efficient and pleasant indoor climate. We are talking to László Pintér, technical director at Airvent.

Nowadays, most new buildings are designed to reach the highest possible energy rating, which must guarantee both economical operation and adequate comfort for decades. Thanks to smart engineering solutions, Airvent's products are energy efficient and can be further enhanced through an automatic, intelligent, and demand-based operation system. László Pintér has a tremendous importance in everything that happens at Airvent. He began his career at Airvent as an electrical engineering student in the Budapest based office. He quickly progressed and took part in the development and sales process of air handling units, as well as in the communication of technical procedure to customers. Today, he leads a group of around 30 people and is responsible for the future developments of Airvent’s product roadmap.

The road from student to technical director.

I first learned about Airvent when Mr Pataki – founder and then CEO of the company – invited me to Kecskemét to show me their first automation development project they had been working on. The aim of the project was to create an automatic control system for their chilled beams, as at that time there were no manufacturers, whose existing solutions could meet Airvent’s vision and requirements for the functional demands. When I joined, our two main targets were to create control solutions for chilled beams and for our Plex air handling unit series. These objectives were met in 2009, when we could offer integrated and complete automatic solution for both aforementioned product groups. Since my arrival, our range of activities and staff have grown to be able to meet new objectives that is intended to keep Airvent on the path of growth, in addition to offering our partners well-built, smart ventilation solutions.

What milestones would you like to highlight from the past few years?

The first chilled beam project with automation is one that stands out, which came to fruition 2010 in Sweden: we supplied and commissioned 250 pieces of first-generation chilled beams with ControlAir regulators and the associated monitoring program. At the same time as we inaugurated our new office building in Kecskemét in 2013, our SUM ventilation system was introduced. It is a modular structure that can be tailored to the needs of each building, thus ensuring the lowest possible energy consumption. A year later, we debuted our in-house developed AHU automation called CA-Plex, finally giving us the opportunity to provide an easy-to-use solution with advanced features. Thanks to the compact size and innovative connection panel of the CA-Plex, we said goodbye to external control cabinet installations.  Since 2016, the development of our control units have been executed in-house, which allowed us to significantly increase our speed and efficiency. Finally, I would like to highlight the third generation of the ControlAir chilled beam controller, which offers several new, unique solutions for operating chilled beams.

Who is a part of the automation team?

In terms of areas of activity, there are developers, project managers and service technicians. The members of our team have dedicated tasks, but given our close cooperation, there is a lot of overlap in our day-to-day work. We have a highly experienced, trained and capable service team: our colleagues care deeply for our air handling units and our systems, both in the most difficult conditions of operation and after the handover. Our product development is largely based on the practical experiences of everyday life: no two systems are the same. Our development team comes up with new ideas based on our customers’ needs and problems

During your presentations, you often mention the relationship between Airvent and Belimo.

In recent years, we have realized that hydraulic designs related to ventilation systems are often stencilled, rough, defective, and the resulting problems always fall upon the technician. This should not be the case, as the present time offers advanced hydraulic solutions, however, these are rarely used. Although, the situation is different with Belimo and we have been working together on ventilation equipment for many years. The products that stand out among others are Belimo's hydraulic controls, which are devices based on ultrasonic flow measurement - they are excellent for our automation products. Thanks to our cooperation, we managed to increase our responsibilities as manufacturers and provide high quality hydraulic products. We are currently working on the modernization of the cooling system of our office building in Kecskemét: our new reference machine house will be a training room for the most modern hydraulic solutions.

Where do you think the world is heading in the field of HVAC automation?

In general, the world has reached a high level of technology which has made us a little puzzled: there are plenty of excellent solutions, but in many cases there is a lack of consistency. For this to be the case, the ownership approach must come to the forefront, as the creation of a new system requires serious responsibility from all participants. The future belongs to highly integrated technologies, where the products used in systems are guaranteed to work according to current needs. We strive to provide well-functioning, durable solutions. In addition, we want to eliminate waste, which also means minimizing the energy used. Our goal is to increase the demand for automated, demand-based ventilation.

— Kecskemét, Hungary 2019.