Functional overview of schedulers

The Connect Box provides two options to leverage schedules:

  • Option 1: On-board schedules running on Connect Box, e.g. to control setpoints of connected LoRaWAN or Modbus devices.
  • Option 2: Alter existing, external schedules on the BMS network and / or other controller, e.g. BACnet scheduler objects.

 

Both options operate and optimize a building installation based on data point write operations by date, time and/or operation type. Both options are fully configurable and can be monitored from the Connect Box web interface.

Once configured, schedules and parameters are loaded to the physical Connect Box device and operate even in the event of a loss of internet or cloud access. Stable access is required on the local network to properly work with existing schedules.

Differences and recommendations (scheduler)

The on-board scheduler (Option 1) operates directly on the Connect Box and requires no additional setup. We recommend using it with protocols that have simple application layer functionality (e.g. LoRaWAN, KNX, …).

Using external schedules (Option 2) requires a network (IP infrastructure and BACnet or similar). Applications running on separate building automation and control systems such as Desigo PX(C), DXR or equivalent 3rd-party system must be engineered and configured accordingly.

This document focuses on the on-board scheduler and how to modify existing schedules on the network (section 4 and 5). Refer to appropriate documentation on how to setup external schedules in Desigo and / or BACnet systems.

We recommend that inexperience users or users with little knowledge of basic BACnet applications and networks use the on-board schedule option.