Are you ready? In late April, Honeywell will begin shipping the new Zio, Zio Plus, and the Spyder Micro BACNet. Sarah Connor here, with another edition of the Sarah Connor Control Chronicles, and today, I am really thrilled to get a quick glimpse of this new product release from Honeywell. If you like Honeywell building automation products as much as I do, then this news is better than the midnight release of the Hunger Games movie!! Join me as we count down the days until these great new products begin to ship! Here is a little sneak preview of the excitement that awaits us all in this full family of unitary and variable air volume controllers.
The New Zio Models
With these new Zio models (TR71 and TR75), you will love the new features like offer scheduling, enumerated text values, password protection, having multiple Zio’s on a Sylk™ bus, expanded memory, and more. This is just what you need to expand both stand-along and networked installations. With the late April launch, you will receive all the specifications, including part numbers and pricing, as well as value propositions and training opportunities.
Spyder MIcro BACnet
And the Spyder Micro BACnet controllers are beginning to ship, too! These will be analogous to the existing Spyder Micro LON devices, and will fill out the line of Spyder unitary and VAV controllers. Of course, since the Sarah Connor you know is all about being controlling, you know that I will be thrilled with the new features that this Spyder Macro BACnet offers.
Transitioning Spyder Firmware
Change is good, but sometimes it requires a little advance planning. So here is some information that will help you with the transition. To facilitate the new features of the Zio and the Zio Plus, all Spyder firmware must be updated, (of course, with the exception of the Micro BACnet). Beginning April 30, all Spyders that ship from Honeywell will be updated with the new firmware. And this raises a question about the Spyder Tool. The new Spyders will not work with the existing Spyder Tool versions. The TR70’s will continue to be active until the end of June, 2012, and the TR71’s can replace TR70’s in all applications without the need to touch the Spyder program. However, the added functionality is not available in the TR71 unless the Spyder is programmed with the new Spyder re-flash tool. Not to worry, though. The TR71 will be priced the same as the older TR70.
Spyder Re-Flash Tool – “Beam me back. Beam me forward!”
Since as I am Sarah Connor, and I have seen the future, you’ll understand how I love the Spyder firmware re-flash tool. This is sold separately from the Spyder tool, and it can be used to flash “back” the new spiders to work with the older Spyder tools, or it can be used to flash “forward” an old Spyder to a new Spyder so that it can work with the new Spider tools. It’s the best of both worlds! But this re-flash tool is independent from the Niagra environment, so it only requires a PC with LON or BACnet connections. And where do you get this? It can be downloaded on the Buildings Forum. How convenient!
So what about the TR70s? They will continue to be active until June, 2012, but beware that they will need to be programmed with the Spyder re-flash tool so that they can enjoy the new TR71 functionality.
Get Ready Now!
Wow! This all seems like it needs a good reference. Check out this table (click to make it larger):
Think about your buildings, and make sure that you have a plan for the upcoming product launches. Change is good, and in this case, with the new Spyder Tool that can do everything, Honeywell once again introduces the products that keep you on the leading edge of the building automation.
Let’s Get the Conversation Going! Please Share!
Let’s talk about how these new products are going to affect your current and new installations. We can all learn from each other! Please post your comments now! I’d really like to hear from you!
