The VRV side of the industry tends to struggle with controls, so the Norman S. Wright training facility contains live equipment with special emphasis on the controls. The live equipment and controls allow instructors to troubleshoot a system with the struggling technician.

The Daikin VRV systems come with a central touchscreen loaded with information about what the Daikin unit is doing. It functions a lot like a thermostat. The facility also has a WAGO controller, a JACE, as well as some analog inputs. Many of the daunting technologies merely act as smart relays that give you more control than a simple electromagnetic relay. All of those are offered to contractors by Daikin from the factory.

Daikin has single-phase VRV technology, including the Sky Air product line with smaller tonnage. The Daikin Zoning Kit also allows you to have up to 8 zones for a single fan coil. VRV differs from ductless in that the metering device is located at the air handler rather than at the condenser. Mini-splits are the more conventional ductless units and can have multiple heads for one condenser; these units have a metering device at the condenser.

Daikin also offers ceiling cassettes and systems with large condensers. They can be daunting, but the best thing you can do is read the manual. Some common problems include a lack of line voltage and an unlanded or improperly landed communication wire. VRV systems tend to have drives, which can cause there to be high DC voltage in the system.

One of Daikin’s projects is a two-pipe system that can be paired with an external expansion valve and a compatible existing air handler.