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LonWorks® Power Line Technology Gets on the Bus

The Customer

Daewoo Bus Corp.
Busan, South Korea

The Integrator

E-Hwa Electric Co. Ltd.
Busan, South Korea

The Project Manager

Professor Gi-Sig Byun
Pukyung National University
Busan, South Korea

The Challenge

E-Hwa Electric, a manufacturer of electrical control products, wanted to leverage new technology to help Daewoo Bus lower the operating and maintenance costs of its new FX series of buses, as well as increase driver control and customer comfort.

The Solution

E-Hwa designed a LonWorks based control network using Echelon’s power line communications (PLC) technology to transmit control signals over the 24VDC power lines that serve the buses’ HVAC system. Daewoo plans to install the system in 3,000 of its new FX series of buses this year, becoming the first bus manufacturer to use a power line based control network for an HVAC system in a production model.

In a traditional system, cables supply power to the HVAC system, while additional wires provide control. Twelve control wires, each 10 meters long, extend the length of the bus. Such hard-wired solutions are costly to install and maintain, and wiring failures are common due to the many connections that must be made correctly. Echelon’s PLC solution, however, uses the existing power lines within a home, building, or vehicle to transmit data from one device to another. Electrical devices connected to the power line get both power and communications over the same wire, which reduces wiring cost and complexity.

Key Benefits

• Fewer cables are needed, saving materials and assembly labor.
• Networked solution lets technicians diagnose equipment through software.
• Maintenance is easier and less expensive.
• Fewer field failures due to simplified wiring.
• Greater driver control leads to increased customer comfort.
  

Read the entire story. (PDF)