Electricity + Control December 2020

COVER ARTICLE

CBI launches new Astute range of IoT Smart products

C BI-electric: low voltage’s newly launched Astute Range of Smart IoT products can be used in residential, commercial, agricultural and light industrial applications to remotely switch geysers, lights, underfloor heating, pool pumps, and other electrical installations via the CBI Home App. The Astute Range currently includes the Astute Smart Controller (ASC) and the Astute Smart Isolator (ASI), with more products in the pipeline. The Astute devices are energy monitoring, scheduling and control switches with both load management and automation capabilities. The new ASC and ASI fulfil the need for a reliable switch that is quickly installed and simple to set up, all within a compact form factor. “The current trend for energy and cost savings, as well as a reduced carbon footprint, calls for load control,” states Larry Barnes, Product Manager at CBI-electric. “The consumer also wants a ‘set-and-forget’ solution easily accessible on their mobile phone.” The CBI Home App enables the user to configure and automate the Astute device to react to any change in current, voltage, time, power and other variables or a combination thereof. The CBI Home App allows the user to set up seven-day scheduling and automation according to time, weather conditions and more. Energy usage can also be monitored on the App. The usage is displayed in daily and monthly graphs. The App is available on the App Store or on Google Play. Consumers can achieve energy and cost savings by installing the ASI on geysers, air conditioners and underfloor heating, to name a few. Business owners can use the devices to automatically switch billboard/storefront signage off after midnight to save costs and energy. The ASC is perfect for automating lights at home or the office as well as ensuring that driveway or security lights are activated at night. The ASC is also perfect for automating pool pumps and water features.

In addition to the standalone scheduling and energy moni- toring features, the consumer

can set up an energy management scenario through the automation of multiple installed Astute devices. As an ex- ample, the user can link automated switching between a pool pump and geyser. When the pool pump is switched on and the current exceeds the user-defined maximum rating of the energy consumption setting, the supply to the hot water geyser will be temporarily interrupted. The geyser will be reconnected when the pool pump current is reduced or the pool pump is switched off. The only requirements to use the Astute range are a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with an internet connection and a smartphone or tablet. The Astute devices allow for multiple ON / OFF programs and also have manual bypass capabilities with ON / OFF control. The ASC is compact with both DIN and mini rail mount options. Both the ASC and ASI are rated for single phase, 50 Hz at 230 V with a maximum resistive load of 30 A for geysers, underfloor heating and lights, and a maximum inductive load of 10 A for pool pumps and air conditioners. They can be combined with a contactor to switch higher currents or three-phase loads if required. The ASI has a fluorescent strip on the lever for easy, manual switching when installed at the geyser. The ASC is certified to SANS 60730‑2-7 and the ASI to IEC 60947-3; and both devices are ICASA approved. Both the ASC and ASI have one output channel per device. □

The Astute range of Smart IoT products includes the ASC and the ASI, which enable energy monitoring, scheduling and control switching.

For more information contact CBI-electric. Email: astute@cbi-electric.com Visit: www.cbi-lowvoltage.com/astute

With the CBI Home App, the user can configure the devices to suit specific applications.

3 Electricity + Control DECEMBER 2020