Lutron Home Automation and VRF HVAC Connectivity

What is a VRF HAVC?

An unknown abbreviation must have caught your eye - VRF. Surely you know what HVAC is. But what’s a VRF?

Well, don’t be alarmed as we will dive right into that in a sec. We’ll just remind you that as a Lutron Home Automation professional, you are not expected to have this knowledge, that by design belongs to a parallel universe. A world that deals with pipes and cool air. The cool world of Mechanics.

The abbreviation VRF stands for Variable Refrigerant Flow. You might have met these under their manufacturing brand names, such as Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Samsung, LG, Medea, Gree, and others. And if you have, you were probably disappointed when you found out Lutron HVAC standard solutions do not apply to integrating a VRF.

What is the main control unit of a VRF?

Users set their demand using a Wired Remote Controller installed on the wall by an HVAC technician. You may think the Wired Remote Controller is a thermostat (as you are accustomed to thinking that anything on the wall relates to an AC) but it is not. It is an HVAC control panel that communicates with all the other system components by means of a communication protocol. In fact, all of the system components, both the outdoor and indoor units, communicate by means of protocols. This network is what makes the VRF HVAC a self-sustained operational system, with its own pre-defined automated logic. This is exactly the reason many prefer to install such an efficient HVAC system and deal with the complexity in integration and installation.

How can a Lutron Home Automation system control the VRF HVAC?

Simple. The main communication bus of the VRF is your goal as a Home Automation integrator. Access this line and you are IN the system. To do so you might think one should convert the Lutron Home Automation protocol to VRF HVAC protocol. You’re on the right track. However, every manufacturer has its own communication protocol.

So, can you apply this solution to access any VRF HVAC? 

The answer is yes. CoolMasterNet is a Universal HVAC integration device, that connects all the available VRF HVAC systems with all major Home Automation systems. The device enables the Lutron Home Automation system to be a part of the VRF communication system, allowing the Lutron control options to set the temperature point, mode, fan speed, and all the functions included in the VRF setting options.

WHAT VRF HVAC SYSTEMS CAN BE CONNECTED?

You can integrate all leading VRF HVAC leading brands. Check out the list here:

What should I do next?

To make sure CoolMasterNet is your best way to go, simply contact our HVAC integration professionals by filling out this form (scroll down to the bottom to ask us a question). Just add your list of equipment from the Home Automation side and the HVAC brand, model, and number of indoor and outdoor units.