The main job of FiO-40 is to bring field contacts, sensors and outputs into the building management system (BMS). It connects over Modbus or BACnet and needs no licence for that. A licence is needed when you want to give it an extra job: linking two separate communication lines.
Three levels
- No licence: Use as remote I/O, connected to the BMS over Modbus or BACnet.
- Level 1: Modbus bridge (gateway). A system on Ethernet reaches Modbus devices on the RS-485 line through FiO-40, or the other way round.
- Level 2: Level 1 plus a BACnet bridge (router). BACnet MS/TP devices on the RS-485 line join the BACnet/IP system on Ethernet.
When is it useful?
If the panel has an energy meter or fan-coil thermostats talking over RS-485 and your BMS only speaks Ethernet, you can use the FiO-40 already in the panel as the bridge instead of buying a separate converter.
The licence is tied to the device and entered from the web interface. If it is removed, the device keeps working: the bridge function switches off and it carries on as remote I/O.
Detailed technical values are given in the product datasheet; our dealers can assist you with your project.