Powerhouse Dynamics SiteSage User manual

Controller Installation Guide
Last Update - August, 2015
Se 31, 2012

© 2015 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. Page 2
SiteSage Controller Installation Guide
Table of Contents
Important Safety Information ................................................................................................. 3
1. Introduction to the SiteSage Controller .............................................................................. 4
2. Installing the SiteSage Controller ........................................................................................ 5
Step 1: Mounting the Controller Enclosure on the Wall.................................................. 5
Step 2: Powering the SiteSage Controller and the Pilot Relays ....................................... 5
Step 3a: Connecting the Controller to Existing Contactors.............................................. 6
Step 3b: Connecting the Controller to New Contactors................................................... 7
Step 4: Connecting New Contactors to the Circuits to be Controlled.............................. 8
Appendix A: Controller Channel Configuration..................................................................... 11
Appendix B: SiteSage Controller Maintenance ..................................................................... 13
Appendix C: Setting up the SiteSage Gateway ..................................................................... 14
C.1 Installing the SiteSage Gateway.................................................................................. 14
C.2 Connecting to the Internet ......................................................................................... 15
Appendix D: SiteSage Networking Requirements ................................................................. 20
Appendix E: SiteSage Controller Technical Specifications.................................................... 23
Warnings ........................................................................................................................... 25
Warranty ........................................................................................................................... 27

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Important Safety Information
NOTE: Installation should not be started until the qualified installer has read this entire
Installation Guide.
The SiteSage® Controller allows customers to control branch circuits remotely using the
https://sitesage.net portal or the SiteSage mobile applications. Pilot Relays in the Controller
must be connected to contactors which in turn are connected between the breaker and the
load to be controlled, allowing the circuit to be turned on or off. The SiteSage Controller can be
used either with previously installed contactors OR with a contactors in a SiteSage provided
Contactor Box.
Installation must be done by a licensed electrician.
When connecting branch circuits to the contactors, the
breaker(s) powering the branch circuits must be turned off.
The SiteSage Controller is suitable for installation with 120/240V
single-phase 60Hz service as well as 3-phase 208v or 480v
service normally found in North America. It is not suitable for
230V 50Hz service commonly found in other regions of the
world or 346/600V service still in use in parts of Canada.
All wiring in the United States must be installed in accordance
with the latest adopted edition of the National Electrical Code
(ANSI/NFPA 70, NEC) and state or local requirements. All wiring
in Canada must be installed in accordance with the latest
adopted edition of the Canadian Electrical Code (CSA C22.2 CEC,
Part I) and any provincial or local requirements.

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1. Introduction to the SiteSage Controller
The SiteSage Controller can be used to easily and
remotely control virtually any equipment, from lighting to
exhaust hoods to hot water heaters. Schedules can be
created centrally and shared across the enterprise.
The Site Sage Controller is a modular system designed to
address a variety of different scenarios. The Controller
itself comes fully provisioned with a “Control Pod’ (the
system brain) and four 120V Pilot Relays installed in a UL
listed enclosure; a version with 8 Pilot Relays is also
available. It is designed to work with existing contactors or
be connected to new (120V) contactors which may also be
provided as part of the SiteSage system in UL approved
panels.
There are currently three SiteSage Contactor Panel configurations available; a 2-contactor
version, with 32A, 120V contactors; a 4-contactor version, also with 32A, 120V contactors; and
a single-contactor version, in this case with an 80A, 120V contactor. These configurations are
designed to simplify the process of controlling circuits in different electric panels that might not
be adjacent to each other. Each contactor has 3 poles and can be used to control one 3-phase
or three single phase circuits. A single contactor can be tied a single pilot relay, or zone, in the
controller panel, allowing 3 circuits to be controlled by each zone. Alternatively, as will be
described later, the contactors can be daisy chained to allow essentially an unlimited number of
circuits to be controlled by a single zone. This may make sense, for example, in a situation
where there are a large number of lighting circuits to be controlled
The SiteSage Controller connects wirelessly to the SiteSage Gateway, which in turn connects to
the broadband infrastructure in the facility. Installation of the Gateway is covered in the
SiteSage Install Guide, and the Gateway will most likely have been installed prior to the
installation of the SiteSage Controller. Nevertheless, Gateway installation procedures are
repeated in Appendix C. Networking requirements are included in Appendix D. Circuit diagrams
for the components of the Controller are included in Appendix E.

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2. Installing the SiteSage Controller
Step 1: Mounting the Controller Enclosure on the Wall
There are mounting tabs at each corner of the SiteSage Controller for mounting on the wall.
Where there are existing contactors, mount the Controller as close to the existing contactor box
as possible to minimize the connecting wire run. Where new contactors are being installed,
mount the controller in the most convenient location given the number of contactor boxes
being used and the number and locations of the electrical panels they are to be associated with.
Step 2: Powering the SiteSage Controller and the Pilot Relays
The SiteSage Controller’s control pod (“cPod”), needs to be powered from a 15A or 20A
breaker. Follow local code with respect to wire gauge for connecting wires to the SiteSage
Controller, and any restrictions on doubling up breakers. You will need to punch a hole in the
Controller enclosure to bring in this and all other wires.
Figure 1 shows the position of the Ground (GND), Line (L) and Neutral (N) connections in the
Controller Panel.
Figure 1: Controller (cPod) Power Connections
The Pilot Relays, marked Z1-Z4 in the 4 zone model and Z1-Z8 for the 8 Zone represent the
zones. Each of the zones must also be connected to a dedicated 120V power source, which will
be passed through the relays to energize the contactor coils.
The wire from the powering breaker should be connected to the uppermost (Common)
terminal on the Pilot Relay, marked 11. To address the most common scenario, a blue jumper
block is used to share the Common power across the Relays. If the neutral wires for the
connected contactor coils located in different electric panels, local code may require that they
be powered from different breakers. If that is the case, you can pull out or cut the jumper block
as needed. Please follow local code in powering the Pilot Relays, and in the use of appropriate
grounding.

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Step 3a: Connecting the Controller to Existing Contactors
Depending upon the location, you may be connecting the Controller’s Pilot Relays to existing,
previously installed contactors; for example, contactors installed for a mechanical lighting
control system. A 4-zone Controller will have 4 Pilot Relays, labeled R1, R2, R3, and R4 while an
8-zone Controller will have 8 Pilot Relays labeled R1 through R8.
Please use the following terminals to connect to and power different types of contactors:
For electrically held, normally opened (NO) contactors, use the middle terminal, marked
14 (which may also be referred to as NO). .
For mechanically latched (ML) contactors, connect both the middle and lower terminals,
14 (NO) and 12 (which may also be referred to as NC). It will be easier to connect the
lower terminal first.
NOTE: electrically held, normally closed (NC) contactors are not natively supported by
the Controller at this time.
These terminals are shown in Figure 2.
The neutral wire from the contactors should already be in place, so there should be no need to
run a new one.
Inside the Controller are 2 Worksheets. The Worksheet in the plastic pouch, referred to as the
Schedule, should be filled out and placed back in the plastic pouch so that it can be readily seen.
All that is required is to fill out the electric panel name and circuit for the panels powering the
Controller and each Pilot Relay; a name for the Controller Zone (which may already be labeled
for the contactor being connected); and the wire terminal(s) you have used (i.e. 14, 12, or both)
Figure 2 –Pilot Relay Terminal

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for each. If there is no existing label for the contactor(s) you are attaching to a zone, please
check to see what circuits the contactor controls and create an appropriate zone name.
The second Worksheet requests similar information, along with the Serial # of the Controller,
which you will find inside the Controller door. This Worksheet is to be given to whomever will
be doing the on-line configuration.
Step 3b: Connecting the Controller to New Contactors
If you are connecting the Controller to new contactors that have been included with the
system, you will first need to mount the provided contactor box(es) on the wall. These panels
also have mounting holes to enable them to be mounted.
The Pilot Relays connect to new contactors in the exact same way as they do to existing
contactors. All new contactors provided with the system are Normally Open, so please use the
middle port, marked 14.
There are 2 different ways in which circuits can be connected to the Controller. In the first
approach, each Controller Zone is limited to up to 3 circuits. In the second case, the contactors
can be daisy chained together to allow for an almost unlimited number of circuits per zone.
For the former approach, connect the Pilot Relay to the coil terminal marked A-1 on the
contactor. Port A-2 is to be connected back to the neutral bar in the electric panel that powers
the Pilot Relay. Generally, the easiest way to do this is to use the same conduits used to
connect that panel to the Controller, and the Controller to the Contactor box. Alternatively you
can wire directly from A-2 to the powering electric panel.
To daisy chain the contactors, connect the Pilot Relay to terminal A-1 on one of the contactors,
and run another wire from this terminal A-1 to terminal A-1 on the next contactor to be
controlled by the zone. There is theoretically no limit on the number of contactors that can be
connected to the same zone using this approach.
Figure-3 shows a two Contactor box with the A1 and A2 terminals daisy chained together.

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Figure- 3 Daisy Chained Remote Contactors
Step 4: Connecting New Contactors to the Circuits to be Controlled
As noted earlier, there are 3 contactor configurations that can have been provided: a panel
containing a single contactor rated for 80 amps (intended for heavy loads); a panel with two
32A contactors; and a panel with 4 32A contactors. You may have been provided with more
than 1 of these panels. Mount the panel(s) as close as possible to the electric panels which
contain the circuits that contactor panel will be controlling.
With new contactors, additional information is required on the larger Worksheet. Specifically,
please enter the name of the electric panel containing each circuit to be controlled, along with
the breaker, as well as the name of the circuit. A sample of a completed worksheet is provided
in Figure 4 below.
If more than 3 circuits are being controlled by a zone, feel free to name more than 1 circuit on a
row, or cross out the pre-filled zone numbers to be able to use more rows for the same zone
and use multiple Worksheets to fit in all circuits.

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Connecting the Line (Hot) side of the contactors to the breakers being controlled
First, disconnect the breakers for the circuits to be controlled. Run a wire from each of these
breakers to one of the contactors, using the L1/L2/L3 (Line) ports for the 3 circuits to be
controlled by a zone. (Note: in some cases there may only be 1 or 2 circuits to be included in a
zone). The contactors are rated for 32A (80A in the case of the single contactor box), and the
appropriate wire gauge must be used. A #2 Phillips screwdriver should be used and the wires
should be torqued to 26.6 lb in.
Figure 4: Configuration Worksheet

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1. Connecting the Load side of the contactors to the
branch circuits
Run wires from the loads being controlled in the electric
panel to the appropriate contactor, using the T1/T2/T3
ports.
The 2 sets of contactor terminals are shown in Figure 4
on the left, along with terminal A-1 and A-2 noted earlier
L1, L2, L3
A-1/A-2
T1, T2, T3
Figure 4: Contactor Connections