Meet Building Automation and Control Systems Communication Needs with Standard 135-2016This product is only available as a PDF.

BACnet, the ASHRAE building automation and control networking protocol, has been designed specifically to meet the communication needs of building automation and control systems for applications such as heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control; fire and other life safety and security systems; energy management; lighting control; physical access control; and elevator monitoring systems. The BACnet protocol provides mechanisms by which computerized equipment of arbitrary function may exchange information, regardless of the particular building service it performs. As a result, the BACnet protocol may be used by mobile and cloud-hosted devices, head-end computers, general-purpose direct digital controllers, and application-specific or unitary controllers with equal effect.

This protocol provides a comprehensive set of messages for conveying encoded building automation data between devices including, but not limited to 

(a) hardware binary input and output values,
(b) hardware analog input and output values,
(c) software data values,
(d) schedule information,
(e) alarm and event information,
(f) trend and event logs,
(g) files,
(h) control logic,
(i) application specific data for a large range of building services, and
(j) network configuration including security.

The purpose of Standard 135 is to define data communication services and protocols for computer equipment used for monitoring and control of HVAC&R and other building systems and to define, for application interoperability, an abstract, object-oriented representation of information communicated between such equipment, thereby facilitating the application and use of digital control technology in buildings.

This 2016 publication of the standard was motivated by the large number of additions and enhancements added to the 2012 version, including support for IPv6 networks. Both the extended data model and the new RESTful Web services, added by Addendum am to Standard 135-2012, are major steps in advancing BACnet for the future information technology landscape. This edition of the standard also includes the recently adopted changes for the lighting and the elevator industry.

Keywords: BACnet, building automation, building automation system, BAS, building control network, building automation network