To stay ahead of rapidly progressing building automation technology, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a new version of BACnet Standard 135. Standard 135-2016 is the first update since the 2012 standard was established.
BACnet, ASHRAE’s building automation and control networking protocol, was designed to foster efficient and working communication for building automation and control systems. As more vital building systems become automated, the standard need to evolve to account for changes in the last four years.
“This is an exciting update to BACnet that highlights the continuous development and extension of the standard to incorporate new technologies and capabilities,” says Andy McMillan, President and Managing Director of BACnet International.
With building automation taking on more responsibilities, the digital language between different functions must be consistent in order for them to all work dependably.
Additions and enhancements in Standard 135-2016 include support for IPv6 networks. In fact, the widespread adoption of these networks provoked the update to the standard. Moreover, changes in the lighting and vertical transportation industries contributed to the changes.
“We have seen through our member companies the advancements that have taken place over the past several years in the building automation industry, and BACnet is keeping pace allowing for future growth and continued enhancements,” explains McMillan.
Other changes include an extended data model and the new RESTful Web services that identify and establish ideal performance measures. The updates allow Standard 135 to catch up to current demands and get ahead by anticipating future trends in building automation.
The updated protocol offers a wide range of communicative messages that are compatible between devices. They include, but are not limited to:
- Hardware binary and analog input and output valves
- Software data values
- Schedule information
- Alarm and event information
- Trend and event logs
- Files
- Control logic
- Application specific data for a large range of buildings services
- Network configuration including security
To learn more about the new additions in BACnet Standard 135-2016, visit www.ashrae.org.
