NEW YORK – The BACnet committee has approved an update to BACnet/web services (WS) to better support more sophisticated needs such as smart grid and energy management.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2012, BACnet – A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks, allows building equipment and systems manufactured by different companies to work together. It is the only open, consensus-developed standard in the building controls industry.
The BACnet committee announced this week at ASHRAE’s 2014 Winter Conference that addendum 135 am is slated for public review in the first quarter of 2014. In order to drive a deeper review, the committee is conducting a "virtual plugfest" for prototype implementations.
An open source BACnet/WS server reference implementation has been developed to seed the plugfest, it can be used as a test subject for client development and a basis for server prototypes, according to Carl Neilson, chair of the Standard 135 committee. The committee is asking for implementations of both client and server prototypes.
The virtual plugfest will be conducted online and is expected to begin mid-March and run through early April.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.