April Cornerstones

APRIL 2023

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Welcome to the newest edition of the Cornerstones newsletter. The BACnet International community benefits from information and education shared through Cornerstones, the organization's monthly electronic publication. This publication is distributed to members of the BACnet International community, connecting corporate, integrator, site, student and individual users to BACnet news and updates.

Cornerstones is a unique publication because it speaks not only to the engineer and contractor communities, but also to facility professionals, building managers and owners, and other personnel.

This is where you come in. We need you to connect! If you have company news, product news, BACnet Success Story or a best practice you want to share, please send them to us. And don't leave out the photos! Read past Cornerstones and Success Stories.

All submissions should be sent to Mary Catherine Heard,

BACnet International's Communications Manager.

IN THIS ISSUE:

BACnet International News
Corporate Member Spotlight
BACnet Committee (SSPC 135) News
TBI Resource Corner
Corporate Member News
New BTL Certifications
Corporate Member Benefits

BACnet INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The Hitchhikers' Guide to BACnet is now on

The BACnet Institute (TBI)!

Want to learn more about the BACnet community? This session, presented by BACnet International President Andy McMillan at the 2023 AHR Expo, reviews a new global resource that puts the entire BACnet community right at your fingertips.

Committees, membership, addenda, testing, education, and a user forum all in one place. This session is a great prequel to BACnet 101, providing perspective and context for that course.

The other BACnet International AHR 2023 education sessions were also recorded and are available to view on TBI plus many more resources. TBI is FREE, but account registration is required.

CREATE A TBI ACCOUNT

Upcoming INBAC Summit

INBAC is a leading Integrated Building Automation Community in India dedicated to technology that brings social impact. INBAC is delighted to announce their collaboration with World Media & Expo as Knowledge Partner for Smart Building Summit (SBS). World Media & Expo is conducting a world class Smart Home Expo at Pragati Maidan, Delhi on May 4^th – 6^th with SBS on May 5th. This Summit invites attendees to witness world class talks from thought leaders in the smart infrastructure domain. This is a great opportunity to hear from leaders about latest trends and technologies about buildings and network with influencers and likeminded industry leaders.

MORE INFO

Save the Date

BIG-EU PlugFest

BACnet Interest Group Europe is hosting their Plugfest May 10^th – 12^th in Paris, France. Like BACnet International’s Plugfest, this event offers a friendly, neutral environment for vendors to test their products with the BACnet protocol.

MORE INFO

BACnet User Group Networking Event in Watertown, MA

The BACnet User Group of New England is inviting BACnet users and enthusiasts to their meeting on Monday, May 15th at Donohue’s Bar and Grill in Watertown, MA. This free event, supported by BACnet International, aims to bring together the local BACnet user community bi-annually to share tips, techniques and pains on the use of the BACnet products and technologies.

Address:

87 Bigelow Ave, Watertown, MA 02472

Agenda:

5:30 pm – 6:15: Dinner and networking. Dinner will be provided by BACnet International. There will be a cash bar for drinks.

6:15 pm – 8:00 pm: Presentations and discussions.

LightFair

Come visit our booth!

BACnet International will be exhibiting at the LightFair trade show May 23rd – 25th in New York City. If you are attending, be sure to stop by Booth 1863 on Level 3.

MORE INFO

PlugFest 2023

Mark your calendars!

This year's PlugFest will take place Tuesday, October 3rd through Thursday, October 5th at the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Laboratory. More info on registration coming soon!

MORE INFO

CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

VIEW ON YOUTUBE

BACnet COMMITTEE UPDATES

Current SSPC 135

Happenings from SSPC 135 Chair Coleman Brumley

The SSPC 135 has returned to their normal schedule of meeting four times in person per year, in addition to the various teleconferences held by the Working Groups. The only change to these meeting formats is the addition of a hybrid option to all face-to-face meetings. Meetings are announced.

In 2022, the SSPC has been actively discussing various change proposals and at the end of 2022, those changes were grouped into addenda that were sent to ASHRAE to begin the Publication Public Review process.

The status of those addenda was reported during the Winter Meeting in Atlanta. The various statuses are as follows:

Addendum 135-2020bx, Device Address Proxy, completed its second publication public review without comment and is awaiting the next steps for publication. This addendum introduces the concept of devices that can mitigate I-Am broadcast traffic by proxying for “downstream” devices.

Addendum 135-2020cf, Various changes to BACnet/SC, was officially published as Protocol Revision 25 on November 22, 2022. This addendum introduces various flags that further support BACnet/SC. In addition, it clarifies how segmentation works via BACnet/SC.

Addendum 135-2020ch, Possible Fix for Segmentation, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with no comment and is awaiting the next steps for publication. This addendum addresses a long standing, complex issue pertaining to BACnet segmentation.

Addendum 135-2020ci, Various clarifications, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with 10 comments, which are being processed. The addendum awaiting a second publication public review draft based on the results of those comments. This addendum is a “roll-up” of various changes introduced in change proposals including those that were created in response to Interpretation Requests.

Addendum 135-2020cj, Extensions for Lighting in BACnet, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with no comment and is awaiting the next steps for publication. This addendum addresses luminaire levels, toggling of the Binary Output Object, and clarifying language for the Current Command Priority.

Addendum 135-2020ck, Various ASN.1 corrections, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with no comment and is awaiting the next steps for publication. This addendum addresses various editorial issues in the ASN.1 productions. These changes are the result of automated analysis of the ASN.1 productions.

Addendum 135-2020cl, Introduction of a new Prioritization Object, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with three comments, which are being processed. The addendum awaiting a second publication public review draft based on the results of those comments. This addendum introduces a new Object Type, the Prioritization Object which is a new concept for synchronizing access to non-commandable objects and properties.

Addendum 135-2020cn, Various clarifications to Engineering Units, completed its first publication public review on 3/20/2023. It completed the review with two comments, which are being processed. The addendum awaiting a second publication public review draft based on the results of those comments. This addendum has clarifications to align metric, non-metric and SI Engineering Units.

For more information about the SSPC 135 Committee visit, https://bacnet.org/.

TBI RESOURCE CORNER

Every month, BACnet International will highlight a resource from The BACnet Institute Resource Library!

In this month's featured resource, "Safely Navigating the Age of Cloud Connectivity," Richard Theron, MSA Safety, discusses how to securely navigate over 20.4 billion cloud-connected devices in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the rising demand for BACnet/SC devices.

The BACnet Institute (TBI) is an online portal for BACnet-focused learning and knowledge sharing. It provides an easy path to BACnet information and learning for everyone involved with BACnet systems. The portal includes three on-demand FREE courses and over 160 resources including white papers, articles, presentations and a community forum. TBI Resources are free, but registration for an account is required. Courses are eligible for CEUs and PDHs.

Each year TBI continues to grow. Since its launch in January 2017, over 6,000 registered users across more than 80 countries have accessed its resources. TBI’s simple search function allows users to get quick access to anything they need.

CREATE A TBI ACCOUNT

CONNECT AND FOLLOW US

LinkedIn & Twitter

Follow BACnet International on LinkedIn for the latest news and updates!

Make sure to tag us @BACnet International on LinkedIn and @BACnetIntl on Twitter so we'll see your posts and reshare those of interest to our audience.

YouTube

Be sure to subscribe to BACnet International's YouTube channel so you're alerted when we post new videos.

MEMBER NEWS AND UPDATES

For BACnet International Corporate Members, if you have any news concerning a BTL product, let us know and we will happy to include it in Cornerstones! All submissions should be sent to Mary Catherine Heard, BACnet International's Communications Manager, at marycatherine@bacnetinternational.org.

Please ensure that we are included in your distribution lists for product and company news release as well.

Automated Logic Releases WebCTRL v8.5 Building Automation System

This new release delivers MQTT integration capabilities and efficient staged controller downloads providing building owners and operators more connectivity options, helping them to future proof their building automation and control networks, and allows technicians to provide better customer service.