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BACnet Insight

What’s New in BACtwin?

Neues vom BACtwin

From data modelling to seamless information Automation stations with AS-C and AS-D profiles operator requirements. The differences between these
exchange in building automation. documents are greater than expected, including their
Von der Datenmodellierung zum durchgängigen BACnet manufacturers are also using BACtwin to equip content, structure, terminology and currency.
Informationsaustausch in der Gebäudeautomation their automation stations with the new AMEV AS-C or
AS-D profiles. At the request of several manufacturers, The existing documents will be used as a starting point.
BACtwin is evolving from a standardized data model into the BACnet certification body WSPCert has prepared Together with users, AMEV intends to develop consist-
a broadly applicable foundation for planning, automation the necessary test documentation in coordination with ent documentation and transparent quality standards.
and operation. New profiles, an open exchange format the AMEV representatives responsible for BACnet and The standardized specifications will therefore comple-
and standardized building automation specifications are BACtwin. The conditions are therefore in place for the ment the BACtwin data model with a common basis for
intended to further improve the quality and transparency first automation stations to be tested successfully against requirements and procurement.
of BACnet projects. the requirements of the AMEV AS-C or AS-D certificate
in the near future. BACtwin Forum on 28 October 2026
AMEV BACtwin gains broad acceptance
The AS-D profile additionally includes a Structured View The first BACtwin Forum took place in Mainz in June
On 12 April 2024, the German Working Group for object. This improves the structured representation and 2022 with 40 participants. Even then, it demonstrated
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of State and transparency of BACnet objects and building automation the strong professional interest in the “Digital Twin in
Municipal Administrations, AMEV, published Recom- systems. In the authors view, this gives the AS-D profile Building Automation with BACnet,” or BACtwin for short.
mendation 174, “BACtwin in Public Buildings”. BACtwin particularly strong prospects for the future. Participation has grown steadily since then, reaching 160
aims to provide future-proof standards for the user industry professionals in 2025.
addressing key, BACnet objects and the vendor-neutral Vendor-neutral BACtwin data exchange in
description of systems and equipment. preparation The BACtwin Forum 2026 will take place on 28 October
2026 at the LUX Pavilion of Mainz University of Applied
The BACtwin library serves as a universally applicable A building automation project involves numerous stake- Sciences. It will provide an opportunity to explore the lat-
modular system, while the user addressing system pro- holders. Their process chains often lack a standard for est developments and exchange experience with users,
vides a machine-interpretable key. It is based on the seamless data exchange without media discontinuities. planners and manufacturers. 
BACnet protocol, the AMEV recommendations BACnet Based on BACtwin standardization, the AMEV BACtwin
2017 and GA 2023, and VDI 3814. The data model has Working Group is therefore developing practical propos- Information and registration: https://lp.iconag.com/
gained broad acceptance and is extended and improved als for automated, vendor-neutral data exchange. The bactwin-tagung-2026/
every year. The latest version was published as BACtwin initiative was launched in cooperation with ICONAG and
2026 on 13 March 2026. SE-Electronic. BACtwin entwickelt sich vom standardisierten Datenmo-
dell zu einer breit nutzbaren Arbeitsgrundlage für Pla-
BACtwin at AMEV: https://www.amev-online.de/ The exchange is intended to cover information such as nung, Automation und Betrieb. Neue Profile, ein offenes
AMEVInhalt/Planen/Gebaeudeautomation/BACtwin/ BACtwin user addressing keys, BACtwin objects and Austauschformat und ein standardisiertes GA-Lasten-
their properties. The open JSON data format is planned heft sollen die Qualität und Transparenz von BACnet-
BACtwin-enabled building automation planning as the technical foundation. This will provide a basis for Projekten weiter erhöhen.
tools are available consistent information across the planning, implementa-
tion and operation phases. AMEV BACtwin findet breite Akzeptanz
Several providers of building automation planning soft-
ware began integrating BACtwin into their tools at an AMEV standardizes building automation Am 12. April 2024 veröffentlichte der Arbeitskreis
early stage. They now offer their planning solutions with specifications for BACnet and BACtwin Maschinen- und Elektrotechnik staatlicher und kom-
BACtwin libraries. Following initial implementation chal- munaler Verwaltungen, kurz AMEV, die Empfehlung 174
lenges, project experience shows that BACtwin enables At its meeting in Hamburg in April 2026, the AMEV ple- „BACtwin in öffentlichen Gebäuden“. BACtwin verfolgt
operators requirements to be described precisely. This nary decided to develop and publish standardized build- das Ziel, zukunftssichere Standards für den Benutzer-
improves transparency and quality throughout the project. ing automation specifications for BACnet and BACtwin. adressierungsschlüssel, für BACnet-Objekte und für die
The decision reflects the fact that many BACtwin users herstellerneutrale Beschreibung von Anlagen und Aggre-
have developed organization-specific specifications or gaten bereitzustellen.

26 BACnet Europe Journal 45 09/26