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Technology Technik

BACtwin from an Automation Perspective –

Standardized Engineering for Interoperable

Building Automation

BACtwin aus Sicht der Automation –

Standardisiertes Engineering für interoperable

Gebäudeautomation

BACnet has become established as an adapt their standard solutions to the operator’s BACtwin in TwinCAT Engineering
open communication standard in building proprietary requirements – even though the
automation and provides the basis for operator is actually seeking vendor independence. One example of how this approach can be
cross-vendor communication. In practice, implemented in practice is Beckhoff’s TwinCAT
however, interoperability at protocol level These challenges become particularly apparent function TF8040 (TwinCAT 3 Building Automation).
alone is not sufficient. In the engineering when data is exchanged between systems It provides the fundamental mechanisms for
process, planners and system integrators installed by different contractors. Although modeling equipment units and assemblies on the
are regularly faced with the challenge of both systems communicate via BACnet, the basis of the object templates defined in AMEV
implementing project-specific requirements information is often interpreted differently. Yet BACtwin. The templates describe individual
in a way that is both functionally appropriate precisely this type of exchange is becoming building automation functions using standardized
and vendor-neutral. increasingly important: a room with a heating BACnet objects and their properties. In addition,
BACnet hat sich als offener Kommunikati- demand must communicate this requirement to the functionally and hierarchically structured
onsstandard in der Gebäudeautomation eta- the distribution system, which in turn requests project architecture enables the BACtwin BAS to
bliert und schafft die Grundlage für eine her- the appropriate heat generator. Such end-to-end be mapped, allowing the models defined in AMEV
stellerübergreifende Kommunikation. In der process chains can only function reliably if not Recommendation 174 to be applied directly in the
Praxis zeigt sich jedoch, dass Interoperabili- only communication, but also the semantics of engineering process.
tät auf Protokollebene allein nicht ausreicht. the data are standardized.
Planer und Systemintegratoren stehen im Machine-Readable Data as the Basis for
Engineering regelmäßig vor der Herausfor- BACtwin Creates a Common Language for Monitoring and Optimization
derung, projektspezifische Anforderungen Building Automation
funktional und gleichzeitig herstellerneutral Another key benefit of BACtwin is the consistent
umzusetzen. This is where AMEV’s BACtwin approach comes machine interpretability of information. This
into play. Instead of proprietary equipment is what enables modern applications such as
The current situation is characterized by models, BACtwin describes functions and automated quality checks, intelligent operational
proprietary solutions. Each manufacturer or field devices using standardized, vendor- optimization, and AI-assisted analyses. BACtwin
system integrator develops its own software neutral models. Whether a pump is integrated also creates the prerequisites for end-to-end
modules for the same building automation function via conventional I/Os or a fieldbus protocol technical monitoring and the energy-related
and uses them to model a proprietary unit – for is irrelevant to its functional description. The assessment of systems. For example, manual
example, a pump. Although the technical function required BACnet objects and their properties, interventions or non-automatic operation can
is identical, the BACnet objects, properties, and as well as the associated functions, are clearly be clearly identified, while energy-relevant data
operating concepts used can differ significantly. defined and can be reused across projects. such as efficiency or COP can be calculated and
This creates a common language for planners, recorded in a standardized manner.
For operators, this creates a fundamental operators, and system integrators.
problem: similar systems from different This transparency forms the basis for efficient
manufacturers are represented differently and At the same time, standardization provides the plant operation. Without technical monitoring,
do not behave consistently from the perspective basis for more efficient engineering. Project there is no objective data foundation for
of the building management system. Historically implementations become more transparent, can optimization and energy efficiency – effectively
evolved user addressing systems (UAS) often be systematically and automatically verified, leaving the system to operate blind. BACtwin
do not correspond to the functional software and significantly reduce the effort required for therefore extends BACnet by adding the
architecture. This leads to discussions about customized solutions and rework. Standardized necessary functional standardization and creates
how units should be modeled using BACnet models can also be reused at software level, the foundation for interoperable, verifiable, and
objects, makes automated testing more difficult, resulting in more consistent implementation future-proof building automation. 
and results in rework during commissioning. At across different projects and manufacturers.
the same time, integrators are often required to www.beckhoff.com/tf8040

40 BACnet Europe Journal 45 09/26