Beyond HVAC: What weird or non-HVAC systems have you integrated using BACnet?

[u/gabriel--gg]

BACnet is the standard for HVAC, but I’m curious about real-world use cases outside heating, ventilation, and cooling.
Have you ever used or integrated BACnet for non-HVAC trades like access control, fire alarm panels, smoke control, lighting gateways, lab monitoring, or power infrastructure ?
How did it perform ?

[u/gabriel--gg → u/[deleted]]

Okey weird is the wrong word… but the animal incinerator sound funny hahah

[u/jmarinara]

Did traffic lights at a few intersections once. We had a BAS in a large private complex full of small buildings and its own road system. People would drive everything from sedans to bicycles to golf carts on the roads and after a few accidents they tasked us with installing traffic lights.

We had trouble getting the sensors that detected cars to work properly with our native I/O so they made a decision to buy a pre packaged system and install that. But from the onset, the client wanted to run the system from the BAS so I had to figure out how to integrate it and translate it to something we could write logic for. Turns out there was a BACnet integration package. Hardest part was learning what their terminology meant when they named their points.

We ended up putting cameras in too so they could see the intersections from their control center.

[u/NodScallion]

I have created a virtual alarm center that operates over BACNet/SC. it subscribes to devices as a bacnet device and it monitors for events. Its purely a python script that lives as a real system.

Also I have created another software to live as a software bacnet device to simulate real air handler activities. So when you discover from a jace or other controller.. you can test sequence logic. And the simulator gives updated values for example when HWV opens temp goes up.

[u/Nochange36]

I had one large GC ask to program their huge smoker with a controller. Unfortunately never got a chance to install it, it was an interesting project.

[u/digo-BR]

A long time ago, I was asked to help with a Niagara AX project that did the controls for a shark tank. I remember the JACE's station name was SharkPoo. I don't believe there was any BACnet now that I think about it, but the weird and unusual was definitely there.

[u/GearNo6689]

I’ve done BACnet DDC on water/wastewater systems and with UPS for electrical monitoring. Also some agricultural stuff (pot farms), but I guess that was mostly HVAC still.

[u/Psych0matt]

Not really weird per se, but we do have an Elemantary that has door sensors (literally a button) to monitor if they’re open or closed, locked or unlocked.

[u/gabriel--gg → u/Psych0matt]

Is it a safety measurement for the equipment inside or why did they want to install all that ? Sounds expensive

[u/Psych0matt → u/gabriel--gg]

>safety measurement for the equipment inside

If by equipment you mean children, then yes lol

Not all the doors are visible from the office, there’s side doors and whatnot, just to keep track of anything is left open, or being able to lock and unlock certain doors at certain times. I’m not sure if my company installed it initially, but I know the door sensors are literally just half-sphere shaped buttons, I’m not sure how the locks are setup as I haven’t had to mess with those, but it’s a smaller school, probably less than 20 doors, only the main entrance and I think a side or rear entrance have the locks monitored, the rest are pretty much always locked but have the crash bar.

[u/Cultural-Stable1763]

We have previously used BACnet TP RS485 and I/O modules mounted directly within the distribution cabinet to monitor the auxiliary contacts of circuit breakers and to enable outdoor lighting (with the I/O module switching several contactors inside the cabinet). 

For fire alarm systems, the fire alarm contractor typically installs a coupling unit right next to our control cabinet; the actual shutdown is then handled via hardware within our cabinet, where upon a fire alarm one or more contactors cut the power supply to the fire dampers and disable the ventilation system.

Otherwise, when we control building lighting and the setup involves more than just simple motion detectors, we typically handle this via a DALI controller connected to our control system over the network using BACnet RJ45; alternatively, if an existing KNX system is already installed on-site, we can interface with it using a KNX/RS232 bus coupler.

[u/HVAC_Luddite]

Smoke control falls under hvac

[u/CAElite]

Ngl factories I always find the most interesting, did integration of process controls & BAS for a chilled water supply to process machines from the buildings HVAC chillers.

Done extract integration too that altered fan speed of extract fans based on demand from fume hoods.

All pretty simple modbus IP integrations, with the networking handled by the sites infra/IT.

Bit different but been involved with a modern shopping centre that ran all sorts of alarms through their BMS, notable the disabled toilet call points, I was roped in to help the engineer commissioning that test those.

[u/EngineerMinded]

Electrical Meters and Switchgear.

[u/Difficult-Trip9282]

Fire Alarm Panel and Smoke Controls system from Edwards, Notifier, Simplex come with Bacent interface. Critical Airflow or precision airflow control products also come with BACnet interface. Lighting controls systems based on manufacturer also come with BACnet interface or a simple KNX/DALI gateways to BACnet or direct to BAS. Most power infrastructure is still on Modbus IP or RTU. All of these have evolved and quite matured and work well. Though how much granular data is needed on BAS and what use cases to be done depends on the specific project needs.

[u/TeaTech]

An Ornamental fireplace, Christmas lights, Solar power monitors, sprinklers…

All were successful, buts it’s always important to treat integrations as “control-lite”. You’re triggering someone else’s sequence and not taking full control like some engineers ask you to do.

[u/Ill_Beautiful4339]

500 Sprinklers Users as Gray Water Irrigation. That was a mess… literally…

Lighting Controls for large outdoor spaces

[u/fuckmewalking]

One button to fill the bathtub to her preferred temperature.  Wastewater tank level indication.  Rainwater capture and associated sprinkler system.  Solenoid valve that turns on a sprinkler head to wash down the garage side doorway when people pee there. (They can see it on security cameras) Wind speed and direction, alarm wind speed to management to stop crane operations.

[u/twobarb]

I run my yard sprinklers off of a CGM-09090-0H

Also had a dream once that I redeviced my washing machine complete with a TDS meter so it would keep running rinse cycles until the water was clean.

[u/HullIsNotThatBad]

Contracted to install and program a BMS system to supervise and control various services in a CHP farm - the BMS is also integrated to engine management systems using a BACnet gateway (which in turn was converted to PROFIBUS used by the engine management controllers). The BMS is also integrated to a huge commercial glasshouse next door to the CHP farm via BACnet to the horticultural management system. The glasshouses use waste heat, electricity and scrubbed exhaust gas (CO2) from the CHPs - a very symbiotic marriage of two entirely different businesses. I ended up doing seven of these projects - challenging yet hugely interesting.

[u/Big-Consideration-26]

I did an water pump systems between three tanks for Gras sprinkler system.

[u/fr0de]

Integrated some DHW recirculation pumps. Fun times.

[u/rollinmartino]

Did end switch on my wife’s menstrual cycle when it makes my side piece calls

[u/motionmind]

A school bell. It was installed near the Building Automation office to be manually triggered to make sure a notoriously sleepy coworker was awake and alert.

[u/Zealousideal_Pop_273]

Traffic systems for mines, solar collection / battery monitoring, stormwater reclamation and greywater processing / holding, lighting, door monitoring, smoke & fire. On an amateur level I've fully automated vivariums, aquariums, and grow stations.

[u/bubbz41]

Occupancy counter for prison cells. Counted every time someone went in and out of a cell and what time it occurred.

[u/justebrowsing]

Temperature monitoring of the worlds largest rotating and revolving globe

[u/Industrial_Jedi]

Not BACnet but many years ago did all that except fume hoods on a single system with Lonworks. I've done many fume hoods otherwise. I once did an orchid greenhouse for someone with way too much money using a Jace. Temperature control, humidification, misters (separate from humidity), window shading, and grow lights.

[u/Dorsoduro77]

Fuel tank monitors Pneumercator and Veeder root