Collaboration Lets Automated Buildings Go Wireless

BACnet is the leading protocol for wired commercial building automation. ZigBee is the hottest new wireless networking standard. Isn’t it time they got together?

The ZigBee Alliance and the BACnet organization will collaborate to establish interoperability between the two technologies. According to the groups, building operators will be able to add wireless devices to their existing wired infrastructure to increase safety, security, and convenience while saving money on utilities.

While BACnet currently supports five wired data links, ZigBee will be its first wireless link. That means designers will be able to upgrade existing wired BACnet devices to work with ZigBee devices on the building control network. In turn, BACnet data types and commands will be added to the ZigBee Commercial Building profile. This will allow BACnet messages to be encapsulated into ZigBee wireless data packets. The organizations are now drafting interoperability proposals.