Who should decide the BAS point naming convention?
By Bassirou Thiam, building automation engineer · Updated
The owner. A naming convention outlives every contractor on the building, so it should be the owner's, written into the specification, and settled before programming starts. When each engineer and integrator invents their own, teams lose real project time arguing about names instead of building the system.
Settle three things before the job starts
- the structure (for example building, equipment, sub-equipment, point);
- the published list of abbreviations, with one grammar for every line;
- whether points are renamed at all, or manufacturer names are kept and meaning is added with tags.
Renaming or tagging?
Short cryptic names are often a leftover from old systems that limited the length of a name. Some integrators now prefer to keep manufacturer object names and add tags (Project Haystack, Brick) rather than duplicate and rename points. Either way, decide once. Details in BAS point naming conventions.
Sources
Related
GuidesBAS point naming conventionsHow to name BAS points so the controller, the front end, the points list and the sequences agree, with abbreviations, examples and tagging standards.
GuidesWhat goes in a BAS points listThe columns a BAS points list needs, the BACnet point types, and a method to build it from the control schematic. Free Excel template included.
GlossaryWhat are BACnet object types (AI, AO, BI, BO, AV, BV)?What AI, AO, BI, BO, AV, BV and MSV mean in BACnet, with a typical use for each, as they appear in a BAS points list.