The BACnet Interest Group of North America and the BACnet Manufacturers Associationwill host the BACnet Expo and Conference to be held October 23 - 25, 2005, in Nashville, TN. The conference is designed to educate mechanical system design professionals, integrators, and endusers on the benefits of the BACnet open protocol. It will feature a variety of seminars lead by industry professionals and a trade show including multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations. The BACnet Expo and Conference will be held at the Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel. Details are available atwww.bacnetconference.org.

"BACnet is growing rapidly today, with every major building controls manufacturer producing BACnet devices and more and more project specifications calling for open BACnet systems," said Jon Williamson, product marketing manager, Tour Andover Controls and marketing chairman of the BACnet Manufacturers Association. "Whether you are new to BACnet, or a seasoned BACnet expert, there will be topics and products for you to explore and learn about at the conference."

The conference theme is "More Freedom than Ever" because, according to Williamson, endusers have never had more freedom to put together a complete BACnet system using multiple vendors that interoperate with many building systems.

BACnet is an ISO standard 16484-5 for building technology protocols. BACnet is a registered trademark of ASHRAE.

The BACnet Manufacturers Association (BMA) is an organization that encourages the successful use of BACnet in building automation and control systems through compliance and interoperability testing, educational programs and promotional activities. For information about the BMA, please call 617426-6959 or visit www.bacnetassociation.org.

The BACnet Interest Group of North America (BIGNA) assists facility owners and designers to better understand open systems and their benefits. With a commitment to open systems, the BIGNA has worked with ASHRAE committee members, National Institute of Standards and Testing personnel, BACnet manufacturer's association members, and the BACnet Testing Labs to create a forum to test ideas and improve standards of open systems. For more information go to www.big-na.org.