In my experience, direct digital control (DDC) programmers have come to be regarded as “the men behind the curtain” in the way building automation systems (BASs) are put together. There are a lot of moving parts to systems like these, both in a physical sense but also in a logical sense. The word direct signifies that the unique systems responsible for equipment controls must be configured in such a way that they can operate equipment completely on their own but also in such a way that they can drive benefits when networked together. To design and build systems in this fashion takes a diverse set of knowledge and experience.
I have held some adjacent roles in the past and have occasionally backfilled these roles in the short term, so I have some experience in this area. Combining this with some great input from my colleagues who have not only held the role of DDC programmer but also managed a team of them, this column examines key aspects of this very important job.