ASHRAE(Atlanta) has simplified use of its BACnet® standard by consolidating all addenda approved since 1995 into one document. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2001, BACnet® -- A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks, allows building equipment and systems manufactured by different companies to work together. It is the only open, consensus-developed standard in the building controls Industry.

"The new standard contains all corrections, refinements and improvements that have been adopted since the standard was first published in 1995," Steve Bushby, chairman of the committee that wrote the standard, said. "This makes the document more convenient and easier to use."

Features that have been added to BACnet since its original publication include: increased capabilities to interconnect systems across wide area networks using Internet protocols, new objects and services to support fire detection and other life safety applications, capabilities to backup and restore devices, standard ways to collect trend data, new tools to make specifying BACnet systems easier, and a mechanism for making interoperable extensions to the standard visible.