At the recent International Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration Expo, the BACnet Manufacturers Association (BMA™) and the BACnet Interest Group Europe (BIG-EU) announced an international testing and listing agreement for BACnet compliant products. A memorandum of understanding defining common testing tools, submission procedures, test procedures, and product listing policies will be signed. In addition, the two groups have agreed to use the BMA’s BACnet Testing Laboratories (BTL) mark as the common international symbol for identifying BACnet compliant products in North America and in Europe.

“We are very excited about the unification of testing programs between BMA and BIG-EU,” said Jim Lee, president of the BACnet Manufacturers Association. “This historic agreement on international standardization will break down the final barrier to widespread commercial acceptance of BACnet in the marketplace today.”

To be awarded the BTL mark, products will be subjected to rigorous tests performed at a recognized test laboratory. With a common testing framework in place worldwide, engineers, property managers, and building owners can be confident that products displaying the BTL symbol are compliant with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) BACnet standard. In addition, testing will improve the quality and uniformity of BACnet solutions and reduce the cost and risk of interoperable systems. By unifying procedures, manufacturers need only test their product at one approved testing laboratory to gain world acceptance.

Testing will begin simultaneously in North America and Europe at the following test laboratories:

  • North America: BACnet Testing Laboratories
    Cimetrics, Inc.
    55 Temple Place
    Boston, MA 02111-1300
  • Europe: WSP Lab
    Dr. Ing Harald Bitter
    Kapuzinerweg
    70374 Stuttgart, Germany

“BACnet certification and listing is the most important issue for the European market,” said Nils Meinert, president of BIG-EU. “With BACnet on its way to becoming an international ISO standard, we should approach the testing, certification, and listing of BACnet products globally.”