Knowledge hub
Building Automation Knowledge Hub
Six engineering guides plus the highest-intent commercial pages for BAS, BMS, IBMS, Loxone, HVAC, energy, lighting and cost.
Start with the highest-intent page
11 pagesStart with the highest-intent page
The cards above follow the order buyers usually search in: BMS and BAS first, then Loxone, IBMS, HVAC, energy, lighting and cost. The six guides below answer the longer engineering questions behind those head terms, and link back to the commercial page that can take an enquiry.
Start with the question, not the product
Most building automation decisions begin with a label: BAS, BMS, IBMS, KNX, BACnet or Loxone. Labels are useful for searching, but they are a poor basis for a specification. The useful starting point is the outcome you need: a plant room that stops fighting itself, a hotel floor that responds to occupancy, a portfolio that reports consistently, or a cost model you can defend. Each guide in this hub begins with a direct answer, then shows the architecture, the decision points and the questions to put to a supplier. Read the pillar that matches your current decision, then follow its six subtopics for detail. The sequence is deliberate, but the pages are written to be entered at any point. Each page also states what it does not cover, because a guide that claims everything usually answers nothing precisely.
- Begin with the decision, not the acronym
- Each pillar answers a different question
- Subtopics carry the detail and the exceptions
Six pillars, one connected model
Scope comes first: BAS, BMS and IBMS define what the system owns. HVAC control explains the sequences that turn scope into comfort and plant performance. The Loxone guide describes one local-first platform and how it is built. The protocol guide explains how equipment from different vendors exchanges data. The scenarios guide shows how the same architecture is adapted to hotels, villas, commercial floors, retail and retrofit. The cost guide explains how points, area and delivery effort become a commercial proposal. The order is deliberate: scope, control, platform, connection, context, cost. Readers can enter anywhere, but the links between pillars assume that sequence, and each pillar links back to the commercial pages that apply its subject. The model is not a hierarchy of importance; it is a chain of dependencies. A cost discussion without scope is a guess, and a protocol discussion without a point map is a vocabulary lesson.
- Scope defines ownership
- Control turns scope into sequences
- Platform and protocols connect the field
- Scenarios and cost apply the model
How each guide is written
Each pillar is written for a mixed audience: owners and developers, consultants writing specifications, and integrators reviewing a design. Every page opens with a short answer, defines its terms, then uses a table to make comparisons concrete. The tables are designed to be copied into a briefing document or a request for quotation, provided the project-specific values are checked. Nothing in the guides depends on a sales demonstration. Where a product is used as an example, the underlying principle still applies to other platforms. Engineering terms are kept in their common form, and the same vocabulary is used across pages so that a point, an object and a register are not confused with each other. Pages show a published and updated date, because protocols, product ranges and delivery practice change. A guide without a date is a claim without a shelf life.
- Direct answer first, then architecture
- Tables written to be reused in a brief
- Product examples never replace the principle
- Dates shown so the reader can judge currency
What the guides deliberately leave out
The knowledge base does not publish prices, savings percentages, approval claims or project counts. Those numbers depend on the building, the market, the currency and the scope, and a generic figure would be misleading. Instead, the cost pillar explains the drivers and the questions that make a quote comparable. The guides also avoid ranking products or declaring a single correct architecture. A hospital, a resort and a rented office floor do not need the same system, and a specification that pretends otherwise creates cost without creating value. Where a decision depends on local code, a survey or a vendor document, the page says so rather than inventing a default. That restraint is part of the method: a page that gives a number it cannot defend is worse than a page that explains how the number should be built.
- No prices, savings or project counts
- Cost drivers and comparison questions instead
- No product ranking or single correct design
- Local code and survey dependencies stated
Using the guides in a live project
The practical use of the hub is to shorten the distance between a question and a document that answers it. Start with the pillar that matches the decision, copy the comparison table into the project brief, and mark which rows are settled and which are still assumptions. Use the questions in the tables as a tender checklist, not as a script; the answers should be specific to the building. Where a page gives a typical range, replace it with project data as soon as a schedule or survey exists. Keep the page date in the reference list, because a specification that cites a stale guide is easy to challenge. Finally, read the pillar and its commercial page together: the knowledge explains the principle, and the commercial page explains what we do about it. Neither is complete without the other.
- Copy tables into the brief and mark assumptions
- Use table questions as a tender checklist
- Replace typical ranges with project data
- Read the guide with its commercial page
The six pillars
6 rows| Pillar | Core question | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| BAS, BMS and IBMS guide | Where does control end and management begin? | Scope, architecture, alarms and the boundary between the three systems. |
| Loxone system guide | How does a local-first controller fit a building? | Miniserver, Tree, Air and 1-Wire, Config, integration and delivery. |
| HVAC control strategy | Which sequences actually shape comfort and plant load? | Chiller plant, air side, terminals, reset schedules and proof of performance. |
| KNX, BACnet and Modbus | Which protocol belongs where? | Data models, gateways, point mapping and integration testing. |
| Hotel, villa and commercial | How does one architecture suit different buildings? | Guest rooms, residences, tenant floors, retail, retrofit and multi-site operation. |
| Cost and point pricing | What drives the number, and how should it be compared? | Point counting, area logic, cost elements and procurement questions. |
Project images
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Frequently asked
01Where should I start?
If you are defining what the system must own, start with the BAS, BMS and IBMS guide. If plant performance is the concern, start with HVAC control strategy. If a platform has already been proposed, read the Loxone and protocol guides together. If the question is commercial, start with the cost pillar and work backwards to scope.
02Are the guides specific to one product?
They use Loxone as a working example because that is the platform this practice builds on, but the principles apply to KNX, BACnet, Modbus and other controllers. Each guide separates vendor-neutral design rules from product-specific detail. Where a product detail matters, it is described as an example rather than as a requirement.
03Can I reuse the tables in a specification?
Yes, as a starting checklist. The tables are written to be copied into a briefing or tender document, but values such as point counts, sequences and protocol maps must be confirmed against the actual building. A table copied without its assumptions becomes a source of disputes rather than a design aid.
04Why is there no price or savings figure?
Prices and savings depend on scope, region, currency, tariffs and operating hours. The cost pillar explains what drives the number and how to compare proposals, which is more useful than a figure that will not survive contact with a real project. Pricing is prepared on request from a point schedule and a scope statement.
05How current is the material?
Pages show a published and updated date. Protocol standards, product ranges and delivery practice change, so check the date and confirm product-specific details with current documentation before relying on them. A guide is a starting point for a project decision, not a substitute for the project's own survey and specification.
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