Why Building Automation Training Matters
Buildings use a large share of North American electricity, and the building automation system decides how much of that energy is used well. A well-designed BAS cuts energy and demand costs, protects comfort and indoor air quality, and gives operators the data they need to find faults before tenants complain.
Expectations are rising. Building performance standards, utility demand response programs, electrification and data center growth all depend on controls that are open, integrated and measurable.
At the same time, every networked controller is a potential entry point for a cyberattack. BAS professionals now need IT and OT skills as well as HVAC and electrical knowledge.
Course Highlights
This course goes beyond product training and general overviews:
- Vendor-neutral coverage of BAS architecture, DDC hardware, BACnet, Modbus and open integration
- Electrical integration of metering, lighting, generators, transfer switches, UPS, EV charging and battery storage
- BAS cybersecurity, including BACnet Secure Connect (BACnet/SC), network segmentation and secure remote access
- Two worked case studies, one on a high-performance air handler sequence and one on a legacy BAS retrofit
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe BAS architecture and the role of sensors, controllers, networks, servers and operator interfaces
- Explain control loop operation, including two-position, floating, P, PI and PID control
- Identify analog and digital inputs and outputs, and read points lists and sequences of operation
- Design and troubleshoot BACnet/IP, BACnet MS/TP and Modbus networks, including routers, gateways and BBMDs
- Apply ASHRAE Guideline 36 high-performance sequences to air handlers, VAV boxes and central plants
- Integrate power metering, lighting controls, generators, UPS, EV charging and life-safety systems with the BAS
- Use trending, fault detection and diagnostics (FDD), semantic tagging and analytics to cut energy and maintenance costs
- Assess and reduce BAS cybersecurity risk using BACnet/SC, network segmentation and secure remote access
- Specify, commission and justify BAS projects using ASHRAE Guideline 13, functional testing and lifecycle cost analysis
You will leave able to plan, specify and manage BAS projects with confidence, and to talk with integrators, IT departments and vendors as an informed owner.
Course Approach
The course is vendor-neutral. We teach the principles that apply to every major BAS platform, so you can evaluate any system, specification or proposal on its merits.
Each module ends with a live poll and discussion to check understanding. Real equipment screenshots, network diagrams and sequences of operation connect the theory to what you will see in the field.
Two case studies let you apply what you learn to a high-performance HVAC sequence and to a legacy BAS upgrade.
