The Brutal Truth About ‘Open’ Building Automation

Every controls vendor calls their system “open.” But the word means different things to different people. As a result, building owners get burned years later. So let’s unpack what “open” actually requires.

Three layers of openness

True openness has three layers. Each layer can lock you in if the vendor wants you stuck.

First, the protocol layer — how devices talk to each other. It should use a published standard like BACnet (ANSI/ASHRAE 135) or Modbus. A vendor’s private dialect doesn’t count.

Second, the framework layer — the software where logic and graphics live. It should publish its APIs. Also, any certified integrator should be able to work on it. Tridium’s Niagara Framework is the leading example. We go deeper in our Niagara primer post.

Third, the hardware layer — the controllers and gateways themselves. You should be able to replace them without ripping out the whole system.

Three questions to ask any vendor

When you spec a control system, ask these three questions.

First: “If I fire my installer tomorrow, who else can service this?” If the honest answer is “our dealer network” — and that network has two people in your county — you’re not open.

Second: “What does my exit ramp look like in ten years?” If exiting means replacing every controller, you’re not open.

Third: “Can I see the source code, the data model, and the integration points?” If you need to sign an NDA first, you’re not open.

How Signet handles this

We standardize on Tridium Niagara at the supervisor layer. It gives you the broadest protocol bridge in the industry. At the field-controller layer, we deploy what fits your region’s service ecosystem. We won’t lock you into a stack we can’t service if we walk away. See our Solutions page for the full regional stack.

That posture costs us margin on proprietary product sales. However, it also keeps clients on our service contracts past install. In short, real openness pays both sides over time.

Talk to Signet Controls. Planning a BAS install, retrofit, integration, or service contract in California? We work across Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire, the Central Coast, and Kern County. Reach our team at info@signetcontrols.com or call (877) 874-4638.

References

[1] ANSI Blog — BACnet (ANSI/ASHRAE 135) — https://blog.ansi.org/ansi/bacnet-building-automation-ansi-ashrae-135/

[2] BACnet International — About BACnet — https://bacnetinternational.org/about/