BACS and Spanish CAEs: Building Automation and Control

Define the controlled perimeter: heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water, lighting or other loads. List which zones and plant items are connected and which remain manual. Installing a gateway without changing a sequence is not equivalent to adding demand-based or optimising control. Assign an owner, test method and acceptance criterion to every claimed control function in the performance matrix.

Map each candidate requirement in RES040 or TER050 to a named function and test. The applicable sheet may distinguish building type, existing level and final capability. A vendor description such as smart building cannot replace a matrix showing sensors, actuators, algorithms, alarms and operator access. Disabled points and unsupported plant must remain visible so nominal software capability is not mistaken for implemented coverage.

Capture existing schedules, setpoints, dead bands, simultaneous heating-cooling interlocks, optimum start behaviour and manual overrides. Export controller backups or screenshots before modification. These records establish what changed; recollection after reprogramming cannot distinguish a new function from one already available but poorly used. Preserve dated backups in native controller format as well as readable exports, with zone and plant identifiers.

Sensor quality limits the value of automation. Record type, location, range, calibration and failure handling for temperature, carbon dioxide, occupancy, light and flow inputs. A demand-control routine driven by an unrepresentative corridor sensor may increase consumption or degrade indoor air quality. Calibration failures should trigger defined fallback states and alarms rather than silently driving equipment from implausible values.

If an automation class is used, demonstrate the class through the required set of implemented functions rather than declaring it on the front page of a specification. Partial coverage, unsupported subsystems and disabled features need explicit treatment. Keep the signed functional performance matrix with the calculation. Class evidence should trace each mandatory function to configured logic, field devices and a witnessed result.

Apply the authorised factors and floor areas exactly as the current method defines them. Separate savings attributed to BACS from a simultaneous chiller, boiler, luminaire or envelope upgrade. The baseline service must preserve comfort, ventilation, operating hours and occupied space so reduced service is not counted as control efficiency. Version the boundary calculation whenever connected floor area, schedules or simultaneous efficiency measures change.

Commissioning should exercise occupancy changes, sensor failure, holiday mode, alarms, setpoint limits and plant enable logic. Trend points at suitable intervals before and after handover show whether commands reach equipment. Screenshots alone can show an interface while hidden schedules continue running plant overnight. Test both normal and failure states, including whether commands are released correctly when occupancy or demand returns.

Preserve controller models, network topology, licences, point lists, software version, invoices and training records. Match screenshots to the actual site and timestamp. Acceptance documentation should identify who witnessed each test and what corrective action closed any failed item. Point lists and trend exports should use stable names that link software objects to sensors, actuators and served zones.

Savings can disappear when users leave overrides active, sensors drift or a cloud subscription lapses. Define permissions, change logs, backups, patching and periodic recommissioning. Cybersecurity segmentation and safe fallback modes are operational requirements, especially when controls can stop ventilation or critical plant. Periodic recommissioning should review persistent overrides, drifting sensors, stale schedules and unresolved alarm floods.

Base the investment case on verified function delivery and maintainability, with CAE value as a conditional outcome. Recheck the current sheet and annexes before filing because class definitions or evidence lists can change. No code reference guarantees admissibility, issuance, accepted savings or remuneration. The reference codes for this review are RES040 and TER050. Budget ongoing licences, support and calibration because loss of those services can remove the operational saving.