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INTRODUCTION
BAS Technician Course
Course Objective:
Objective:
• This class is designed to provide the
background necessary to install and
maintain BAS Control Systems on
Chapter 1
HVAC equipment while staying Intro to BAS
vendor neutral. The skills learned in
this class will translate across all
brands, vendors, and some skills and
concepts will translate internationally.
• The students are expected to have
mechanical experience on
maintenance and repair of HVAC
equipment.

Chapter 1
Agenda

Chapter 1 Chapter 5
• Basics of BAS • Controllers
Chapter 2 Chapter 6
Chapter 1
• Mechanical Systems Intro •to BAS
Networking and
Chapter 3 Integrations
• Electrical Systems Chapter 7
Chapter 4 • Troubleshooting
• BAS Inputs & Outputs

Chapter 1
Building Automation Systems
• A control system comprised of input/output devices,
controllers and supervisory software which
centralizes the monitoring operations and
management of a building to achieve comfort, safety
and security for its tenants in an efficient manner.

• Typically Control and Monitoring for Mechanical and

Electrical systems but not limited to.

But why bother!?

• Otherwise known as
• Facility Management System
• Energy Management System
• Building Management System

• But why bother?!

Chapter 1
BAS Industry Energy Impact
About HALF of all energy
consumed in a commercial
building can be mitigated and
reduced using an Energy
Management System (BAS).

Combined with the fact that

the average building will
stand for more than 70 years,
the building sector should be
a major target for widespread
energy efficiency efforts

Chapter 7
Measuring Energy Electricity Bills
are measured
in Kilo Watt
We charge for energy usage differently depending on the utility, Natural Hours (kWh)
gas vs Electric.
For simplicity- let’s use an electric example as to why a controls system 1 kW = 1,000 Watts and
might be beneficial! this energy use over one
hour would be 1 kW/h

How do we lower
these bills and
secure our
investments?!

How many BTU/h did the light bulb produce in a year? = 240 kWh x 3142 = 754,000 BTU/h
Energy Efficiency
Maximizing the power utilized by each application.
BAS Energy Management Strategies:
• Set Point Control Excellence in Low
• Scheduling Equipment Environmental Impact
Setback Control Construction and Operational
Occupancy Control Standards for On-going Energy
Demand Control Efficiency
• Monitoring & Load Shedding
Peak Demand Avoidance
Energy Savings Payback (ROI)
• Reduced energy to pay for improvements

Building meets Federal

Equipment Energy Audit: A 20 HP, 208 Volt, 60 Amp Pump runs 18 hours Standards for Energy Efficiency
per day, how much electricity does the pump use in a week?
208 volts x 60 amps = ((12480 Watts x 18 hours) x 7 days) / 1000 = 1572 kWh @ $.13 per kWh = $204.00 per
week

Chapter 7
Efficiency Example
This energy bill shows 365 kWh of energy, costing $117.98
This equates to approximately $0.32 cents per kWh.

PNNL: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed a study

that states savings for almost all buildings tuned BAS saved
between 5% and 30% - let’s use a near median value of 17%

A savings of 17% on this bill would be about $20 USD.

Scale this to a corporation like Walmart Inc who uses Mega-Watts

(millions of watts) and the savings is in the hundreds of thousands.

PNNL-SA-156277_Re-tuningMeta-Analysis_2020-09-05.pdf

How many BTU/h did the light bulb produce in a year? = 240 kWh x 3142 = 754,000 BTU/h
Efficiency Example #2
Lighting – qty 40,000 fixtures at 100 watts each on 24 hours
a day
40000 x 0.100kW x 24hrs = 96000 total kWh per day for the
lights @ .30 per kWh =
$28,800 per day for Lights

HVAC – qty 50 motors (fans, pumps, compressors…) @ 220

volt and 50 amps running 24 hours a day.
(220 x 50)Watts x 500 motors x 24hrs = 132,000 total kWh
per day for the motors @ .30 per kWh = $39,600 per day
for HVAC.

$68,400 per day = $24,966,000 per year for

Lighting and HVAC.

If we apply our 17% savings data from PNNL

findings: A new cost of Lighting and HVAC of
$20,721,780
Chapter 7
Where do we use BAS? Not Your House

Commercial Industrial Tech

Buildings that serve a Buildings that serve a Buildings that serve a

purpose, outside of a purpose, outside of a purpose, outside of a
residence, to the residence, to the residence, to the
OCCUPANTS with in. PROCESSES with in. TECHNOLOGY with in.
Each building type has similar and different use cases which drive the design for the BAS
Efficiency is always a concern but not always the reason a controls system exists!

Chapter 1
HVAC Systems for a Building
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Systems that provide a comfortable environment.
In large buildings these systems are complex and
contain many different devices that must work in
unison Central Plant & Roof
Top / Penthouse:
Area’s dedicated to
Mechanical /Electrical
Equipment that
shares its heating or
cooling with the
entire building

Mechanical Equipment comes in 2 “flavors”:

Unitary Equipment usually serves an area or one of many systems within a
building. Sometimes Unitary Equipment is called Terminal End Equipment
Plant & Air Handling Units (AHU’s) usually serves heat, cool and pressure to
Unitary Equipment and large areas within the building.

Chapter 1
HVAC Systems for a Building
ASHRAE: Mechanical Orchestra:

Chapter 1
History of Temperature Control

Mark C. Honeywell Warren S. Johnson

History History

Chapter 1
 From 1940 to 1979

Pneumatic Control Era

Pneumatics: Mechanical control utilizing air pressure
https://www.cochranetechservices.com/training/courses/27/

Chapter 1
 From 1984 to 1997

DDC (Direct Digital Control) Era

DDC Replaced Pneumatics by utilizing

Computers instead of Mechanics.

DDC introduced the Digital Controller

and Electric Input / Output devices.

A single Computer, not on the internet

or a network, was the only interface to
these systems.

Proprietary Software was utilized for

lack of any better options. As such
different systems did not work
together.

Chapter 1
 From 1998 to 2019

Building Automation Systems

Common Sub-Network Protocols

Integration of older Proprietary

Networks

Open Internet

Open Systems – Introduced by

Tridium, the thought of using one
software platform for all systems
regardless of manufacturer.

Other Systems started getting

integrated, like lighting, security &
life safety, which is why the name
Building Automation System was
adopted.

Chapter 1
 From 1998 to Present
System Integration
Integration of separated systems
provides a single platform for
operations, controls and
maintenance of building operations.

• Energy Improvements
• Operational Efficiencies
• Improved Occupant Experience
• Safer more responsive building
• Capable of easily adopting new
technology

Chapter 1
Automation Systems That Support Buildings
Life Safety Physical Security Process IT Advanced Systems

Chapter 1
 From 2020 to ????
Operational Technology Network

BAS operates within the OT Network!

Flat IP Networks

Controllers go directly on the IP

networks

System Capabilities extend to

the Network and Internet

It’s all about the SOFTWARE and

whatever they think of next……

Chapter 1
OT vs IT
The Orchestra

• How do we install and maintain the

BAS to keep the building operating
as designed?

How to we keep the orchestra playing?

How should it be playing!?

Chapter 7
The Design

• What tells us how a building

should operate?
• The Sequence of Operations
• The Drawings/Submittals
• The Specifications (Spec)
• These documents tell us how and
when to run equipment! This is
where the energy savings could
be!
Chapter 7
The Composers 620PID&Controls (4).pdf 620SOO.pdf

• The Specifications say all these things about Temperature,

and Relative Humidity, Static Pressure and
Concentration- what do we do with them?!
Specifications – The
engineered design in a written
description and detail form.

Engineered Sections Match the

Drawings to the Specifications

Plans / Drawings – The engineered

design in a picture form with equipment
schedules, equipment details, floor
plans, network diagrams.

Chapter 7
The Composers 620PID&Controls (4).pdf 620SOO.pdf

Specifications – The
engineered design in a written
description and detail form.

Plans / Drawings – The engineered

design in a picture form with equipment
schedules, equipment details, floor
plans, network diagrams.

Chapter 7
Definitions
• Heat: A type of (thermal) energy. When you
see “Thermal,” think of temperature. When
we “exchange heat” we move heat from a
space of higher energy, to a space of lower
energy. Simple transfers: touching a bottle of
cold water. Hot Radiator vs Cooler Space

• Temperature: The average heat energy of a

substance. Why do we get vapor from a pot
of boiling water before it is boiling? Space
Temperature is measured by a Thermometer.
IR Gun

• Relative Humidity (RH%): The amount of

water/moisture in the air compared to how
much the air can hold-represented as a
percentage. Relative Humidity can be
measured by a sling psychrometer.
Definitions cont.
• Pressure – Force/Area
Pressure is the basis for moving air and
water throughout a building.
Magnehelic
• Air Pressure is normally measured in
inches of water column (in/wc) while Pressure
water pressure is usually measured in
pounds per square inch (psi) B
• Air Pressure is commonly measured with a
device called a “Magnehelic.”

• Static Pressure – the force on an object

from a pressure differential. It is the
difference between points ‘A’ and ‘B.’ Duct Work
This is commonly measured in in/wc.
Definitions cont.
• Air Pressure: A fan and motor! A Fan will
force air into a space (the ductwork) and
will apply a force to the walls of the duct
which we measure as Static Pressure! Centrifugal Fan
and Motor
• Water Pressure: A pump and motor! A
pump will force water into pipes and will
apply a force on the pipes. We measure
the difference between the pressure of
the water on the wall of the pipe vs ‘2
things.’
• Thing 1: The ambient atmosphere (psig)
• Thing 2: A different pipe with water (psi).
Often this can be supply pipes and return
pipes.
If you have a difference of pressure and
no blockage in the pipes, you have flow
of water!
Definitions cont.
Pressure Systems
• Enthalpy: The total heat content of a
system, taking into account the volume,
pressure, temperature, and relative
humidity.
• Sometimes in Building Automation, we
calculate Enthalpy for a more accurate
way to control a building when we want
to utilize the outside air for “free cooling”
or an economizer.
• We usually measure our atmospheric air
pressure in atmospheres.
1 Atmosphere
approximately Temp Gun
406 in/wc.
Definitions cont.
• Concentration: an amount of a substance
1 ppm
compared to a defined space. One part
per million total parts = ppm.
• 1 Green Part per 10 Total parts would be
1/10.
Keeping this ratio: If we had 1,000,000
total parts, we would have 100,000
green parts or, 100,000 ppm (parts per
million).
• A more realistic scenario is CO2
concentration. 900ppm is 900 parts of
CO2 per million total parts of “Stuff” in
the atmosphere!
 CDC - Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Conc
entrations (IDLH): Nitrogen dioxide - NIOSH Publicati
Definitions cont. ons and Products

• Doesn’t sound like a lot?

What if the green part is NO2? (Nitrogen
Dioxide)
• Caused by combustion processes
• Dangerous to Life and Health
• Experiencing our example of 1ppm for
an entire work-day, 8 hours exceeds the
existing short term exposure guidelines
(current at 0.12ppm for 8 hours).
• How would we detect or measure
concentration dangerous particles on our
environment?
• One answer could be: HALO Sensor
Minute Review
• Building Automation System: Where hardware and software combine
to facilitate the operations of a building and improve efficiency.
• ASHRAE: American Society of Heating Refrigerating, and Air
Conditioning Engineers – think of community standards
• Unitary Equipment vs Plant Equipment: Unitary equipment are
usually smaller, condition the space directly where plant
equipment will not directly control the conditions in a particular
space but the conditions of an entire building or multiple
buildings.
• Operational Technology: the integration and combining of
multiple controls systems for more centralized control and
improved efficiency instead of operating systems
independently of each other.
Minute Review
• Heat: A type of (thermal) energy that is transferred in a “Heat
Exchanger.”
• Temperature: The average heat energy of a substance.
• Relative Humidity (RH%): The amount of water/moisture in the air
compared to how much the air can hold – as %.
• Pressure – Force/Area (Air Pressure, Static Pressure/ Water, psig, psi)
• Enthalpy: The total heat content of a system, taking into account the
volume, pressure, temperature, and relative humidity.
• Concentration: an amount of a substance compared to a defined
space.
Check on Learning
• Where do we use a BAS?
• Can you name two reasons as to how a BAS might benefit a
customer?
• What are some differences between an Operation Technology
Network and an Information Technology Network?
• Can we name one reason why having two different networks,
between OT and IT networks might be helpful in security?
• How do we know how a building should be operating? Who
determined what should be happening?
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