Tridium Niagara
Run into it on almost every commercial job. Worth knowing cold, whatever else you use.
Visit site →Start here: what are you trying to do?
Find faults before the tenant callsAnalytics & FDD · 6 toolsPick or replace a BASBAS / BMS Platforms · 10 toolsCut energy without a retrofitEnergy Optimization · 5 toolsGet data out of the BASIoT & Integration · 9 toolsRun commissioning without spreadsheetsCommissioning · 3 toolsTroubleshoot in the fieldControls-Tech Field Tools · 5 toolsRun a whole portfolioSmart-Building Platforms · 7 toolsEstimate jobs and run serviceService & Estimating · 4 tools
See you in Chicago
ASHRAE Winter Conference & AHR Expo 2027
We're looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago. If you're walking the show floor, bring hard questions. We wrote a cheat sheet so vendors give you specifics, not slogans.
- ASHRAE Winter Conference
- Jan. 23–27, 2027 · Chicago
HQ hotel: Marriott Marquis Chicago - AHR Expo
- Jan. 25–27, 2027
McCormick Place, Chicago
Official info: ASHRAE Winter Conference · AHR Expo. Vendors: get listed before the show. BuildingAutomation.net is independent and not affiliated with ASHRAE or AHR Expo.
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Facility Services USA
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New guides
All guides →
Analytics & FDD · 8 min read
What is FDD, and is it worth it for a mid-size building?
Fault detection and diagnostics in plain English: what it catches, what the best public data says it costs and saves, and when it isn't worth it.
Read the guide →
Energy Optimization · 9 min read
AI in building automation: what's real vs. hype in 2026
Every BAS vendor says "AI" now. Here's how to sort what's shipping into five buckets, and the red flags that should make you slow down.
Read the guide →
Analytics & FDD · 6 min read
Buyer's checklist: building analytics and FDD platforms
40 questions to ask before you sign. Data access, tagging, workflow, cost model, security and exit terms, printable.
Read the guide →
IoT & Integration · 10 min read
BACnet and integration basics for evaluating building software
The 15 minutes of BACnet you need before buying analytics or a new BAS: objects, BBMDs, MS/TP, COV vs. polling, BTL listing and BACnet/SC.
Read the guide →
Commissioning · 7 min read
Commissioning software compared: CxAlloy vs. Facility Grid vs. Bluerithm
Three Cx platforms side by side, based on what each vendor says publicly, plus what to test in a trial before your team commits.
Read the guide →Smart-Building Platforms · 6 min read
AHR Expo 2027: questions to ask building automation vendors
Chicago, Jan. 25–27, 2027. A printable cheat sheet of questions by category so you leave the booth with answers, not just a tote bag.
Read the guide →Editor's picks
Tools worth knowing, and why. Picks are editorial; nobody paid for them.
CxAlloy
Commissioning platform with native mobile apps that work offline, which matters in a basement mechanical room.
Visit site →Bluebeam
Most estimators already own it. Its takeoff tools handle device and point counts fine.
Visit site →YABE (Yet Another BACnet Explorer)
Free and belongs on every controls laptop. First thing to open when a device won't show up.
Free (open source, MIT)
Visit site →Wireshark
When the BAS 'just stops talking', a packet capture usually tells you why.
Free (open source)
Visit site →Project Haystack
Learn tagging before you buy analytics. It decides how fast any FDD tool becomes useful.
Free (open standard)
Visit site →New this month
Added November 2026: free, open tools every controls tech should know.
YABE (Yet Another BACnet Explorer)
Free, open-source BACnet explorer: discover devices, read/write points, edit schedules and trend logs, browse BBMD tables. BACnet/IP, MS/TP and BACnet/SC.
Free (open source, MIT)
Visit site →Wireshark
Free packet analyzer with a BACnet dissector, the tool for chasing broadcast storms, BBMD/routing problems and devices that 'just stopped talking'.
Free (open source)
Visit site →Project Haystack
Open-source tagging and data-model standard for naming equipment and points so analytics and FDD tools can find them without manual mapping.
Free (open standard)
Visit site →Brick Schema
Open-source ontology describing building equipment, points and how they relate (this AHU feeds these VAVs), used by data platforms and researchers.
Free (open source)
Visit site →Eclipse VOLTTRON
Open-source platform for collecting device and BAS data and running control and analytics agents. Originally developed at PNNL for the U.S. DOE, now an Eclipse Foundation project.
Free (open source)
Visit site →Tapa
Unified smart-building platform and middleware that connects existing BACnet controls, sensors and IoT devices for remote monitoring, tenant comfort control and indoor air quality tracking.
Visit site →From the field
Software only matters if it works in the mechanical room.
Real equipment from real jobs. Every tool here gets judged the same way: does it help the people who keep buildings like these running?
The full directory
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