Highlights that proprietary systems are on the decline

‘Increasing the value of properties with BACnet’ was the topic of BACnet’s first forum held in London from April 11 to 13, in which around 130 manufacturers, developers and users in the field of building automation took part, BACnet has announced.

In his speech made on the occasion, Jeremy Towler, Chief Market Researcher at the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA), said: “Since the first development of open communications protocols around 24 years ago, the market share of proprietary protocols fell to 45% in Europe and below 25% in North America. Along with it, the market share for BACnet rose to 24% in Europe and 47% in North America.”

Towler also reportedly highlighted the existing differences in the European markets. While in Belgium, Germany, France and Italy, proprietary systems are at 40% and below, their share in the British market is the highest at 75%, he said. He projected 15% annual growth for BACnet systems over the next five years, and said he believed that BACnet was on the way to becoming the general standard for the entire field of building services, including safety and security systems, elevators, access control and smart grids.
 
According to the announcement, the participants at the forum agreed that an important milestone for the establishment of BACnet in Great Britain had been set. Other joint activities, such as a common organisation of the next BACnet Plugfests were proposed.
 
The next BACnet Forum will take place on November 10 in Hong Kong, details of which can be found at www.bacnetforum.org, the announcement added.