BACnet Building Automation and Control Network, developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), is the most popular open protocol found in building automation and energy management systems. The intent of this open standard is to allow building owners and systems integrators the opportunity to pick and choose BACnet-compliant equipment from various vendors. Contemporary Controls endorses the "open control" concept and its BASautomation line of BACnet products offers open solutions when implementing networked controls in buildings.

BACnet client devices initiate commands while BACnet server devices respond to commands. BACnet devices communicate to one another over a network. The more popular networks include the Internet Protocol (BACnet/IP) and the Master-Slave Token-Passing network (BACnet MS/TP). Interconnecting BACnet networks requires BACnet routers while connecting non-compliant BACnet devices, such as Modbus to a BACnet network requires a gateway. Supervisors typically reside at the IP level functioning as clients while I/O modules and communicating thermostats reside at the MS/TP level functioning as servers. Controllers can be found at either level functioning as servers or in some cases as client/servers.

Whatever the product need, the BASautomation line has a solution.